Bayer 04 Leverkusen extended its chase of runaway Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund with a 3-0 beat down of free falling VfL Wolfsburg. With the result, Werkself pushes two points ahead of third place Hannover 96 as the race for a Champions League berth goes into top gear, whilst Wolfsburg is in the thick of the relegation battle at the fourteenth spot.

Coming off their disappointing loss to Werder Bremen, Bayer 04 were far from steady in the opening stages. Shy of the quarter-hour, Sascha Riether was in prime territory to give Wolfsburg a rare lead but he was unable to make use of Cicero fine cross. Following that foray by the visitors, Werkself found its attacking vision as the highly promising Lars Bender latched onto Sidney Sam’s deft provision and from the edge of the area on the right, drilled the ball into the net for the 1-0 lead at the twenty-first minute. The hosts continued to dominant and after Diego Benaglio halted Gonzalo Castro’’s effort, the margin was doubled a minute shy of the half-hour as Renato Augusto exposed the visitors on the counter to score from the right side of the area. A minute into added time the match was fait accompli as Stefan Kießling raced onto end of chipped pass from Renato Auguto, following another deplorable turnover, with the German international deftly lofting over the sprawling ‘keeper to give Bayer 04 the three goal advantage after the break.

After the re-start, Jupp Heynckes’ side were clearly taking their foot off the acceleration as they killed off the proceedings. Following a close range chance by Makoto Hasebe came up empty near the hour mark, Bayer 04 began to push forward with only Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio keeping the score respectable. With twenty minutes remaining in regulation time, Grafite entered for Peter Pekarík as Wolfsburg searched for a way back into the contest but it was not forthcoming and Bayer 04 Leverkusen claimed a 3-0 victory.

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Bayer Leverkusen built upon last week’s victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach with a 2-0 triumph over visiting Hannover 96 at BayArena. With the result, Werkself pulls five points ahead of 96, still a hearty eight points off Borussia Dortmund in the race for the Bundesliga crown.

From last weeks result, Bayer 04 manager Jupp Heynckes made one change to their starting grid with former Germany captain Michael Ballack coming into the starting eleven after his long injury layoff that stretched back to the third week of the campaign, for Sidney Sam. His counterpart, Mirko Slomka, equally made one adjustment to his line-up from last weeks loss to Schalke 04 with Lars Stindl in for Jan Schlaudraff.

After an early effort from 96 that saw René Adler halting a Mohamed Abdellaoui effort, much of the play was box-to-box until midway of the half. Arturo Vidal narrowly missed breaking the deadlock just after twenty minute but seconds later the Chilean international powerfully half-volleyed the ball in from the edge of the area after Christian Schulz redirected Stefan Kießling’s deflected provision. Bayer 04 continued to dictate the run of the play but was unable to extend its advantage including a close range miss from Michael Ballack and a further chance from Stefan Kießling squandered. The hosts could not be deterred and three minutes shy of the break, Simon Rolfes, after being played through by Gonzalo Castro, curled the ball into the back of the net.
Up by two, Bayer 04 were in clear control as Michael Ballack dictated a granite solid midfield that allowed few changes. Three minutes shy of the hour the 96 tactician ushered Moritz Stoppelkamp in for Manuel Schmiedebach and moments later Didier Ya Konan squandered a quality chance when he broke in on René Adler but his final touch was well off course. As the contest entered the final twenty minutes, 96 missed a further chance to narrow the margin as Mohammed Abdellaoue nodded Steven Cherundolo’s cross over the bar. Though Bayer 04 was unable to breach the net of 96’s impressive young goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler again, they cruised to the victory with a 2-0 result.

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The Bundesliga returned to action with a flurry as in the opening contest of the Rückrunde, Borussia Dortmund devastated host Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3-1 in comprehensive fashion. The result stretches the Dortmunders lead at the top of the table a shocking thirteen point lead over Mainz 05 before the balance of the league meets on Saturday.

