Late Leverkusen strike again in Heidenheim
| Buendia stole it late for Leverkusen in Heidenheim | Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images |
Bayer Leverkusen are set to end the season trophyless after the surprising cupset on Tuesday in Bielefeld. After starting last week’s Bundesliga fixture with two strikers, Xabi Alonso opted for Victor Boniface to lead the attacking line.
With only seven rounds left to play, Frank Schmidt’s Heidenheim are still fighting for survival. The long-serving coach only made a single change from the excellent win in Wolfsburg as Budu Zivzivadze out due to a knee injury. Omar Traore starts in the Georgian’s place for the hosts.
Surprisingly, Heidenheim created two golden chances to break the deadlock inside the first 20 minutes. In both occasions, Adrian Beck and Frans Krätzig failed to test Lukas Hrádecký. And when the champions looked to regain their composure, Schmidt’s side wasted another clear-cut opportunity,
Benedikt Gimber saw his effort hit both the underside of the bar and the far post. Against the pre-game script, Heidenheim continued on their momentum with hosts of chances presented to Marvin Pieringer in the space of ten minutes.
That was probably the explanation for Alonso’s late arrival in the second-half. However, there was no sign of improvement from Leverkusen early after the break as Heidenheim kept their bold display in search of an opening goal.
Léo Scienza’s introduction further added creativity in Heidenheim’s final third. However, their first big chance of the second-half also fell to Pieringer when he tried to beat the Finnish goalkeeper with a backheel effort.
Meanwhile, Alonso decided against doubling up on his attack as Leverkusen’s top-scorer Patrick Schick replaced Boniface. Yet Kevin Müller had a quiet night in Heidenheim’s goal until Jonas Hofmann’s effort five minutes before the end of regular time.
However, just like their previous Bundesliga away fixture in Stuttgart, Leverkusen struck late to earn three points. The Aston Villa loanee Emiliano Buendía scored his first goal for the club from the edge of the box.
The result means the gap at the top of the standings is back to six points between Bayern and Leverkusen. Bochum’s defeat to Stuttgart gave Heidenheim a breathing space as they stay in the relegation/promotion playoff spot.
