Bayer Leverkusen strike late to slash Bayern's Bundesliga lead

A second-half brace sealed the deal for the hosts, who are now flexing their muscles in the title race.

The match marked Leverkusen's fifth straight home win against Bochum, but it didn't come easy. After a sluggish opening, they grabbed the lead inside 20 minutes.

Exequiel Palacios teed up Aleix Garcia, who bent a beauty past Bochum keeper Timo Horn from just outside the box. "We started slow but found our rhythm," Garcia said after the game, reflecting on his opener.

Bochum, however, refused to roll over. A rare Granit Xhaka error gifted Georgios Masouras a chance, and though Lukas Hradecky denied the initial effort, Felix Passlack pounced with a stunning looping volley to level things up. "That goal was pure instinct," Passlack has said of his moment of magic.

Leverkusen struggled to respond before halftime, heading into the break all square.

Whatever Xabi Alonso told his squad at the interval worked wonders. Leverkusen came out firing, with Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick both going close early in the second half. Bochum countered briefly, forcing Hradecky into action, but the hosts soon regained control.

Garcia's free kick found Piero Hincapie, who nodded it back across goal for Boniface to tap in. Bochum kept battling, but Leverkusen's pace on the break kept them on edge.

Jeremie Frimpong nearly extended the lead, while Boniface saw a second goal chalked off for offside. The knockout blow arrived late when Palacios picked out substitute Amine Adli, who darted through and slotted home coolly. "That's the spark we needed," Adli said post-match.

With back-to-back wins now under their belt after a shaky run of three losses, Leverkusen are peaking at the perfect moment. No Bundesliga side has overturned a six-plus-point deficit this late in a season since Stuttgart in 2006/07, but Alonso's men look ready to defy history.

Meanwhile, Bochum, despite showing fight, remain in deep trouble as they scramble to avoid relegation after four years in the top flight.

Bayern will feel the pressure as this title chase heats up. 

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