After only two losses in the opening half of the campaign, Jürgen Klopp’s side ventured to Leverkusen, still without an injured Michael Ballack, with a clear vision to continue their path towards their first title since 2001. In front of the sold-out BayArena, BVB responded quickly to their travelling supporters as in the third minute Sven Bender powerfully headed Nuri Şahin’s free kick from the left on the near post. On the opposite end of the pitch, the Dortmunder’s defensive play was equally up to the challenge as Neven Subotić dispossessed Stefan Kießling of the ball inside the area as the match continued at a heart-stopping pace but remained scoreless through to the break.

At the re-start, Jürgen Klopp summoned veteran Antônio da Silva for Sven Bender and it was not long before the Schwarzgelben flags were waving with the opening goal. Following an effort by the mercurial Jakub Błaszczykowski drifted wide, BVB went in front 1-0 at the forty-ninth minute. Via a long throw-in that bounded off Daniel Schwaab hand, Kevin Großkreutz quickly scuttled the close range gift past ‘keeper René Adler and into the back of the net. The Dortmunder’s showed no mercy and only four minutes later doubled the margin as Manuel Friedrich poorly played a long ball, with Robert Lewandowski heading it onto Kevin Großkreutz who subsequently drilled it to the right side of the net. The Rheinländern side was clearly out of sorts as two minute later the goal-scorer played the role of provider as sent the ball to Mario Götze on the right side of the area before the latter scored to make it 3-0. Bayer 04 manager Jupp Heynckes quickly added Tranquillo Barnetta, Eren Derdiyok and Arturo Vidal in hopes for a way back into the match but openings were sparse against a well-organized BVB. With ten minutes remaining in regulation time, Stefan Kießling sent in Renato Augusto’s provision to give the hosts hope but that was as close as it would get as Borussia Dortmund claimed a 3-1 victory.

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With noble intentions of holding off relegation and war cries of “DER GLAUBE LEBT!”, Hertha Berlin put up a grand fight but with a 1-1 draw with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, their worst fears came to volition as they will drop to the second division. The result puts Leverkusen at fourth in the Bundesliga table and in fine position to grab a spot in the Champions League, should Werder Bremen lose to Hamburger SV on the final day of the campaign.

Chances were slim for the Berliners heading into the match, with the only chance reliant upon a victory. Full of venom, venom Hertha surged forward with Theofanis Gekas, from ten metres out, rasping an effort off the woodwork at the fifth minute. Not deterred by the lack of fortune, Theofanis Gekas turned provided three minutes shy of the hour as he redirected a free kick to Raffael who made no mistake to give Berlin the 1-0 lead. Hertha continued to flourish but rue missed opportunities particularly that of Cícero’s chance ten minutes shy of the break

At the re-start, Friedhelm Funkel’s side looked solid but once again, the final touch missing. After Gojko Kačar squandered two quality chances, Werkself levelled as Manuel Friedrich raised high to head in Burak Kaplan’s corner from the right. In the final twenty minute Berlin summoned in Artur Wichniarek and Patrick Ebert, in hope for the winner but they made no advances against the determined hosts. As the whistle sounded, the match ended as a 1-1 draw and sealed the Berliners fate.

The relegation is both a sad reality for their fans and the capital city but further question of the focus of European football. Hertha is pushed deep into the Europa League is far too good of a team to be relegated but they lost touch of maintaining domestic play. Though there are questions of tactical decisions under Lucien Favre in the Hinrude, a side does go from fourth to the absolute bottom of the table without a fundamental shift in direction, in this case the riches of European competition. Unfortunately, Hertha is a victim of losing direction in domestic play and must now toil in the second division and rebound quickly. Like those in the recent past, they will find the going tough in the Bundesliga 2 and must formulate an airtight plan to see their stay short.

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VfB Stuttgart continued their late surge as they defeated Bayer 04 Leverskusen 2-1 at the Neckarstadion. With the result, VfB’s fifth consecutive victory, they pull to third in the Bundesliga table, whilst Leverkusen is directly behind them, level in points.

