Bayern, Leverkusen lose in Bundesliga
Berlin, March 19 (IANS) Leipzig came from behind to beat runaway leaders Bayern Munich 2-1 while bottom side Cologne upset Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at the closer of the 27th round of Bundesliga football action.
Bayern Munich’s 18-game unbeaten streak came to an end as Leipzig’s Naby Keita and Timo Werner turned the tide to reap crucial points for a UEFA Champions League berth on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Both sides staged a lively opening period as Yussuf Poulsen tested Sven Ulreich before Sandro Wagner opened the scoring with 12 minutes played after heading home James Rodriguez’ pinpoint cross into the box.
Leipzig remained unimpressed and pressed forward as Bruma and Werner came to their chances before Keita restored parity to shock the passive Bundesliga leaders.
After the restart, Bayern continued lethargically and posed no threat while Leipzig turned the tide in the 56th minute when Werner made no mistake to slot home Keita’s through ball from the edge of the box into the far post corner.
Bayern increased their pressure but they lacked in ideas and accuracy to score a late equalizer against Leipzig, who held firm to beat the Bavarians for the first time.
With the result, 6th-placed Leipzig reduced their arrears to the top-four whereas Bayern’s lead atop the standings shrank to 17 points.
Cologne secured a vital 2-0 victory over ten-men Bayer Leverkusen as goals from Yuya Osako and Simon Zoller sealed all three points on home soil.
The Billy Goats ensured a bright start on home soil as Yuya Osako needed only nine minutes to break the deadlock after slotting home left footed from inside the box.
Cologne focussed on fast breaks meanwhile Leverkusen controlled the ball but were unable to produce goal-scoring opportunities.
At the half hour mark, things went from bad to worse for Leverkusen as Lucas Alario received his marching orders after a violent incident with Cologne’s Dominic Maroh.
The Werkself had a couple of promising chances after the restart but Cologne’s custodian Timo Horn saved Julian Brandt’s fine effort before Leon Bailey unleashed an free kick on target.
Sixty minutes into the game, Cologne gained a foothold into the game and wrapped up all three points as Simon Zoller chipped the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Bernd Leno to double the lead and kill the game in the 69th minute.
With the win, Cologne climb off the last place and oust Hamburg from the 17th position meanwhile Bayer Leverkusen slipped out of the top four to 5th place.