Bayer 04 Leverkusen brought an end to their winless run thanks to an own goal by Hamburger SV’s Albin Ekdal. Their 1-0 home victory was the first win in five league games for Roger Schmidt’s men, having picked up just one point from their last four matches.
30,210 spectators inside the sold-out BayArena witnessed a fast-paced start to the game, in which the visitors created the first clear opportunity. A mistake from Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah allowed Artjoms Rudnevs to test Bayer keeper Bernd Leno. Overall the Germany international was forced to make five saves, as the 24-year-old recorded his 53rd clean sheet in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen took the lead after 18 minutes when Ekdal deflected a cross from Julian Brandt into his own net. Hamburger keeper René Adler, who spent twelve years playing for Bayer 04, was left helpless to keep out the inadvertent flick-on. Lewis Holtby wasted an opportunity to equalise in the 34th minute, narrowly missing the target from close range. Leverkusen nearly doubled their advantage before the break, but Chicharito’s header only struck the crossbar.
The hosts eventually controlled the game after the break and gathered confidence for their return leg against Villarreal in the Europa League on Thursday. Bayer 04 need to overturn a 2-0 defeat if they want to reach the quarterfinals.
Reus leads Dortmund to victory
Germany international Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa fired Dortmund to a 2-0 victory over Mainz as matchday 26 of the Bundesliga concluded on Sunday evening. Reus paved the way to victory with his opener after 30 minutes, allowing Dortmund to keep pace with table toppers Bayern München.
The game began after a tragic incident occurred in the Signal Iduna Park, with two spectators suffering heart attacks. One was rushed to the hospital and appears to be in a stable condition, while the other sadly passed away. News spread across the stadium and the atmosphere throughout the game was very subdued. In the 88th minute the fans began to sing “You’ll never walk alone” in dedication to the deceased.
Reus scores tenth goal of the season
The game started with a lack of chances at both ends, as Mainz waited patiently for chances to counter attack or play long balls forward to Jhon Cordoba or Jairo Samperio, while Dortmund controlled possession but struggled to find a breakthrough. It required a fantastic ball by Gonzalo Castro for Reus to break the deadlock and score his tenth goal of the campaign.
Mainz opened up in the second half meaning Dortmund had more space, which they eventually used to increase the lead to 2-0 through Kagawa. BVB had plenty of chances to score more goals, but Mainz keeper Loris Karius prevented a larger margin of defeat.
