Bayer Leverkusen battled past strugglers Bochum 3-1 on Friday to cut the gap to leaders Bayern Munich to three points.

Goals from Victor Boniface on the hour and Amine Adli in the 87th minute sealed the win after Bochum had equalised in the first half.

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso opted to start with two strikers - Boniface and Patrik Schick - with the injured Florian Wirtz watching from the stands, and it paid off as they made a bright start.

Neither could take credit for the first goal, though, as Aleix Garcia found enough space outside the box to drill home the opener after just 20 minutes.

However, Bochum bounced back just six minutes later, with Felix Passlack firing in on the rebound after Lukas Hradecky had initially done well to keep out Giorgos Masouras' effort.

Leverkusen pushed to restore their lead after the break but had to wait until the 60th minute to go back in front. Boniface was left unmarked at the far post and pushed the ball over the line with his knee for his eighth league goal of the season.

Jeremie Frimpong came close to putting Leverkusen further ahead but narrowly missed the target after a textbook counter-attack in the 78th minute before Boniface had the ball in the net two minutes later, only to be ruled offside.

Adli eventually made sure of the three points with a fine finish from an Exequiel Palacios assist, his second of the game, before Granit Xhaka rattled both posts with a stoppage-time shot to cap an entertaining match for the home fans.

The victory lifts the reigning champions to 59 points in second place with seven games left to play. Bayern, with 62 points, are in action on Saturday at home to St Pauli.

Data Debrief: Leverkusen click in attack

Alonso insisted earlier this week that Leverkusen will push Bayern all the way, and his team certainly showed that they would do so to retain their crown.

There was little to split the sides in the first half, with both teams managing two shots on target, though Bochum slightly edged the expected goals battle (0.24 to Leverkusen's 0.22).

The hosts proved their attacking threat in the second period, having nine attempts worth 1.94 xG while limiting their opponents to just five shots (0.27 xG).

And Boniface made an impact, having the most shots (three) and shots on target (two) among his team-mates, contributing 0.88 xG to Leverkusen's total.