Leverkusen and Bayern get wins ahead of their Bundesliga topper

DPA
·2 min read
Leverkusen's Nathan Tella celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's Nathan Tella celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen retained a two-point lead over Bayern Munich into their Bundesliga table topper next week, with Leverkusen winning 2-0 at bottom side Darmstadt and Bayern beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday.

Nathan Tella scored a 33rd and 52nd minute brace as Leverkusen regrouped well from a 0-0 draw against Gladbach eight days ago.

Gladbach led in Munich from Nico Elvedi in the 35th but the champions fought back from teenager Aleksandar Pavlovic in the 45th, league top scorer Harry Kane with his 24th goal in the 70th and Matthijs de Ligt in the 86th.

Leverkusen host Bayern next Saturday but they first face a German Cup quarter-final on Tuesday against VfB Stuttgart who in third won 3-1 at 10-man regional rivals Freiburg, with the help of goals from Deniz Undav and Chris Führich in the opening seven minutes.

Augsburg drew 1-1 at Bochum from Ermedin Demirovic's stoppage-time penalty, and Werder Bremen prevailed 1-0 at lowly Mainz from Marvin Duksch's second-minute winner.

Heidenheim held Borussia Dortmund 0-0 on Friday, Cologne play Eintracht Frankfurt later Saturday, and the Sunday fixtures are Wolfsburg v Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig v Union Berlin.

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's goalscorer Nathan Tella (R) celebrates with Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz after scoring their side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's goalscorer Nathan Tella (R) celebrates with Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz after scoring their side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's Nathan Tella (R) celebrates scoring his side's second goal with teammates during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's Nathan Tella (R) celebrates scoring his side's second goal with teammates during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Darmstadt's Filip Stojilkovic (L) and Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Darmstadt's Filip Stojilkovic (L) and Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Darmstadt's Emir Karic (L) and Leverkusen's Adam Hlozek battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Darmstadt's Emir Karic (L) and Leverkusen's Adam Hlozek battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka (R) and Borja Iglesias celebrate their first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka (R) and Borja Iglesias celebrate their first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Darmstadt 98 and Bayer Leverkusen at the Merck-Stadion am Boellenfalltor. Uwe Anspach/dpa