Ten-man Borussia Mönchengladbach held on to secure a 3-1 over RB Leipzig, denting the visitors’ Champions League hopes in the process. The Roten Bullen sit in 5th place in the Bundesliga with two games left, one point adrift of the top four. Gladbach started the brighter of the two sides, with Leipzig showing some signs of a European hangover from their win over Rangers on Thursday night. This early eagerness led to the hosts scoring after 17 minutes. Lars Stindl received the ball outside the box and, just before he was tackled, he poked a ball through to Breel Embolo, who beat Peter Gulácsi to make it 1-0.The visitors leveled things up after 35 minutes, against the run of play, as André Silva lobbed a perfect ball over the top for Christopher Nkunku, who rifled the ball past Yann Sommer. Leipzig suffered another setback on the stroke of halftime, when Jonas Hofmann timed his run perfectly to meet Embolo’s pass. With all the time in the world, the midfielder calmly stroked the ball past Gulácsi.The second half started with the same physicality as the first, with neither side allowing each other a moment to breathe. For Leipzig, there was a growing sense of urgency, with control of their European fate slowly slipping away. Silva thought he had found the equalizer when he connected with a cross at the back post, but Sommer got his hands up quickly to flick the ball onto the bar. The hosts’ task of defending their slender advantage was made harder when Nico Elvedi was sent off, bringing down Nkunku as the last man on the edge of the area. In their attempts to equalise, Leipzig were caught out at the back, with Hoffman scoring his second of the night. The German was picked out in the box and fired the ball across the face of goal and found the bottom left corner.The result means very little for the home side, although they do jump up to the tenth place, while Domenico Tedesco’s Leipzig will now have to rely on Freiburg dropping points in their final two games to secure Champions League football. Therefore, their Europa League semi-final second leg in three days could be even more crucial as they aim to book a place in Europe’s premier club competition.Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen took a huge step towards qualification for the Champions League after a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Oliver Glasner’s men are now winless in their last five league games, as their European exploits take a toll on their Bundesliga form.In 73 previous meetings in the Bundesliga, there had never been a goalless draw in this fixture. After a cagey opening, the fans in the BayArena may have feared that streak would end, but a fearsome counter-attack from Die Werkself ended any worries. Patrik Schick showed his incredible quality with a glorious flick to set Moussa Diaby away down the right, before the Frenchman produced a sublime outside-of-the-foot ball to find Paulinho. The Brazilian’s finish was not the sweetest of strikes, but Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin failed to Trapp the ball between his legs.Gerardo Seoane’s men pushed for a second, something they’ve managed in seven of their previous 10 games on home soil. Schick thought he’d continued that trend, only for his strike to be ruled out for offside. Moments later, Robert Andrich spurned a huge chance to double the lead, skewing his shot wide after another quick break.Schick, the hosts’ talisman, would not be denied a second time soon after the interval as he doubled Leverkusen’s lead. Diaby slotted the Czech international in, and he finished with aplomb, netting for the 22nd time this Bundesliga season. Two assists on the night for Diaby saw him join Nkunku as the only players to reach double figures for goals scored and created this term.With the Eagles focused on their Europa League semi-final clash with West Ham in midweek, Leverkusen had few troubles in seeing out yet another victory on home soil. The BayArena is proving a fortress, with Seoane’s side losing just two of their last 11 clashes there, scoring two or more on eight occasions. Defeat for RB Leipzig elsewhere opened up a four-point gap for Leverkusen to the chasing pack, with just two games to go in an enthralling Bundesliga season.BUNDESLIGAFridayUnion Berlin – Greuter Furth 1-1 (0-1)/Michel 72 – Hrgota 33/SaturdayAugsburg – Koln 1-4 (0-2)/Niederlechner 73 – Thielmann 12, Uth 15, Modeste 63 pen, 77/Mainz – Bayern 3-1 (2-1)/Burkardt 18, Niakhate 27, Barreiro 57 – Lewandowski 33/Bielefeld – Hertha 1-1 (0-0)/Nilsson 90+1 – Tousart 55/Dortmund – Bochum 3-4 (2-2)/Haaland 18 pen, 30 pen, 62 – Polter 3, Holtmann 8, Locadia 81, Pantovic 85/Stuttgart – Wolfsburg 1-1 (0-1)/Fuhrich 89 – Brooks 13/Hoffenheim – Freiburg 3-4 (1-1)/Kramaric 32, Stiller 49, Rudy 84 – Sallai 23, Gunter 50, Holer 70, Jeong 73/MondayLeverkusen – Eintr.Frankfurt 2-0 (1-0)/Paulinho 18, Schick 51/M’gladbach – RB Leipzig 3-1 (2-1)/Embolo 17, Hofmann 45+2, 77 – Nkunku 36/***odds are subject to change
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