Bayern fight back for home win, Leverkusen still first after 4-0 win

Berlin (dpa) – Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 at home but remained second in the Bundesliga standings as leaders Bayer Leverkusen knocked down Cologne away 4-0.

Maximilian Philipp gave Wolfsburg the early lead but Robert Lewandowski scored his 250th league goal right before the break. The striker drove the ball beyond keeper Koen Casteels to turn things around for Bayern on 50 minutes.

Leverkusen had a furious start at Cologne as Mitchell Weiser opened the scoring with eight minutes played and Moussa Diaby doubled their lead two minutes later. After the break Patrik Schick and Florian Wirtz completed the goal festival.

Elsewhere Yussuf Poulsen secured RB Leipzig the three points with a 1-0 win at Hoffenheim, while Augsburg clinched a late win at Arminia Bielefeld thanks to goal scorer Jeffrey Gouweleeuw.

Schalke’s winless run in the Bundesliga reached 28 games on Wednesday after they lost 2-0 at home to Freiburg. Roland Sallai scored both goals.

Wolfsburg took an early lead as Philipp volleyed the ball past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and were denied a second goal after Wout Weghorst’s effort was ruled offside.

Bayern were rescued by Lewandowski as the striker scored his 250th Bundesliga goal. Only Gerd Mueller (365) and Klaus Fischer (268) have scored more.

The Pole levelled up by heading in a cross from Kingsley Coman right before the break and beautifully dribbled past the opponent to fire into the goal for the second time after a long pass by Jerome Boateng found him in the area.

On Thursday Lewandowski could win ruling body FIFA’s award of best player but he needs to beat superstars Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus and Lionel Messi of Barcelona.

“I must honestly say I haven’t thought a lot about it. I was focused on the game and have no pressure,” he told Sky.

Against any other goalkeeper Wolfsburg could have equalized the score but Neuer made two superb saves to stop the hosts from clinching a late point.

“We won, that’s the most important thing. We fought our way back into the game after going 0-1 behind. We struggled, but we really wanted the win and that’s a good sign, so I’m satisfied,” coach Hansi Flick said.

Bayern, however, are still second in the Bundesliga table, one point behind leaders Leverkusen, who didn’t have any trouble to score four goals at Cologne.

Weiser hit a massive volley into the right corner and was followed by Diaby as Leverkusen led the score 2-0 before half-time.

On 54 minutes a wrong pass by Cologne led to a counter-attack by Leverkusen. Diaby found Schick and the striker shot into the right corner. Wirtz, a former Cologne player, scored the fourth goal.

“We’re on a run and we want to continue it on Saturday,” Weiser said about the upcoming home game against Bayern. “If we’re already up there and have a duel like this one we want the three points.”

The same brightness was not seen at Hoffenheim as Leipzig clinched three points thanks to a goal by Yussuf Poulsen. But the result was enough to keep Julian Nagelsmann side only one point off leaders Leverkusen.

Schalke are now three winless matches away from Tasmania Berlin’s all-time record from 1965-66 of 31 league fixtures without a victory. The club remained bottom of the table, while Freiburg moved up to 10th.

“We must do more on the pitch, we want to get out of this situation,” Schalke defender Benjamin Stambouli told TV broadcaster Sky. “Football can be difficult some times but we must keep our heads up.”

Promoted side Bielefeld remained in the relegation zone after a late 1-0 home defeat to Augsburg. A Gouweleeuw goal on 85 minutes awarded the guests with a win.

“It’s so frustrating. We didn’t deserve to leave the pitch as losers,” Bielefeld striker Fabian Klos said.