In an action-packed contest, the visitors went in-front two minutes shy of the quarter-hour as Stefan Kießling surged away from his marker Serdar Tasci to get on the end of Stefan Reinartz’s through ball on the right channel. The attacker then deftly sent the ball past VfB ‘keeper Jens Lehmann from a tight angle. Disaster struck for Leverkusen six minutes later, as Tranquillo Barnetta was the recipient of his second yellow-card, forcing his side to play the remaining time with a one-man disadvantage. After withstanding pressure from their visitors, VfB levelled at the twenty-ninth minute as Cacau headed in Cristian Molinaro’s cross from the left. Leverkusen went back on the attack only to see Jens Lehmann holding the draw with a superb stop as the match went to the break deadlocked.

After the break Leverkusen ‘keeper René Adler did well to stop Cacau, who had been played through on the left channel. VfB was controlling much of the attacking pulse for the remaining period with a number of high probability chances falling short. Following another match saving stop by Jens Lehmann on Arturo Vidal, VfB found the winning mark with five minutes remained in regulation. Surging through the left channel, Pavel Pogrebnyak delivered a scorching cross that was partially cleared to Cacau, who then drilled the ball in from twelve metres.

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Eintracht Frankfurt continued its stunning resurgence with a late 3-2 defeat of Bayer 04 Leverkusen in front of their always supportive fans at Waldstadion. With the victory, Eintract keeps alive its slim hopes for a spot on the European stage, holding down eighth place in the Bundesliga table, whilst Bayer 04 is at third but only a point above surging Borussia Dortmund.

After the visitors squandered a fine chance to take the lead, Eintracht supporters rose in unison at the twentieth-eight minute when Selim Teber converted from the spot after Eren Derdiyok was adjudged a penalty for bringing down Marco Russ in the area. Werkself was not deterred and five minutes later levelled as Stefan Kießling closed out from fourteen metres after a fine buildup of play for Eren Derdiyok and Toni Kroos.

Bayer 04 grabbed the lead moments after the restart when Toni Kroos latched onto a errant pass and played in Stefan Kießling with the attacker making no mistake from twelve metres. Disaster struck Leverkusen a few minutes later as Daniel Schwaab was sent off for a rash challenge of Ümit Korkmaz. Eintracht grabbled the levelled two-minutes past the hour as Caio sent a powerful serving drive from thirty-plus metres into the net past Leverkusen ‘keeper René Adler. Die Adler, after coming up empty of a few other chances, found the winner with a minute remaining as Maik Franz lodged a highlight reel overhead scissors kick to bring the match to a 3-2 final.

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On the strength of Kevin Kurányi’s two goals, Schalke 04 defeated Bayer 04 Leverkusen at BayArena. The result continues manager Felix Magath push towards his second consecutive Bundesliga crown as the Gelsenkirchen side takes over the top spot, whilst Bayer 04 is third.

Die Königsblauen wasted no time in taking the match to their hosts and grabbed a one goal advantage at the eleventh minute in the first of Kevin Kurányi’s two goals. The striker, rumoured to be in route to Dinamo Moskva, gave Schalke the 1-0 lead from turned Benedikt Höwedes’s provision the right past ‘keeper René Adler, after a solid build-up of play from Jefferson Farfán. At the twenty-seventh minute, the striker added his seventeenth marker of the campaign when he nodded in Jefferson Farfán’s cross from the right. With the two-goal lead, Schalke dedicated their efforts to defending and though Bayer 04’s controlled ball possession, they barely made a threatening assault in the remaining hour. Though the striker narrowly missed his third goal, it mattered little with the outcome and Schalke claimed the 2-0 victory.

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Borussia Dortmund continued to storm towards a berth on the European stage as they defeated Bayer 04 Leverkusen at a packed Westfalenstadion. With the result, the Dortmunders hold down fourth in the Bundesliga table, only five off Leverkusen in all-important third spot, which earns a place in the Champions League.

