Emiliano Buendia's winner in second-half stoppage time kept Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga title defence alive as they snatched a 1-0 win over Heidenheim on Saturday. 

Leverkusen looked set to drop more points in their pursuit of leaders 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. 

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 champions. 

Leverkusen are in second place on 62 points, six behind leaders Bayern Munich, with six matches left to play.

Data Debrief: Leverkusen edge closer to away day record

For much of the contest, Leverkusen did not look like a side that were challenging for the title. But their quality in reserve bailed them out once again, with another stoppage-time goal added to their collection during Alonso's tenure. 

Leverkusen are now unbeaten in their last 31 Bundesliga away games (W23 D8), the second-longest run in league history. They are now just two victories away from Bayern's record of 33, which they managed between April 2012 and March 2014. 

And Buendia's late strike brought up Leverkusen's 200th Bundesliga goal under Alonso in what was his 88th game in the competition. This century, only Pep Guardiola has reached that milestone quicker than the Spaniard (76 games).