Bayer Leverkusen returns top of the Bundesliga with 4-0 rout of Union Berlin
BERLIN (AP) — Spanish defender Álex Grimaldo scored again and set up another goal Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen returned to the top of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 rout of Union Berlin.
Grimaldo, who joined Leverkusen in the offseason from Benfica, took his league tally to six goals by scoring for the second consecutive game.
The 28-year-old Grimaldo capitalized on some lackluster defending from Union when he was set up by Florian Wirtz to open the scoring in the 23rd minute.
Leverkusen missed further good chances to build on its lead until Odilon Kossounou headed in a corner from Jonas Hofmann in the 56th.
Union defender Jérôme Roussillon prevented worse when he made a goal-line clearance a minute later, but Grimaldo sent in another corner for Jonathan Tah to seal the result in the 73rd.
There was still time for Nathan Tella to score his first Bundesliga goal with a fine finish on a counterattack that started with a free kick from the visitors in the 83rd.
Leverkusen moved back to two points clear of Bayern Munich, which had moved provisionally top Saturday with a 4-2 win over Heidenheim.
Union, which snapped a 12-game losing run across all competitions with a 1-1 draw at Napoli in the Champions League on Thursday, couldn’t prevent its ninth consecutive Bundesliga defeat.
When Leverkusen hosted Union in the 13th round of the Bundesliga last season, Union was top going into the game and Leverkusen was in the relegation zone. Now it’s other way around.
Werder Bremen was hosting Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburg was visiting Leipzig later.
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