LEVERKUSEN: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich had to survive some relentless pressing from champions Bayer Leverkusen to escape with a 0-0 draw in their top-of-the-table clash on Saturday and maintain their eight-point advantage at the summit.

Leverkusen, in second place and desperate to cut Bayern’s lead, completely outplayed the visitors in the first half, with their high pressing game wreaking havoc in the Bayern defence.

Despite playing without a centre forward, having surprisingly left both Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick on the bench, Xabi Alonso’s team looked far sharper than Bayern.

They twice hit the woodwork through Jeremie Frimpong and Nathan Tella, with Florian Wirtz, who tried his luck from 50 metres out with a looping shot, orchestrating almost every attack that kept Bayern pinned in their own half.

It was the first time in the Bundesliga since 1992 when stat collection started, that Bayern were without a shot on goal for an entire first half.

It was much of the same after the break, with Leverkusen pressing high, coming close again with a Tella header in the 66th, and the Bavarians, who did not have a single effort towards goal for more than 70 minutes, working overtime in defence to keep the hosts at bay.

Bayern’s Manuel Neuer, making his 550th appearance for the club across all competitions, came to the rescue in stoppage time, blocking Amine Adli’s point-blank shot before Wirtz fired wide on the rebound.

The result lifted Bayern to 55 points. Leverkusen, whose coach Xabi Alonso is now unbeaten against Bayern in his first six matches against them, are in second place on 47.

Calling the draw “lucky”, Bayern captain Neuer said “we’re satisfied with the result, let’s say it like that.”

Xabi insisted the “season is not over yet”.

“We did everything, other than scoring a goal. For the table, it wasn’t enough.”

Earlier, Borussia Dortmund’s slide continued with a 2-0 loss at lowly Bochum.

The hosts, who started the game in last place, grabbed control in the first half when winter loan signing Georgios Masouras scored two goals in three minutes.

Masouras tapped in a low Philipp Hofmann shot from close range after 33 minutes and then pounced on a terrible back-pass from Niklas Sule to double the lead shortly after.

Dortmund have lost five of their past seven and sit 11th.

“We need to turn things around soon,” Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck said. “It’s becoming a horror season.”

Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart failed to take advantage of fourth-placed RB Leipzig’s scoreless draw at Augsburg, giving up a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 against VfL Wolfsburg.

Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade came off the bench to put the hosts ahead after 72 minutes with a superb solo goal, but Wolfsburg hit back five minutes later when Tiago Tomas tapped in a Mohamed Amoura assist. With five minutes remaining, Stuttgart’s Josha Vagnoman handled the ball in the box, bringing Amoura to the spot. The Algerian nervelessly converted to grab all three points and lift the visitors to eighth.

Elsewhere, Freiburg, fifth, overcame a poor first-half penalty miss from Vincenzo Grifo to win 1-0 at St Pauli thanks to an own goal from Philipp Treu with two minutes remaining.

Grifo tried a Panenka from the spot but his limp effort was easily saved. Freiburg have missed all four penalties they have been awarded this season in the league.

At Berlin, first half goals from Lukas Ullrich and Tim Kleindienst took Borussia Moenchengladbach to seventh with a 2-1 win at Union Berlin, who pulled one back from the spot in the second half through Andrej Ilic.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2025