In Heidenheim, Germany, Bayer Leverkusen managed to revive its hopes in the Bundesliga title race with a dramatic stoppage-time winner courtesy of Emiliano Buendia. The patchy performance came only four days after the team’s unexpected elimination from the German Cup by third-division Arminia Bielefeld. Leverkusen, who had previously been struggling to create significant opportunities, saw Buendia, a substitute, strike impressively from outside the area, finding the net via the post for a crucial 1-0 victory.
With this win, Leverkusen maintained a six-point gap behind league leader Bayern Munich, which secured a 3-1 triumph against Augsburg the previous day. With six matches left to play, the chase remains tense.
The previous season saw Leverkusen frequently victorious in similar fashion, clinching last-minute goals during their title-winning campaign. However, the recent form has been lackluster, as the team was poised for its fifth defeat in seven matches across all competitions, seemingly being outplayed by 16th-placed Heidenheim.
Meanwhile, loaned Borussia Dortmund player Carney Chukwuemeka experienced a breakthrough in his career as he scored his first goal since joining from Chelsea. Dortmund comfortably triumphed over Freiburg with a 4-1 scoreline. The match featured goals from Karim Adeyemi, a deflected strike from Chukwuemeka, and further goals by Serhou Guirassy and Jamie Gittens, marking a dominant performance under coach Niko Kovac’s recent management.
Dortmund climbed to eighth place in the Bundesliga standings, trailing just behind Freiburg, with four points separating them from the Champions League spots. Next, they face a challenging Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona.
In other matches, Zsolt Low, the new Leipzig manager, celebrated his first victory with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim. Despite an initial setback through a goal conceded due to a goalkeeper error from Peter Gulacsi, Leipzig rebounded strongly. Benjamin Sesko’s header equalized the score, and following a red card for Hoffenheim’s Leo Ostigard, goals from Ridle Baku and Yussuf Poulsen secured the win.
Werder Bremen pulled off an upset by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0, scoring through Oliver Burke’s header in the first half and a late goal from Romano Schmid. This marked Frankfurt’s fourth loss in their last six Bundesliga outings, forcing them to stay third, significantly behind Bayern Munich by 20 points. Bremen stands at tenth.
Elsewhere, Ermedin Demirovic netted a hat trick to lead Stuttgart in brushing aside Bochum 4-0, significantly impacting the relegation-threatened team. Lastly, Mainz’s ambitions for a Champions League spot suffered a blow after a disappointing 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Holstein Kiel.