LEVERKUSEN: Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen scored a 79th minute equaliser through Victor Boniface to snatch a 1-1 draw against visitors Borussia Dortmund on Sunday but saw their eight-game winning run in the league come to an end.

Undefeated Leverkusen, who had won their previous 14 matches in all competitions, remain top with 35 points.

Second-placed Bayern Munich, on 32, were not in action this weekend after heavy snowfall in the Bavarian capital forced the postponement of Sunday’s match against Union Berlin.

Dortmund, who are in fifth place 10 points off the pace, took a fifth minute lead with Julian Ryerson’s third goal of the season as the Norwegian finished off a fine passing move and the visitors looked set to be the first side this season to beat Leverkusen in any competition.

With the clock running down, Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso brought Patrik Schick from the bench and the move paid immediate dividends, with the Czech attacker finding Boniface for the equaliser.

Also on Sunday, a second-half goal from Austria striker Michael Gregoritsch took Freiburg to a narrow 1-0 win at struggling Mainz 05.

The win, Freiburg’s first in the league since October, sends the Europa League participants into eighth place while Mainz remain mired in the relegation zone.

In Sunday’s final game, Augsburg defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at home in freezing conditions in northern Bavaria, where the mercury was -8 at kickoff.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023