Leverkusen Edges Closer To Dortmund In Bundesliga Standings

German premier league club Borussia Dortmund may lead the Bundesliga standings with 66 points, but second place club Bayer Leverkusen on 61 points reduced the gap by three points when they beat FC St. Pauli 2-1 on Sunday.

Because Borussia Dortmund tied 1-1 with their opponents Hamburger SV on Saturday, their point tally remained the same, but the victory of their nearest Bundesliga rivals means they are now only five points clear in the lead, with five games to play.

In Sunday's game, Bayer Leverkusen hosted St Pauli, a team facing certain relegation if their don't win their remaining games of the season. But despite their lowly position in the Bundesliga standings, they fended off the home side during the first half.

From kick-off, neither team managed to capitalise on their respective chances, and when the half-time whistle blew, both teams trudged off the pitch, no doubt to reassess their strategies. And it was the visitors who drew first blood in the second half.

To the dismay of the predominantly home fans, St. Pauli midfielder Charles Takyi successfully took possession of teammate Florian Bruns' superb pass, and sent it into the corner of the net to give St Pauli the 1-0 lead and well-deserved confidence.

However, Bayer Leverkusen were not about to let themselves get beaten by a team facing relegation, and started upping their game, which finally paid off in the 66th minute when Bayer striker Stefan Kießling capped off some excellent team work.

Tied at 1-1, both teams had everything to play for, but Bayer Leverkusen proved too dominant for their rivals, and in the 77th minute midfielder Lars Bender scored his side's match-winning goal, with an effort that seemed to just trickle over the line.

Here are the complete Bundesliga results from the weekend: