Berlin (AFP) – RB Leipzig remain on track for a top-four finish in the Bundesliga after Matheus Cunha’s delightful chip sealed a 4-2 win over top half rivals Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Leipzig twice came from behind to claim a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions and further cement their claim for a Champions League place.
Kai Havertz gave Leverkusen the lead from 12 yards after Willi Orban tripped Kevin Volland in the box early on.
Leipzig replied almost immediately when Marcel Sabitzer curled in a free-kick from the edge of the box, but Havertz quickly restored the lead with a superb half-volley.
Leverkusen looked comfortable until Timo Werner suddenly smashed in Leipzig’s second just after the hour mark.
Emil Forsberg then put Leipzig in front from the penalty spot before Cunha secured the three points with a splendid lob seven minutes from time.
Leipzig are three points ahead of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who snatched a late 2-1 win at Schalke.
Ante Rebic rounded Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel on 13 minutes to put Frankfurt ahead, but Suat Serdar levelled the scores with his second goal in two games.
Yet Frankfurt were awarded an injury-time penalty by VAR and Luka Jovic fired in the winner.
Schalke remain five points clear of the bottom three after Nuremberg and Stuttgart shared the points in a relegation showdown.
Matheus Pereira’s opener for Nuremberg came against the run of play just before half-time. Stuttgart’s Ozcan Kabak then scored a controversial equaliser, given by VAR despite an apparent offside in the build-up.
The equaliser keeps Stuttgart four points ahead of Nuremberg in the relegation play-off place.
Relegation seems all but certain for Hanover, meanwhile, after they suffered a 3-1 defeat to local rivals Wolfsburg.
Hanover had an early penalty appeal turned down, but Henrik Weydandt broke free on the counter-attack to slide in the opener after half an hour.
Their lead lasted all of 100 seconds, a Renato Steffen header bringing Wolfsburg level.
Steffen scored again after half-time, and Jerome Roussillon added a third late on to seal the win and push Hanover further towards the drop.
Elsewhere, Benito Raman continued his excellent recent form with a brace for Fortuna Duesseldorf in their 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin.
Hertha’s Marko Grujic cancelled out Raman’s first-half opener, but the Belgian striker scored again after the break to secure three points and move Duesseldorf a step closer to safety.