Leading into the match BVB manager Jürgen Klopp had his work cut out for him as he was without Sven Bender, Mats Hummels and Tinga to injury, along with Nuri Şahin under suspension. The early stages of the affair saw Werkself control the affair, including a Stefan Kießling goal bound effort that Dortmund ‘keeper Roman Weidenfeller pull off a stunning save. Before the break, both Eren Derdiyok and Stefan Kießling saw their efforts stopped by the host goalkeeper.

As these situations often are, missed opportunities loom large and after the break, BVB posted three unanswered markers. Five minutes after the restart Lucas Barrios redirected Tamás Hajnal’s corner, that had been flicked on by Patrick Owomoyela, to the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. The hosts were in the driver’s seat and after a missed opportunity Lucas Barrios added his second of the day on the hour as he accepted Mohamed Zidan’s provision and sent the ball past Leverkusen goalkeeper René Adler to make it 2-0. Die Schwarzgelben day was complete at the eighty-seventh minute as Dimitar Rangelov latched onto an errant pass near the circle, surged forward before hamming the ball into the netting.

Both sides return to play next Saturday as Borussia Dortmund visits relegation threatened Hertha Berlin, whilst Bayer 04 Leverkusen welcomes Schalke 04.

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Bayer 04 Leverkusen rebounded from last weeks loss to defeat Hamburger SV 4-2 victory at BayArena. With the result, Bayer 04 hold down the third spot of the Bundesliga table, whilst HSV ease back to fifth.

Werkself gave their home supporters something to cheer about midway of the opening half as Stefan Kießling was played through by Tranquilo Barnetta before driving his fifteenth goal of the campaign past HSV ‘keeper Frank Rost. HSV levelled the match eleven minutes later as Joris Mathijsen’s long ball came to Zé Roberto after a defensive error saw René Adler and Sami Hyypiä collide and the veteran made no mistake sending it in to net.

The fast pace continued after the break and five minutes shy of the hour Swiss international Eren Derdiyok headed in Daniel Schwaab’s cross to restore Bayer 04’s lead. Seven minutes later the margin was doubled as Stefan Kießling dove to head in Renato Augusto’s. However, at the eighty-third HSV clawed back a goal as David Rozehnal redirected Piotr Trochowski’s cross into the net. Any chance of comeback ended quickly as the hosts stormed back and a minute later Eren Derdiyok turned provider as his cross was sent in by Gonzalo Castro to seal the 4-2 victory.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen returns to play on Saturday as they face a showdown against Borussia Dortmund at Westfalenstadion. HSV faces Anderlecht in the second-leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday before welcoming Schalke 04 to the Volksparkstadion on Sunday.

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Nürnberg handed Bayer 04 Leverkusen its first loss of the campaign with a 3-2 decision at the Frankenstadion. With the result, Nürnberg climb out of the relegation zone to fifteen in the Bundesliga table, whilst Bayer 04 Leverkusen stumbles to the third spot.

Werkself came out hot, looking for goals but found one by one, their efforts were squandered. Der Club took the shock 1-0 lead at the forty-second minute when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting got on the end of Mike Frantz’s flick on of a long ball before drilling it into the back of the net. Only three minutes later Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting accepted Dennis Diekmeier’s provision in the area before doubling the lead.

FCN went into full celebration ten minutes after the restart when Mickaël Tavares latched onto Marcel Risse’s corner and drove the ball in from twelve metres. Down 3-0, Bayer 04 began to launch its comeback with Stefan Kießling, from ten metres, turned in Gonzalo Castro’s cross. Seven minutes later Patrick Helmes set up an exciting finish as he took advantage of a defensive blunder before scoring.
Jupp Heynckes’ side when on the hunt for the equalizer but it could not be found and the match ended 3-2 in favour of FCN.

Nürnberg faces Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion, whilst Bayer 04 Leverkusen goes up against Hamburger SV at the Volksparkstadion the following day.

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