Leverkusen jump to head of chasing pack
Sunday, January 23, 2011
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Borussia Dortmund's lead at the head of the Bundesliga standings is down to 11 points after Bayer 04 Leverkusen won 3-1 at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach to move into second.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen now lie second in the Bundesliga after winning 3-1 at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Long-time pacesetters Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with VfB Stuttgart on Saturday but were let off the hook by defeats for chasing duo Hannover 96 and 1. FSV Mainz 05. Those results gifted Leverkusen the chance to climb the standings and they duly capitalised, Michal Kadlec handing them a 37th-minute lead. Gonzalo Castro doubled their advantage just prior to half-time before adding a second 17 minutes from the end after Martin Stranzl (65) had halved the bottom-club's arrears.
Also in the relegation zone, six points off the foot of the table, are FC St Pauli following their 2-2 draw at eighth-placed TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Marvin Compper put the hosts in front (29) before Max Kruse levelled the score six minutes after the break. Gerald Asamoah (81) then looked to have given Holger Stanislawski's visitors all three points only for on-loan David Alaba to salvage a draw in the final minute.
