Havertz doubles his doubles tally for Leverkusen
Kai Havertz bagged a brace for the second time in six days as Bayer Leverkusen yesterday leapfrogged Borussia Monchengladbach into third in the Bundesliga, with a 3-1 win in front of a stadium full of cardboard cutout fans. Havertz has been linked with a summer switch to Chelsea and the German forward keeps putting himself in the shop window, following up his double at Werder Bremen last Monday with another two goals. Borussia-park was packed with thousands of cardboard cutouts of fans to make up for an otherwise empty stadium, while there were also banners protesting against ghost games.
The 20-year-old provided the finishing touch to give the visitors a seventh-minute lead, slotting underneath Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer first time after being played through by Karim Bellarabi. Marcus Thuram equalised seven minutes after half-time but parity would not last for long as Havertz scored from the penalty spot just before the hour after Nico Elvedi fouled Bellarabi in the area.
Sven Bender made sure of the win nine minutes from time when he headed home Kerem Demirbay’s free-kick.
Leverkusen stayed within four points of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who overcame Wolfsburg 2-0 thanks to goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi.
Werder Bremen boosted their survival hopes with a first win in eight matches, with Leonardo Bittencourt’s 19th-minute goal helping them claim a 1-0 win at Freiburg. Manuel Gulde looked to have levelled in the closing stages, shortly after Philipp Bargfrede had been sent off for two bookable offences, but the effort was chalked off for offside.
Paderborn remain rooted to the foot of the table after a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim in a game where both goals were scored in the first nine minutes. Robert Skov put Hoffenheim ahead in the fourth minute but Dennis Srbeny levelled soon after.
Bayern Munich maintained their fourpoint lead at the top as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2 at the Allianz Arena. Goals from Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandwski, Alphonso Davies and an own goal from Eintracht’s double-scoring Martin Hinteregger secured victory.
Spain’s Laliga has been given the go-ahead to restart from June 8, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in an address to the nation.
The Spanish top-flight was suspended on March 12 because of coronavirus but the league stepped up its preparations for a resumption as group training of up to 10 players was allowed at the start of last week.
There are 11 rounds of fixtures still to play in Laliga, which will confirm a return date in the coming days although Javier Tebas, the league’s president, has stated June 12 is an option.
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