Kevin Volland scored a hat-trick as Bayer Leverkusen took another step towards Champions League football next season with an impressive 4-1 over rivals Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday.
Volland was on target in the 71st, 77th minute and 88th after Julian Brandt had headed the opening goal. Frankfurt got a temporary equaliser from Marco Fabian the day after confirmation that their coach Niko Kovac would move on to champions Bayern Munich in summer.
Leverkusen remained fourth which offers the last available Champions league berth, but with 51 points are now five clear Hoffenheim, Frankfurt and RB Leipzig. Hoffenheim beat second last SV Hamburg 2-0 from Serge Gnabry and Adam Szalai while Leipzig are at Werder Bremen today in the tight race for Europe.
Elsewhere, VfB Stuttgart drew 1-1 with lowly Hanover and Davie Selke scored a brace as Hertha Berlin reached the milestone of 1,000 Bundesliga home goals with a 2-1 comeback victory over bottom side Cologne. Kovac was the centre of attention in Leverkusen where the hosts stormed to their second 4-1 of the week — the other on Monday in Leipzig.
In-form Brandt opened the scoring in the 20th with a looping header off Kai Havertz’ cross into the far left corner, only for the unmarked Fabian to level three minutes. But Volland then converted a through-ball from Julian Baumgartlinger flicked on by Havertz in the 71st, and completed the treble with almost identical goals into the empty off Karim Bellarabi in the 77th and 88th.
“It was an important game, a six-point game, and we won. We were there when it mattered after the break, and that includes myself,” Volland told Sky TV. Frankfurt keeper Lukas Hredecky said: “It was a strange week. We wanted to get points here points.”
Hamburg had hoped to follow up on their 3-2 win against Schalke but were overwhelmed by Hoffenheim who led in the 18th when Gnabry ran past Rick van Drongelen and poked home between the legs of Goalkeeper Jan Pollersbeck.
It was 2-0 nine minutes later from Szalai who tapped in a low cross from Nico Schulz, and Hamburg were eventually lucky not to lose by a bigger margin. The Northern Germans remain five points behind Mainz in the relegation play-off spot and their hopes, and those of Cologne who are another point back, would effectively end if Mainz beat 15th-ranked Freiburg on Monday.
Cologne led in Berlin from Leonardo Bittencourt but Selke levelled in the 49th into the far left corner and tapped in Marwin Plattenhardt’s sharp low cross four minutes later for the winner.
In Stuttgart, Niklas Fuellkrug headed a stoppage-time equaliser for visiting Hanover after Erik Thommy had opened the scoring for the hosts with a long range blast into the top right corner.