European football: Leverkusen smash Bochum to reach 50 games unbeaten
The Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen, crushed hosts Bochum 5-0 on Sunday to stretch their unbeaten run across all competitions to 50 matches.
Last Thursday Xabi Alonso’s team, aiming for a treble of titles, surpassed Benfica’s longstanding European unbeaten record set from 1963 to 1965 with a 2-2 draw against Roma that sent them through to the Europa League final.
Leverkusen did not ease off against lowly Bochum, scoring twice late in the first half versus the last Bundesliga team to beat them in the previous season. Patrik Schick put the visitors in the driving seat in the 41st minute and Victor Boniface doubled their lead with a penalty, with Bochum down to 10 men following a straight red card for Felix Passlack in the 15th minute. Amine Adli made it 3-0 in the 76th and Josip Stanisic added another in the 86th with a low drive before delivering an assist for Alejandro Grimaldo to score in stoppage time.
Alonso said: “I am very satisfied with the result. It was important for us. Now we have a super goal on Saturday to win the title without any defeat. That has never happened before.” Leverkusen entertain Augsburg at home in the Bundesliga finale where they will also receive their first league trophy.
Bayern Munich, 2-0 winners against Wolfsburg earlier on Sunday, are 15 points behind in second place. The teenager Lovro Zvonarek scored on his first start for Bayern and Leon Goretzka doubled the advantage. Bayern were missing Harry Kane, with a minor back problem, Serge Gnabry, who was injured in their Champions League defeat by Real Madrid, Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala.
Paris Saint-Germain were stunned in a 3-1 home defeat by Toulouse, as the newly crowned champions suffered only their second loss in Ligue 1 this season.
Luis Enrique’s side struggled after their midweek Champions League semi-final loss to Borussia Dortmund, falling again at home to remain on 70 points from 32 games, six clear of second-placed Monaco, with two games remaining.
Kylian Mbappé, who confirmed on Friday that he will leave PSG at the end of the season, opened the scoring after eight minutes with a fine finish into an open goal following a pinpoint clearance from the goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
Toulouse equalised five minutes later through Thijs Dallinga, who coolly slotted home from close range before Yann Gboho put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort into the topright corner in the 68th minute. Frank Magri’s stoppage-time strike sealed the win for Toulouse, who are 10th in the standings with 43 points.
Juventus snatched a 1-1 draw at home to relegated Salernitana courtesy of a late Adrien Rabiot goal that cancelled out a first-half header from Niccolò Pierozzi in Serie A. Juventus are fourth on 67 points with two matches left. Salernitana shocked the Allianz Stadium as unmarked Pierozzi headed home after 27 minutes following a corner. But Juventus dominated the rest of the match and equalised in stoppage time when Rabiot slid the ball home at the back post after a corner was flicked on.
In La Liga, Atlético Madrid’s Rodrigo De Paul scored a brilliant late goal to snatch a 1-0 home victory against relegation-threatened Celta Vigo as they consolidated fourth spot.
The Argentinian midfielder controlled a clearance from a corner just outside the area before unleashing a breathtaking shot into the top-right corner in the 84th minute. The win leaves Atlético with 70 points from 35 games, eight points ahead of fifthplaced Athletic Bilbao. Celta are 16th with 34 points, five points above the drop zone.