Munich, March 17: Bayer Leverkusen rediscovered some of the late-goal magic from its title-winning season as Patrik Schick’s added-time header sealed a 4-3 comeback win over Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.
Trailing 3-2 on Sunday, Leverkusen was heading for a fourth successive loss in all competitions before Victor Boniface’s pass deflected in off Angelo Stiller for an own-goal in the 88th minute. Jeremie Frimpong then crossed for Schick to head in the winning goal in the fourth minute of added time.“Perhaps sometimes you need wins like this to show the spirit is still there,” Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah told broadcaster DAZN.
The win brought back memories of Leverkusen’s tendency to turn games round in the last minute when it won the Bundesliga title last season. It also cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the standings over second-placed Leverkusen to six points after Bayern drew 1-1 at Union Berlin on Saturday.
With star attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz out injured, Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has had to shake up his tactics and rely more on physically imposing forwards like Schick and Boniface.The changed system couldn’t prevent elimination from the Champions League by Bayern on Tuesday and took time to be effective against Stuttgart.
Ermedin Demirovic gave Stuttgart the lead in the 15th minute with a shot on the rebound and Stuttgart doubled its advantage shortly after halftime with a goal for tall striker Nick Woltemade.
Frimpong scored to give Leverkusen hope of a comeback, but Stuttgart made it 3-1 when a shot deflected off Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and midfielder Granit Xhaka for an own-goal. Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapié scored at a corner soon after as the comeback gathered steam.
Frankfurt made to wait for its win
Eintracht Frankfurt stayed on course to qualify for the Champions League with a 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Bochum, but only after both teams had to wait nearly an hour for kickoff.
A dispute between visiting Frankfurt fans and the authorities over banners blocking emergency exits led to a standoff which was eventually resolved in time for the game to kick off 50 minutes late.Goalkeeper Kaua Santos was the hero for Frankfurt with a spectacular save to keep out a diving header in added time with the score at 2-1, before Frankfurt striker Michy Batshuayi scored for the second week running to secure the win for his new team.Also on Sunday, Heidenheim ended a nine-game winless run in the Bundesliga as it held off a late comeback from Holstein Kiel to win 3-1 in a battle between the league’s bottom two clubs. (AP)
