Bayer Leverkusen sent top of the Bundesliga after Bailey double

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:11 am

Jamaica international Leon Bailey scored twice to steer unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen to a 4-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Sunday and take over the lead in the Bundesliga for the first time in six years.

Bailey first struck after four minutes, thundering in a shot from outside the box and from a tight angle past keeper Oliver Baumann.

Bayer Leverkusen forward Leon Bailey celebrates after scoring a brace against Hoffenheim.
Photo by Mika Volkmann/Getty Images

The 23-year-old winger then intercepted an inexplicable 30-metre back pass from Andrej Kramaric to beat the keeper again.

Leverkusen, who were missing half a dozen players to injury and COVID-19, were caught napping when Christoph Baumgartner was left unmarked to charged forward and curl in a shot to cut the deficit in the 50th.

Leverkusen's 17-year-old Florian Wirtz, however, restored their two-goal lead five minutes later with a solo effort before Hoffenheim's Florian Grillitsch was sent off with a second booking in the 65th.

A stoppage-time penalty from Lucas Alario sealed their seventh win in the last eight games, and they leapfrogged Bayern Munich into first place on 25 points.

"This is certainly worth something," said midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger. "We all know how difficult it is in this league with so many tough teams to be at the top."

"It is a very positive snapshot of the moment, but we still need to value it."

A stoppage time penalty from Lucas Alario sealed their seventh win in the last eight games, and they leapfrogged Bayern Munich into first place on 25 points.

Bayern, who stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin on Saturday are one point behind, level with RB Leipzig, winners 2-0 over Werder Bremen on Saturday.