Leverkusen, Dortmund lose in Bundesliga

Last Updated: Sunday, December 22, 2013, 15:39

  

Berlin: Santiago Garcia`s winner inflicted second straight loss on Leverkusen while Berlin came from behind to surprise Dortmund 2-1 thanks to Sami Allagui in the Bundesliga.

Because of their defeats Saturday, second placed Leverkusen and third positioned Dortmund lost ground to league leaders Bayern Munich, reports Xinhua.

Runner-up Leverkusen closed the year with a setback as Werder Bremen clinched an unexpected 1-0 win owing to the winner by Garcia. It is the second 0-1 loss in row for the "Werkself", leaving them seven points adrift of front-runners Bayern.

Leverkusen dominated the match for most of the time as Bremen defended deep to keep the visitors at distance. However, Sami Hyypiae`s side were unable to turn their dominance into a tangible reward.

Bremen defender Garcia finished a fast break to beat Leverkusen goalie Bernd Leno from seven metres into the bottom left to snatch three points and the fifth win of the season in the 74th minute. Bremen`s surprising win lifted the Green-Whites from 14th to 11th position in the table.

Berlin`s Adrian Ramos and Sami Allagui flabbergasted Borussia Dortmund with a comeback victory to dampen the "BVB`s" title hopes owing to a 12-point gap to Bayern. Berlin secured their third consecutive win to tighten their European ambitions in top six.

Things looked pretty good for Juergen Klopp`s men as Marco Reus ensured a bright start with his early opener in the seventh minute. Sebastian Kehl initiated the goal with his pass in to the path of Reus, who overcame onrushing Berlin custodian Thomas Kraft from a narrow angle.

Berlin remained unfazed and braved Dortmund`s pressure as Allagui`s low cross into the box found Ramos, who marked his 11th goal of the season in the 23rd minute.

Dortmund tried to turn the tides but Allagui capitalised on an error by Marian Sarr, giving his side the 2-1 lead. Berlin never gave away the lead as Dortmund accepted the fourth loss of the season.

Elsewhere, Shinjin Okazakis decider secured Mainz` 3-2 victory over Hamburg. Admir Mehmedi`s brace wrapped up Freiburg`s 2-1 win against Hannover. Hoffenheim lost 0-1 to bottom team and newly promoted Braunschweig thanks to Torsten Oehrl converted foul play penalty and Schalke shared points with winless Nuremberg following a goalless draw.

IANS ------------------- ZEENEWS.com