Leverkusen down Stuttgart in Bundesliga
Berlin, Dec 9 (IANS) Bayer Leverkusen scored twice to give newly-promoted Stuttgart their second straight loss in the Bundesliga.
The “Werkself” have snapped Stuttgart’s unbeaten run on home soil as the goals from Kai Havertz and Lars Bender were enough to snatch all three points on the road, reports Xinhua news agency.
Both sides played a slow paced game in the beginning, but as the match progressed Leverkusen worked out chances through Julian Brandt and Kevin Volland.
The visitors’ efforts paid off with 20 minutes into the clash as Leo Bailey shrugged off two Stuttgart defenders and sent a square pass into the box where Kai Havertz tapped home with his left foot from very close range.
Leverkusen then focussed on counter-attcks as Stuttgart struggled to produce clear-cut chances.
Stuttgart eventually gained a foothold as Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno had to defuse Emiliano Insua’s long-range hammer from 23 meters with seven minutes into the second half.
Insua remained in the thick of things and continued to pose threat with long efforts. However, Leverkusen custodian Bernd Leno was on guard to deny promising chances in the 56th and 60th minute.
The hosts pressed frenetically for an equalizer but it were Leverkusen who converted a chance, as Lars Bender headed home a corner at the near post to put the result beyond doubt in the 80th minute.
With the victory, Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run to five games to move up to fourth place while Stuttgart stay at 13th.