Leverkusen edges closer to Bayern after victory
Bayer Leverkusen moved to within three points of Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich after a 3-1 win over Bochum on Saturday (AEDT).
The defending champion had to wait until the 20th minute to go ahead, courtesy of a crisp strike from Aleix Garcia, but nerves were jangling when Felix Passlack equalised for Bochum six minutes later with a superb strike from distance on the rebound.
Leverkusen couldn't unlock the visitors' defence for a second time before the break, but relief came on the hour after Garcia was involved again, sending a free-kick into the box which was met on the volley by Piero Hincapie and headed home by Victor Boniface.
Boniface thought he had scored a second when Jerome Frimpong squared for him to finish after a fine team move, but the goal was scratched off after the video assistant referee (VAR) found Boniface to have been offside in the build-up.
Leverkusen's third goal did eventually arrive three minutes from time to put a stamp on the result, Amine Adli making a fine run before receiving a throughball from Exequiel Palacios and slotting home as Leverkusen executed a ruthless counter-attack.
Granit Xhaka rattled both posts with a stoppage-time shot to cap an entertaining match for the home fans.
Leverkusen, with 59 points, has played a game more than Bayern Munich, which has 62 points, but the pressure is now well and truly on Vincent Kompany's side to find a result against lowly St Pauli when it plays its fixture on Sunday (AEDT).
Bochum, meanwhile, remains in the relegation play-off spot with 20 points after this defeat, still five points adrift of St Pauli in the fight for survival.
While Leverkusen will no doubt be cheering for the Boys in Brown, Bochum's allegiances will almost certainly be with Bayern.
