Stuttgart, Jan 11: Stuttgart surged into contention for the Bundesliga’s Champions League places after Jamie Leweling scored twice in a 4-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
On a day when snow cut the Bundesliga schedule from six games to four, Stuttgart made light of below-freezing temperatures.
Stuttgart led 4-0 by halftime against a Leverkusen team missing injured striker Patrik Schick and key players at the Africa Cup of Nations.Both of Leweling’s goals came as Stuttgart turned over the ball and surged through the Leverkusen half, either side of a Maximilian penalty awarded when Leverkusen’s Jeanuel Belocian brought down Josha Vagnoman. Deniz Undav made it 4-0 just before halftime.
An Alex Grimaldo penalty midway through the second half was the only consolation for Leverkusen, which has lost three of its last five Bundesliga games.
Following reports in Britain linking Leweling with Bournemouth as a potential replacement for Antoine Semenyo, Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth told broadcaster Sky, We don’t plan to sell Jamie Leweling. We’re happy that we have him. Leverkusen and Stuttgart are fourth, both 12 points off league leader Bayern Munich, which plays Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Union digs in
Union Berlin fans spent the week clearing snow around their stadium so their game against Mainz could go ahead. They were rewarded with a late recovery to salvage a 2-2 draw.
Union’s game was in doubt, prompting fans to gather with shovels to clear snow from access routes at the stadium on Thursday. Those efforts and lower-than-expected snowfall on Friday allowed the game to proceed, though the damp field soon churned up. (AP)
