LEVERKUSEN: Bayer Leverkusen battled past strugglers VfL Bochum 3-1 thanks to two second-half goals on Friday to cut the gap with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to three points.

Goals from Victor Boniface on the hour and Amine Adli in the 87th minute sealed the win and lifted the second-placed reigning champions, who face third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, to 59 points with seven games left.

Bayern, on 62 points, have a game in hand. Bochum are 16th and in the relegation playoff spot.

“It was really a tough game despite this result,” Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso told a press conference. “Bochum were disciplined, well-organised. It may not have been a super-spectacular performance but we remained patient, stayed calm and if we do that we will get a chance for the next seven games. We will try to win them and see what happens.”

With creative spark Florian Wirtz still injured, Alonso opted to start strikers Boniface and Patrik Schick alongside each other for the first time this season.

Despite the dual attacking threats up front, it was the diminutive Aleix Garcia opened the scoring with 20 minutes gone. The Spaniard collected an Exequiel Palacios pass on the edge of the box and unleashed a perfect strike into the near corner.

Bochum, who have beaten Bayern and Borussia Dortmund in the league in the past few weeks, bounced back six minutes later with Felix Passlack firing in on the rebound after a save by Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky.

Leverkusen’s nerves seemed to build as the game went on until Nigeria international Boniface was left unmarked at the far post and pushed the ball over the line with his knee for his eighth league goal of the season on the 60-minute mark.

Jeremie Frimpong came close to putting Leverkusen further ahead but narrowly missed the target after a textbook counter-attack in the 78th before Boniface had the ball in the net two minutes later only to be ruled offside.

Adli eventually made sure of the three points with a fine finish from an Exequiel Palacios assist before Granit Xhaka rattled both posts with a stoppage-time shot to cap an entertaining evening for the home fans.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2025