Bayer Leverkusen fought on Friday past Wresters Bochum with 3-1 to bring the gorge to leaders Bayern Munich to three points.
Goals of Victor Boniface on the hour and Amine Adli in the 87th minute sealed the victory after Bochum was leveled in the first half.
Leverkusen – Coach Xabi Alonso chose to start with two strikers – Boniface and Patrik Schick – with the wounded Florian Wirtz who looked from the stands and won it when they made a clear start.
Nor could the honor assume for the first goal, because Aleix Garcia found enough space outside the box to drill the opener home after just 20 minutes.
However, Bochum bounced back only six minutes later, with Felix Passlack invading the rebound after Lukas Hradecky initially did well to keep Giorgos Masouras out.
Leverkusen pushed to restore their lead after the break, but had to wait until the 60th minute to go in front again. Boniface remained unark on the distant pole and pushed the ball over the line with his knee for his eighth league goal of the season.
Jeremie Frimpong was further ahead of Leverkusen, but missed the goal after a counterattack of the textbook in the 78th minute before Boniface had the ball in the net two minutes later, but to be ruled outside.
ADLI eventually provided the three points with a nice finish of an Exequel Palacios assist, his second of the game, before Granit Xhaka both posts with a stop-time shot to cover an entertaining match for the home fans.
The victory increases the ruling champions to 59 points in second place with seven more games to play. Bayern, with 62 points, is in action on Saturday at home with St Pauli.
Big victory!
90+6 '| 3-1 | #B04boc pic.twitter.com/chrgmeyxna
– Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@Bayer04_en) 28 March 2025
Data Debrief: Leverkusen Click in Attack
Earlier this week, Alonso stated that Leverkusen Bayern will completely push, and his team certainly showed that they would do this to retain their crown.
There was little to split the sides in the first half, with both teams managing two shots on goal, although Bochum slightly defeated the expected goals from the goals (0.24 to Leverkusen's 0.22).
The hosts proved their attacking threat in the second period, with nine attempts worth 1.94 xg while limiting their opponents to just five shots (0.27 xg).
And Boniface made an impact, with the most shots (three) and shots on goal (two) among his teammates, who contribute 0.88 XG to the total of Leverkusen.
Comments