Bayern sunk by late Leverkusen surge

BAYERN Munich’s title hopes suffered a major setback yesterday when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen to stay four points behind champions Borussia Dortmund.

Sunday, March 04, 2012

BAYERN Munich’s title hopes suffered a major setback yesterday when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen to stay four points behind champions Borussia Dortmund.Germany international Stefan Kiessling tapped the ball in 11 minutes from time after taking advantage of confusion in the Bayern box.Karim Bellarabi made it 2-0 in the 90th minute after the visitors had squandered a host of chances mainly through Dutch winger Arjen Robben.The result leaves Bayern in second place in the Bundesliga on 48 points while Leverkusen are fifth on 40. VfB Stuttgart won 4-0 at Hamburg SV with Zdravko Kuzmanovic converting two penalties.The hosts had striker Paolo Guerrero sent off for an ugly challenge on goalkeeper Sven Ulreich near the corner flag after 54 minutes.Hertha Berlin ended a six-game losing streak in the league with a 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen courtesy of Nikita Rukavytsya’s 63rd-minute effort, their first win under former Bremen coach Otto Rehhagel.Relegation-threatened Freiburg climbed off the bottom with a 2-1 win over Schalke 04 who lost ground in the title race and are fourth on 44 points.