BERLIN — Bayern Munich may have effectively secured their Bundesliga title with just a draw in their most recent match. On Saturday, Bayern managed to hold Bayer Leverkusen to a goalless draw, maintaining an eight-point lead at the top of the league standings.
Despite their efforts, Leverkusen was unable to find the back of the net as Bayern’s defense held strong throughout the match. The Leverkusen squad had key forwards Patrik Schick and Victor Boniface starting on the bench, contributing to their struggles, as this defeat marked their second consecutive game without a goal. Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer expressed a sense of relief at the outcome, stating that the team was satisfied with the result even though they faced intense pressure.
Leverkusen’s coach Xabi Alonso opted to introduce Schick during the dying moments of the game, which was quite late in the match. This came after their star player Florian Wirtz narrowly missed a golden opportunity to clinch the victory, hitting just wide after Neuer had made a crucial save from Amine Adli’s attempt. It was an unusual performance for Bayern, who failed to register a single shot on target the entire match. Statisticians at Opta confirmed this was only the second occurrence since records have been kept, the previous being against Wolfsburg in 2008.
For Leverkusen, who are the reigning champions, their frustrations were compounded by hitting the crossbar on two occasions during the first half. This match was significant for Alonso, a former Bayern player, as it marked his fifth encounter with his old team as a coach, maintaining his unbeaten streak against them. Earlier in the season, his squad had also eliminated Bayern from the German Cup, a fact not lost on the coach. Reflecting on the match, Alonso noted the potential for improvement, adding that there are still 12 games left in the Bundesliga season.
In a surprising turn of events, Borussia Dortmund faced humiliation in their derby against Bochum, who are at the bottom of the league. Georgios Masouras managed to score two quick goals, turning the tide against Dortmund in a 2-0 upset. Following a winter transfer from Olympiakos, Masouras marked his first goal for Bochum and capitalized immediately on a blunder by Dortmund defender Niklas Süle, who misdirected a back pass right into the forward’s path.
Dortmund has now entered a challenging phase under their new manager Niko Kova?, suffering two consecutive losses in the Bundesliga and standing at risk of falling further away from Champions League qualification, currently sitting in 11th place. Bochum’s victory allowed them to temporarily escape the bottom of the table, awaiting the outcome of Holstein Kiel’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt.
In another notable match, Stuttgart missed a golden opportunity to benefit from Leipzig’s draw with Augsburg by losing 2-1 to Wolfsburg, despite a stunning goal from substitute Nick Woltemade in the second half. Leipzig held onto the fourth position in the standings while Stuttgart fell two points short of the last Champions League qualification slot.
Additionally, Borussia Mönchengladbach secured a 2-1 victory over Union Berlin, and Freiburg triumphed over St. Pauli with a narrow 1-0 win bolstered by an unfortunate own goal from Philipp Treu.
