Bayer Leverkusen Overcome Bochum to Narrow Gap to Bayern at the Top of the League

Bayer Leverkusen intensified the pressure on Bundesliga frontrunners Bayern Munich by securing a 3-1 victory over VfL Bochum, effectively reducing the gap at the top to three points ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

While Leverkusen might reflect on their missed opportunity to capitalise on Bochum’s astounding 3-2 victory against Bayern a few weeks ago, they were aware that a win in this match could instil doubt in their title rivals by claiming their fifth consecutive home victory over Bochum.

After a sluggish beginning, Leverkusen picked up the pace and took the lead within the first 20 minutes, with Exequiel Palacios setting up Aleix Garcia, who skillfully curled a shot into Timo Horn’s near post from the edge of the box.

Despite appearing solid, the home side wasn’t exempt from blunders—or moments of individual brilliance.

Granit Xhaka inadvertently directed a header through to Georgios Masouras, and although Lukas Hradecky made an excellent first save, he was unable to prevent Felix Passlack from scoring with a stunning looping volley from the rebound.

Leverkusen struggled to respond leading up to half-time, heading into the break fairly level with their opponents.

During the interval, Xabi Alonso injected fresh energy into his team, with both Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick coming close to scoring within minutes of the restart.

Even though Matus Bero threatened with a long-range effort that required a save from Hradecky shortly after, it wasn’t long before Leverkusen regained the lead. Garcia’s free kick found Piero Hincapie, who directed it back across goal for Boniface to finish with a simple tap-in.

Bochum refused to back down but were consistently reminded of Leverkusen’s counter-attacking prowess as Jeremie Frimpong went close before Boniface had a goal ruled out for offside.

Leverkusen finally found some breathing space in the dying minutes when Palacios picked out substitute Amine Adli, who made a superb run before slotting the ball under Horn.

 Having now secured back-to-back wins following three consecutive defeats in competitive fixtures, Leverkusen appears to be finding their rhythm at a critical time as they aim to become the first Bundesliga club to overcome a six-point deficit at the top after 26 matches since Stuttgart managed it in the 2006/07 season.

Despite a recent upturn in their fortunes, Bochum face a significant challenge if they hope to avoid relegation back to the second division after four seasons in the top flight.

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