Bayern Munich stayed eight points clear at the top of the table after playing out a lackluster 0-0 draw at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday that snapped their four-game winning streak in the Bundesliga.
With Bayern coach Pep Guardiola in the spotlight last week following his agreement to manage Manchester City next season, Bayern seemed distracted in the first half, missing their usual pace and creative play.
With in-form Thomas Mueller on the bench, the visitors were harassed by hard-working Leverkusen and could not break through, with striker Robert Lewandowski cutting a lone figure up front.
Photo: AP
The hosts looked more likely to score until Bayern turned the tables early in the second half with the introduction of Mueller, who carved out two quick chances in succession on the hour, but they had to pull back to protect the draw after Xabi Alonso was dismissed for a second booking in the 84th minute following a foul on forward Javier Hernandez.
The Bavarians top the standings with 53 points, while Leverkusen are fifth on 32.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund failed to gain ground on Bayern following their own goalless draw at Hertha BSC earlier on Saturday, despite the return of midfielder Marco Reus and playmaker Ilkay Guendogan.
Schalke 04 made it two wins in a row when they beat VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 to move up to fourth spot on 33 points, with Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar grabbing the lead in the 24th minute.
Talented 22-year-old Johannes Geis doubled the lead from a free-kick 11 minutes later and substitute Alessandro Schoepf completed the win with a fine shot three minutes from time.
Wolfsburg are now without a win in their past seven league games stretching back to November last year and they have dropped to eighth place.
Elsewhere, VfB Stuttgart won 4-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt to move five points clear of the relegation zone, Ingolstadt 04 came from behind to defeat Augsburg 2-1 and FSV Mainz 05 won 1-0 at bottom side Hannover 96.
Stuttgart and Frankfurt both finished with 10 men.
Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner opened the scoring and Daniel Didavi converted acrobatically before the break for the visitors. Frankfurt captain Alexander Meier pulled one back, before Gentner crossed for Georg Niedermeier to make it 3-1.
Didavi’s sending off shortly afterward gave the hosts hope, but Frankfurt’s Carlos Zambrano followed him off in the 75th minute after giving away a penalty that Filip Kostic converted.
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