Alonso\u2019s side claim 2-1 comeback victory to keep German giants off Bundesliga summit
\n BERLIN
\nArgentina\u2019s World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios struck twice from the spot as Bayer Leverkusen blew the Bundesliga title race wide open with a shock 2-1 win over Bayern Munich on Sunday.
\nWith a little help from VAR, Leverkusen came from behind to hand coach Xabi Alonso a famous win on his first reunion with former club Bayern and keep the champions from regaining top spot.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an unbelievable feeling. I\u2019m so proud of the way we played today,\u201d said Alonso, who played for Bayern from 2014 to 2017.
\nBayern are now a point behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, with the two sides set to meet in the next round of games on April 1.
\n\u201cThat is now a must-win game for us, because it will be very difficult to win the title otherwise,\u201d said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann.
\n\u201cIt was a deserved defeat today. Apart from the last 10 minutes, they were the better team,\u201d he added.
\nBayern survived an early chance from Jeremie Frimpong before taking the lead themselves when Odilon Kossounou deflected a Joshua Kimmich shot into his own net.
\nThe hosts continued to cause Bayern problems, however, and they fully deserved their equaliser from the penalty spot on 55 minutes.
\nAmine Adli was initially booked for diving after he was clipped by Benjamin Pavard, but the decision was reversed by VAR and Palacios converted from the spot.
\nThe same scene repeated itself 20 minutes later as Adli was brought down by Dayot Upamecano just inside the penalty area.
\nOnce again, he was booked for diving, and once again, Palacios smashed the ball into the bottom corner after the intervention of VAR.
\n\u201cVAR was a lifesaver today and it was a perfect example of how the system should work,\u201d said referee Tobias Stieler.
\nThe win also kept Leverkusen afloat in the race for Europe, with Alonso\u2019s side now just three points adrift of sixth.
\nElsewhere, Union Berlin gave their Champions League hopes a boost as a rare goal from Rani Khedira helped them to a 2-0 win over Bundesliga top-six rivals Eintracht Frankfurt.
\nKhedira – the brother of 2014 World Cup winner Sami – stabbed in the opener to score only his seventh goal in 194 Bundesliga appearances and lift Union back into third place.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s also my first goal for Union so I am very happy,\u201d Khedira told Dazn. \u201cToday was much more about mentality than about tactics.\u201d
\nBoth sides came into the game on five-game winless runs and trying to bounce back after being dumped out of European competition in midweek.
\nFrankfurt had the lion\u2019s share of the chances in the first half, with both Randal Kolo Muani and Daichi Kamada coming close.
\nYet the hosts took the lead just after the break when Khedira prodded the ball home from close range after Frankfurt failed to clear a corner.
\nSheraldo Becker nutmegged Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp to find the net again for Union on 69 minutes, but the strike was ruled out for offside.
\nTrapp was left blushing when he again let the ball through his legs a few minutes later to allow Kevin Behrens to double the lead.
\nUnion — unbeaten in 18 home games in the league — are now two points ahead of Freiburg, who climbed to fourth with a 1-1 draw away to Mainz.
\nFreiburg looked set for victory after a mistake from Mainz keeper Robin Zentner allowed Japan international Ritsu Doan to steal in and score his second goal in two games.
\nYet a late, smash and grab equaliser from Karim Onisiwo snatched two points away from them in injury time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alonso\u2019s side claim 2-1 comeback victory to keep German giants off Bundesliga summit BERLIN Argentina\u2019s World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios struck twice from the spot as Bayer Leverkusen blew the Bundesliga title race wide open with a shock 2-1 win over Bayern Munich on Sunday. With a little help from VAR, Leverkusen came from behind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-320810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n