BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen were held to a goalless draw at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday as their lead over Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga was cut to two points.
Xabi Alonso’s side had started the day four points clear but after Bayern’s 3-2 victory over Augsburg earlier in the afternoon, the pressure was on Leverkusen, the only unbeaten team in Germany’s top-flight.
The hosts dominated with 75 percent of the ball but couldn’t make the breakthrough.
The game’s biggest chances fell to Jeremie Frimpong, but the Dutchman was wasteful as Leverkusen struggled without their injured talisman Victor Boniface, whose 10 goals in 16 league games have spearheaded Leverkusen’s title charge.
Leverkusen will host Bayern in a crunch clash on February 10.
Leverkusen coach Alonso, who has led the club into a title race they hadn’t expected at the start of the season, has been strongly linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool coach, following the German’s shock decision to leave at the end of the season.
Alonso, a Champions League winner as a player with Liverpool in 2005, was asked again about Klopp’s decision ahead of Saturday’s game.
“It’s a shock and a pity. But I’m concentrating on my team, I’m happy to be here,” he told Sky Sports Germany.
Bayern Munich had closed the gap on Alonso’s side after Augsburg had endured hit and miss late penalty drama.
Bayern had come into the game having got back on track in midweek with a 1-0 win over Union Berlin after a shock 1-0 home defeat by Werder Bremen last weekend.
With Dayot Upamecano limping off with a hamstring problem against Union, and joining Bayern’s growing injury list, Eric Dier made his first start as Alphonso Davies also returned to the starting line-up after being dropped in midweek.
But it was another player drafted into Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI who got things rolling for Bayern.
Making just his fourth start in the league, 19-year-old German midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, deputising for the injured Joshua Kimmich, steered the ball in from close range after 23 minutes when Augsburg failed to clear a corner.
Davies let fly from distance deep into first half stoppage time to give Bayern a two-goal cushion.
Ermedin Demirovic’s glancing header early in the second half lifted the mood of the home fans, until Harry Kane tapped in Leon Goretzka’s cross just before the hour mark to give Bayern breathing space.
A clumsy foul by Manuel Neuer saw Augsburg awarded an 88th minute penalty, but the Bayern goalkeeper atoned with a fine save from Sven Michel’s spot-kick.
Augsburg won another penalty, in stoppage time, after a trip by substitute Thomas Mueller.
This time Neuer could do nothing about Demirovic’s powerful penalty, but it was too little too late for Augsburg.
Bayern turn up the heat on Leverkusen but yet another injury, this time to French winger Kingsley Coman, soured a priceless victory for Tuchel.
In another key game at the top, Deniz Undav scored a hat-trick as Stuttgart thrashed RB Leipzig 5-2 to keep alive their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Borussia Dortmund will have the chance to leapfrog Leipzig and enter the top four with victory over Bochum on Sunday.
Leverkusen stalemate as Bayern cut gap in Bundesliga title race
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Leverkusen stalemate as Bayern cut gap in Bundesliga title race
- Xabi Alonso’s side had started the day four points clear
- After Bayern’s 3-2 victory over Augsburg earlier in the afternoon, the pressure was on Leverkusen
Arsenal put away Chelsea to reach League Cup final
- Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium
- In their first final for six years, Arsenal will face Manchester City or Newcastle at Wembley on March 22
LONDON: Arsenal reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semifinal second leg on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium.
It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semifinals in the 2025 Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 Europa League.
In their first final for six years, Arsenal will face Manchester City or Newcastle at Wembley on March 22.
City hold a 2-0 lead over Newcastle ahead of Wednesday’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal haven’t won the League Cup since 1993, losing in their last three final appearances.
Now they have the chance to end that drought by winning the club’s first trophy since the 2020 FA Cup.
That remains the sole silverware won by Arteta since he was hired in December 2019.
“We knew it was going to be a real battle out there. That resilience, that clarity to understand what kind of game we had to play, we did so well,” Arteta said.
“There was a special atmosphere inside our stadium. It makes such a difference. We’ve been waiting a few years to get into this position and we’re certainly going to enjoy it.”
It is shaping up to be a memorable season for Arsenal, who are six points clear at the top of the Premier League and reached the Champions League last 16 by winning all eight of their group matches.
Despite their success, Arsenal have attracted criticism for their reliance on goals from corners and set-pieces.
Arteta launched a passionate defense of Arsenal’s style of play this week, revealing he has a “massive book of people” who feel his side are the “most exciting in Europe.”
Tuesday’s war of attrition will hardly silence Arsenal’s critics, but Arteta won’t care about that after leading his team to Wembley.
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior had won six of his seven matches in all competitions since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca.
But Rosenior was unable to solve his Arsenal conundrum, with the Gunners handing him the only two defeats of his brief reign.
“Arsenal know they were in a game, over both ties. We dominated the areas we wanted to in the second half, but we didn’t find that quality moment,” Rosenior said.
“It’s painful to lose. We just need to keep making improvements, which I’m seeing from the first leg to the second.”
Knockout blow
Without captain Martin Odegaard, sidelined by a muscle problem, and winger Bukayo Saka, who was injured in the pre-match warm-up at Leeds on Saturday, Arsenal weren’t at their best but still ground out the win.
Rosenior’s switch to a three-man central defense allowed Chelsea to stifle Arsenal in a scrappy first half.
The Gunners briefly shook off their shackles as Piero Hincapie’s curler from just inside the area was palmed away by Robert Sanchez.
It rained so heavily in the first half that Rosenior had to take off his soaked glasses to see what was happening.
Squinting through the squall offered Rosenior an alarming view as Malo Gusto’s misjudgment let in Gabriel Martinelli before the Chelsea defender scrambled back to block the shot.
It took 43 minutes for Chelsea to muster a shot on target when Enzo Fernandez’s long-range blast was punched clear by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea needed to push for a goal and Rosenior sent on Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian after an hour, ditching his back three.
Estevao immediately set up Fernandez for a curler that flashed over, but Chelsea’s threat petered out.
Havertz delivered the knockout blow in the final seconds of stoppage-time, rounding Sanchez to slot into the empty net after Chelsea were caught on the counter.
