Bayer Leverkusen stun Bayern Munich to take charge of Bundesliga title race

Meanwhile Jude Bellingham scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season as Real thrashed Girona 4-0

Pa Sport Staff
Saturday 10 February 2024 17:47 EST
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Bayer Leverkusen underlined their title credentials with a 3-0 win over Bayern Munich (Martin Meissner/AP)
Bayer Leverkusen underlined their title credentials with a 3-0 win over Bayern Munich (Martin Meissner/AP) (AP)

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Bayer Leverkusen celebrated carnival weekend in the Rhineland with a superb 3-0 win over Bayern Munich which sent them five points clear of their opponents at the top of the Bundesliga.

Josip Stanisic, the man on loan from Bayern, opened the scoring against a static defence in the 18th minute before Alex Grimaldo doubled the lead five minutes into the second half.

An exclamation point was added in stoppage time when Manuel Neuer came up for a corner and missed the ball, with Jeremie Frimpong firing into an empty net.

RB Leipzig sit three points outside the top four after being held to a 2-2 draw away to Augsburg.

Phillip Tietz fired Augsburg into a 35th-minute lead but Lois Openda quickly equalised. Benjamin Sesko put Leipzig in front seven minutes into the second half, but Ermedin Demirovic levelled on the hour as the sides shared the points.

Eintracht Frankfurt could not close the gap however, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Bochum.

Omar Marmoush put Eintracht in front after 14 minutes, but Moritz Broschinski levelled three minutes later and that is how it stayed.

Union Berlin edged away from trouble as Danilho Doekhi’s goal on the stroke of half-time was enough for a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Goals from Lennard Maloney and Jan-Niklas Beste earned Heidenheim a 2-1 win away to Werder Bremen, who got on the scoresheet through Romano Schmid, with all three goals coming in the space of six minutes.

Borussia Monchengladbach and Darmstadt played out a goalless draw.

Jude Bellingham scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season as Real Madrid thrashed Girona 4-0 to go five points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Both of Bellingham’s goals were set up by Vinicius, who opened the scoring before Rodrygo got the fourth, with Joselu missing a late penalty as Girona suffered only their second league defeat of the season.

Ante Budimir’s 49th-minute goal saw Osasuna win 1-0 at Real Sociedad, while Jorge Cuenca cancelled out Samu’s strike as Alaves and Villarreal drew 1-1.

Late, late goals saw Las Palmas beat Valencia 2-0 and move above them in the table. Alex Suarez broke the deadlock in the 89th minute and Marc Cardona added a second in the fifth minute of time added on.

Serie A leaders Inter Milan came from behind in the second half to beat Roma 4-2, moving seven points clear at the top.

Francesco Acerbi had headed Inter in front after 17 minutes, but Gianluca Mancini levelled before Stephan El Shaarawy put Roma in front a minute before the break.

Marcus Thuram levelled four minutes into the second half and Inter were back in front when Angelino put through his own net in the 56th minute, with Alessandro Bastoni’s stoppage-time goal making sure.

Roma sit just one point above neighbours Lazio after their 3-1 win away to Cagliari.

They led through Alessandro Deoila’s 26th-minute own goal, with Ciro Immobile doubling the lead early in the second half. Moments later Gianluca Gaetano pulled one back but Felipe Anderson’s 65th-minute goal calmed Lazio nerves.

Sassuolo edged away from the relegation zone with a point from a 1-1 draw with Torino, as Andrea Pinamonti’s early goal was quickly cancelled out by Duvan Zapata.

Paris St Germain moved 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, beating Lille 3-1 with Kylian Mbappe kept in reserve.

Yusuf Yazici gave the visitors an early lead, but Goncalo Ramos levelled before Alexsandro, at fault for PSG’s opener, made it worse by slicing into his own net. Randal Kolo Muani then made sure of the win, with Mbappe rested ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match against Real Sociedad.

Lens strengthened their grip on sixth place with a 3-1 win over Strasbourg. Goals from Elye Wahi and David Costa put them in control half an hour in, and although Thomas Delaine pulled one back before the half, Florian Sotoca had the final word.

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