Wounded and weary, Bayer Leverkusen rise again at the death | Andy Brassell

Another late winner for Xabi Alonso’s side leaves them seven points clear of Bayern – the ‘Neverkusen’ tag is fading

It felt like one of those rare occasions when everyone let their hair down. Xabi Alonso, usually so poised, ran along the touchline and slipped, just about avoiding a crash to earth in the wild aftermath Bayer Leverkusen’s winner over RB Leipzig, as Piero Hincapié snuck in at the back post to covert another sublime set piece from the inevitable Álex Grimaldo.

Hopefully the coach had found more grip on his slippers by Sunday afternoon, when Leverkusen’s weekend had a coda they could not have dared to dream of. Werder Bremen, who had failed to beat Bayern Munich in 32 attempts in all competitions since September 2008 (managing just three draws in that time), won at Allianz Arena to allow Die Werkself a seven-point lead at the top. Continue reading...