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Leverkusen slump again to leave Bayern 10 clear

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Champions Bayern Munich remain ten points clear in the Bundesliga after second-placed Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at strugglers Freiburg on Saturday -- their third-straight league loss.

Bayern extended their record unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 42 matches with a 2-0 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.

But Sami Hyypia-coached Leverkusen were stunned at Freiburg as the hosts twice came from behind before midfielder Felix Klaus hit the dramatic 90th-minute winner.

The result saw Freiburg climb out of the bottom three up to 14th as the hosts cancelled out goals by Bayer midfielders Lars Bender and Simon Rolfes.

Swiss forward Admir Mehmedi pulled one back for Freiburg with 27 minutes gone, then midfielder Jonathan Schmid blasted home a direct free-kick on 53 minutes to equalise before setting up Klaus' winner.

Leverkusen have now lost their last three games after finishing 2013 with league defeats to strugglers Frankfurt and Bremen.

Lars Bender (right) scores for Bayer 04 Leverkusen against  SC Freiburg in Freiburg  southwestern Ge...
Lars Bender (right) scores for Bayer 04 Leverkusen against SC Freiburg in Freiburg, southwestern Germany, on January 25, 2014
Thomas Kienzle, AFP

Bayern can extend their lead even further with a trip to VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday in a re-arranged fixture.

Borussia Dortmund clawed their way up to third place on goal difference over Moenchengladbach with a 2-2 draw at home to Augsburg with Germany midfielder Sven Bender netting for both sides.

The Dortmund midfielder gave the hosts the lead at Westfalenstadion after just six minutes, then turned the ball into his own net on 56 minutes for Augsburg's equaliser.

Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin looked to have spared Bender and Borussia's blushes with a brilliant free-kick to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.

But Augsburg drew level when South Korea's Ji Dong-Won headed home just two minutes after coming off the bench to leave the Bavarians ninth in the table.

Jurgen Klopp's Borussia picked up their first point in Dortmund after three consecutive home defeats, but have still taken just five points from their last seven league games.

Dortmund are now 14 points behind Bayern while fifth-placed VfL Wolfsburg also lost ground as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Hanover 96.

New coach Tayfun Korkut celebrated his first game in charge with Hanover's first away win of the season after eight straight defeats.

The result put a dampener on Kevin de Bruyne's debut after the Belgium midfielder became Wolfsburg's record signing last week when he moved from Chelsea.

Hanover took the lead through striker Artjoms Rudnevs, which was cancelled out by Croatia striker Ivica Olic's first half tap-in.

A pair of second-half goals by ex-Dortmund midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt sealed the welcome win for Hanover.

Nuremberg also celebrated a milestone result as they became the last team in a major European league to pick up their first win of the season.

Swiss striker Josip Drmic netted twice in their 4-0 win at home to Hoffenheim as Nuremberg remain second-from-bottom.

Mainz are up to eighth after a 2-1 win at Stuttgart as Japan striker Shinji Okazaki scored his scored for the guests on his first return to Stuttgart.

Champions Bayern Munich remain ten points clear in the Bundesliga after second-placed Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at strugglers Freiburg on Saturday — their third-straight league loss.

Bayern extended their record unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 42 matches with a 2-0 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.

But Sami Hyypia-coached Leverkusen were stunned at Freiburg as the hosts twice came from behind before midfielder Felix Klaus hit the dramatic 90th-minute winner.

The result saw Freiburg climb out of the bottom three up to 14th as the hosts cancelled out goals by Bayer midfielders Lars Bender and Simon Rolfes.

Swiss forward Admir Mehmedi pulled one back for Freiburg with 27 minutes gone, then midfielder Jonathan Schmid blasted home a direct free-kick on 53 minutes to equalise before setting up Klaus’ winner.

Leverkusen have now lost their last three games after finishing 2013 with league defeats to strugglers Frankfurt and Bremen.

Lars Bender (right) scores for Bayer 04 Leverkusen against  SC Freiburg in Freiburg  southwestern Ge...

Lars Bender (right) scores for Bayer 04 Leverkusen against SC Freiburg in Freiburg, southwestern Germany, on January 25, 2014
Thomas Kienzle, AFP

Bayern can extend their lead even further with a trip to VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday in a re-arranged fixture.

Borussia Dortmund clawed their way up to third place on goal difference over Moenchengladbach with a 2-2 draw at home to Augsburg with Germany midfielder Sven Bender netting for both sides.

The Dortmund midfielder gave the hosts the lead at Westfalenstadion after just six minutes, then turned the ball into his own net on 56 minutes for Augsburg’s equaliser.

Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin looked to have spared Bender and Borussia’s blushes with a brilliant free-kick to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.

But Augsburg drew level when South Korea’s Ji Dong-Won headed home just two minutes after coming off the bench to leave the Bavarians ninth in the table.

Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia picked up their first point in Dortmund after three consecutive home defeats, but have still taken just five points from their last seven league games.

Dortmund are now 14 points behind Bayern while fifth-placed VfL Wolfsburg also lost ground as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Hanover 96.

New coach Tayfun Korkut celebrated his first game in charge with Hanover’s first away win of the season after eight straight defeats.

The result put a dampener on Kevin de Bruyne’s debut after the Belgium midfielder became Wolfsburg’s record signing last week when he moved from Chelsea.

Hanover took the lead through striker Artjoms Rudnevs, which was cancelled out by Croatia striker Ivica Olic’s first half tap-in.

A pair of second-half goals by ex-Dortmund midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt sealed the welcome win for Hanover.

Nuremberg also celebrated a milestone result as they became the last team in a major European league to pick up their first win of the season.

Swiss striker Josip Drmic netted twice in their 4-0 win at home to Hoffenheim as Nuremberg remain second-from-bottom.

Mainz are up to eighth after a 2-1 win at Stuttgart as Japan striker Shinji Okazaki scored his scored for the guests on his first return to Stuttgart.

AFP
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