Florian Wirtz scored twice as Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday to stay four points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Bayern had gone seven clear with a 3-2 win over Wolfsburg earlier on in the day, throwing down the gauntlet but Leverkusen were dominant and controlled, notching their 11th straight win in all competitions.
“We’re right in the middle of a title fight again — you can dream a little bit,” Wirtz told Sky Germany.
With 32 minutes gone, Leverkusen enforcer Granit Xhaka won the ball in midfield and fed Wirtz, who beat a defender and slotted calmly home.
When Leverkusen won a penalty for handball midway through the second half, the 21-year-old Wirtz stepped up and converted.
Patrik Schick latched onto a Wirtz pass to score Leverkusen’s third, his 12th goal in his past eight league games.
“I love playing against Gladbach,” said Wirtz who also scored a brace against Gladbach in August.
He now has nine goals and eight assists in 18 league games this season.
Gladbach’s Tim Kliendienst scored a consolation goal in stoppage time.
Having broken Bayern’s 11-year title streak last campaign, Leverkusen eliminated the Bavarians from the German Cup this season. The two sides meet in Leverkusen in mid-February.
The only negative for Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, who travel to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League midweek, was the loss of Martin Terrier, who was taken from the field with what looked like a serious ankle injury.
Earlier on Saturday, Leon Goretzka scored twice in Bayern’s home win over Wolfsburg.
Goretzka, who has been revived under Bayern coach Vincent Kompany this season, cut a superb low shot across the goal to open the scoring 20 minutes in.
Wolfsburg hit back against the run of play with a simple Mohammed Amoura goal shortly afterwards.
The Bavarian giants wrestled back control of the game before half-time as Michael Olise, in the starting XI ahead of the recovering Jamal Musiala, finished off a fluent team move.
Goretzka then added his second on the 62-minute mark, heading in an Olise free-kick.
Amoura scored with two minutes left to give Wolfsburg hope, but the visitors were unable to break through and remain winless in 32 games against Bayern in Munich, 30 of which have been defeats.
“Leon worked hard and showed us in training that he’s hungry,” Kompany said. “That he’s playing well is a good story not just for Leon but for the team and the younger guys, who might be going through a difficult phase.”
‘Question of attitude’
RB Leipzig let a three-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 away at lowly Bochum, with the hosts’ Myron Boadu scoring a hat-trick in 13 second-half minutes.
Leipzig were without suspended forwards Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda, but had no trouble scoring early, with Willi Orban, Antonio Nusa and Christoph Baumgartner putting the visitors 3-0 up after just 21 minutes.
Rock-bottom Bochum were on the ropes but Dutch striker Boadu took control, scoring two goals from open play before converting a 61st-minute penalty to level things up.
“It’s not a question of structure — it’s a question of professionalism and of attitude,” a frustrated Leipzig coach Marco Rose told Sky Germany.
Stuttgart took advantage of Leipzig’s slip, thumping derby rivals Freiburg 4-0 to leapfrog the Saxons into fourth.
Anthony Rouault and Ermedin Demirovic both headed in from Angelo Stiller corners to put the hosts two goals up inside 17 minutes.
Nick Woltemade converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time and Germany striker Deniz Undav scored with 10 minutes remaining as Stuttgart won their third straight game.
Hoffenheim hit back from Wednesday’s 5-0 thrashing at Bayern, winning 3-1 at Holstein Kiel to go three points clear of the relegation spots.
St Pauli also went three points clear of the relegation placings with a 2-0 win at Heidenheim.
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