Leverkusen stays close after late Buendia winner
Emiliano Buendia's winner in second-half stoppage-time kept Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga title defence alive as it snatched a 1-0 win over Heidenheim.
Leverkusen looked set to drop more points in its pursuit of leader Bayern Munich, but substitute Buendia emerged from the bench to curl home in the 91st minute.
The hosts, however, started the contest strongly, with Benedikt Gimber striking the woodwork midway through the first half as Leverkusen struggled to create anything.
Xabi Alonso's team failed to register a shot on target in the first half, with the Spaniard turning to his substitutes in the 68th minute to try and build some momentum late on.
The fresh legs of Arthur and Patrik Schick were introduced, but it was Buendia, who was brought on nine minutes later, who registered the decisive moment.
After collecting Jonas Hofmann's pass, Buendia bent a wonderful effort beyond the grasp of Kevin Muller to seal a huge win for the defending champion.
Leverkusen is in second place on 62 points, six behind leader Bayern Munich, with six matches left to play.
Leverkusen is now unbeaten in its past 31 Bundesliga away games, winning 23 of them, the second-longest run in league history.
It is now just two victories away from Bayern's record of 33, which it managed between April 2012 and March 2014.
