Unbeaten Leverkusen pulls off another escape; injuries hit Bayern, Dortmund before Champions League
BERLIN (AP) — Bayer Neverlosing.
Bayer Leverkusen escaped again with another stoppage-time goal to preserve its German record unbeaten season by drawing with Stuttgart 2-2 on Saturday.
Robert Andrich scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time for Leverkusen to stretch its record to 46 games unbeaten across all competitions.
It was the second consecutive game that Leverkusen, the Bundesliga champion, scored after the regular 90 minutes of play to keep its unbeaten streak. Josip Stanišić scored in the seventh minutes of stoppage time last weekend for a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund.
High-flying Stuttgart almost pulled it off after building a 2-0 lead.
Chris Führich scored two minutes after the break on a rebound from a difficult angle after Jamie Leweling’s shot was deflected onto the post by Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký.
Deniz Undav scored nine minutes later after muscling Robert Andrich off the ball.
But Amine Adli pulled one back six minutes after that with a precise shot inside the right post, and Andrich equalized by rifling the ball in through a host of players.
“Crazy, I've no words for it,” Hrádecký said.
KANE KEEPS SCORING
Harry Kane scored his 34th and 35th Bundesliga goals of the season for Bayern Munich to warm up for Real Madrid with a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
The win ensured Bayern qualified for next season’s Champions League but it arguably came at a price for this season’s competition, as Konrad Laimer and Matthijs de Ligt went off with injuries.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel was already thinking of Madrid’s visit for the first leg of their semifinal on Tuesday as he made a host of changes from the team that played Union Berlin last weekend. He again left out Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané. Both face a race against time to be fit for Tuesday.
Kane opened the scoring after a fine run from Laimer to set him up, then restored Bayern's lead from the penalty spot in the second half.
It was the England captain's 42nd goal across all competitions for Bayern this season – a personal record – and his 400th altogether for club and country.
DORTMUND DISAPPOINTS
Borussia Dortmund, which hosts Paris Saint-Germain in the other semifinal on Wednesday, suffered a demoralizing 4-1 loss at Leipzig, where veteran defender Mats Hummels went off injured.
Dortmund was hoping to reclaim fourth place from Leipzig but fell five points behind its rival which holds the last guaranteed qualifying place for the Champions League with three rounds remaining.
Dortmund is left to hope fifth place will suffice.
Wolfsburg came from behind to beat Freiburg 2-1 and Werder Bremen won at Augsburg 3-0.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press
