Thursday, January 23, 2025
7.0°F

Leverkusen misses chance to reclaim lead in Bundesliga

Ciarán Fahey | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years AGO
by Ciarán Fahey
| January 2, 2021 9:33 AM

BERLIN (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga by slumping to a 2-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt as the league resumed from its winter break on Saturday.

Nadiem Amiri scored one of the goals of the season with his heel after being played in brilliantly by the 17-year-old Florian Wirtz in the 10th minute. Frankfurt fought back to deservedly deal Leverkusen its first away defeat of the season and its second straight loss.

Leverkusen had been unbeaten before it lost the league lead with a 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in their last game before the seasonal break. Bayern can now move five points clear of Leverkusen with a win over lowly Mainz on Sunday, while Leipzig can also take advantage of Leverkusen’s loss against Stuttgart later Saturday.

Goals from Amin Younes in the 22nd and an own-goal from Edmond Tapsoba in the 54th were enough for Frankfurt, which profited from Leverkusen’s lack of left backs. Both Wendell and Daley Sinkgraven were out with the coronavirus.

On-loan Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored one goal after setting up another for Sheraldo Becker as high-flying Union Berlin moved fourth with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen.

Union, which was only promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time last year, is targeting survival in its second season – especially with no fans allowed at games due to the coronavirus – but now its fans watching from afar are dreaming of European qualification.

Also Saturday, Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 and Cologne lost 1-0 at home to Augsburg. Freiburg won 3-1 at Hoffenheim.

Schalke was visiting Hertha Berlin later, hoping to end its club-record run of 29 games without a win in the Bundesliga. The league record is 31.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

___

Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

New coach but winless run hits 30 games at Schalke
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years ago
New coach but winless run hits 30 games at Schalke
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years ago
Bayern beats Dortmund, closes in on 8th straight Bundesliga
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 8 months ago

ARTICLES BY CIARÁN FAHEY

January 11, 2021 8:06 a.m.

3 coaches under increasing pressure in the Bundesliga

BERLIN (AP) — Five coaches have already lost their jobs in the Bundesliga this season and three more need a quick change in fortune to avoid joining them.

January 11, 2021 12:12 a.m.

Hertha Berlin disappoints again with 1-0 loss in Bielefeld

BERLIN (AP) — Hertha Berlin coach Bruno Labbadia endured an unhappy return to Arminia Bielefeld as his team’s latest bid for back-to-back Bundesliga wins ended in another defeat.

January 11, 2021 12:12 a.m.

Wolfsburg's Pongračić still struggling with COVID-19 effects

BERLIN (AP) — Wolfsburg defender Marin Pongračić is still dealing with the effects of COVID-19 weeks after his infection and had to be taken off during the weekend's Bundesliga game.