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Leverkusen sink Dortmund to bring Bayern closer to title / Photo: © AFP
Leverkusen sink Dortmund to bring Bayern closer to title
Robert Andrich's first-half strike gave Bayer Leverkusen a 1-0 win at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, edging Bayern Munich closer to a record-extending 35th Bundesliga title.
Bayern play at third-bottom St Pauli later on Saturday and would go 12 points clear with a win, with five games remaining.
Leverkusen became just the second team to beat Dortmund in the league this season and moved one point behind fourth-placed Stuttgart.
Dortmund remain eight points clear in second place despite their four-game winning streak coming to an end.
A day after extending his deal at the club to 2031, Nico Schlotterbeck received a smattering of boos and whistles from the home fans amid reports he had a release clause for this summer inserted into his contract.
Stoic and risk averse under coach Niko Kovac this season, Dortmund were uncharacteristically fluid in attack in the opening half hour but Andrich broke through for the visitors in simple fashion.
The Germany midfielder intercepted a Ramy Bensebaini pass and took a touch before blasting a low shot into the bottom corner past Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund's best chance came with seven minutes remaining when Serhou Guirassy collected a Carney Chukwuemeka pass and hit the underside of the crossbar.
Yan Diomande's 81st-minute strike boosted RB Leipzig's hopes of a top-four finish, securing a 1-0 home win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Diomande's late winner lifted third-placed Leipzig three points clear of Stuttgart, who face Hamburg at home on Sunday.
The goal continued the 19-year-old's impressive debut Bundesliga season, extending his goal tally to 11 to go with seven assists.
Elsewhere, Wolfsburg lost 2-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt to slide closer to relegation.
Goals from Oscar Hojlund and Arnaud Kalimuendo left second-last Wolfsburg, who have won just once in 14 games in 2026, six points from safety with five matches remaining.
Last-placed Heidenheim kept their slim hopes of beating the drop alive with a 3-1 home win over Union Berlin. The victory, Heidenheim's first since early December, took them two points behind Wolfsburg and eight from fourth-bottom Cologne.
A. Martins--JDB
