Leipzig held to league-high 11th draw of the season, Mainz move clear of the relegation zone, Fortuna Dusseldorf spurn safety opportunity
Saturday 6 June 2020 20:30, UK
Christian Strohdiek scored a stoppage-time equaliser as bottom-club Paderborn stunned 10-man RB Leipzig to secure a 1-1 draw that keeps their faint hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
Patrik Schick gave Leipzig the lead on 27 minutes but things turned sour for the hosts two minutes before half-time when defender Dayot Upamecano was dismissed after picking up a needless second yellow for petulantly kicking the ball away after a foul.
A resilient Leipzig looked to have battle their way to three points until the second minute of time added when they failed to deal with a goal-mouth scramble and captain Strohdiek lashed the equaliser home.
Draws have hampered Julian Nagelsmann's team all season and their 11th of the campaign left them third in the Bundesliga, 11 points behind leaders Bayern Munich with four games remaining, while Paderborn remained bottom, five points from safety.
Mainz moved three points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
The visitors took the lead two minutes before the break thanks to Moussa Niakhate's first goal of the season and wrapped up a crucial three points 13 minutes from time thanks to Kunde Malong's solo effort.
Mainz lie in 15th place after their ninth win of the season, three ahead of Fortuna Dusseldorf and four points adrift of Frankfurt who remain in 11th.
Fortuna Dusseldorf missed the chance to stay on Mainz's coattails as they were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Hoffenheim.
Rouwen Hennings got Fortuna off to the perfect start with the opening goal inside five minutes, and things took a turn for the worse for Hoffenheim three minutes later when captain Benjamin Hubner was shown a straight red card for an altercation at a corner.
The visitors rallied to the early setbacks though, with Munas Dabbur equalised on 16 minutes and luck looked to be on their side when Hennings had a second headed goal ruled out two minutes later after VAR spotted a foul in the build-up.
Steven Zuber put then put the 10 men in front on the hour, but they couldn't hold onto the win as fatigue set in, with Hennings doubling his tally with a late penalty to secure Fortuna a point on an afternoon where they should have had three.
Bayern Munich moved to within two wins of the Bundesliga title with an imperious 4-2 victory at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Leverkusen were without talisman Kai Havertz due to injury but threatened to derail Bayern's title charge when Lucas Alario poked the hosts ahead inside nine minutes - the first goal Bayern had conceded away from home in eight hours of Bundesliga football.
But the early setback only aggravated Bayern as they roared into an unassailable lead before the break thanks to goals from Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry.
Robert Lewandowski's 30th Bundesliga goal of the season - his 44th in all competitions - put Bayern out of sight midway through the second half and, with the exception of Florian Wirtz's late consolation, it was a formality for Hansi Flick's side from there.
Bayern's 11th consecutive victory sees them lead Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig by 10 and 11 points respectively with five games remaining, while Leverkusen stay fifth after missing the chance to climb into the top four.
Emre Can netted the decisive goal for Borussia Dortmund as they took charge of second place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin.
After defeats for both Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig drawing at home with Paderborn, this was a fantastic chance for Dortmund to take charge of the Champions League qualification places - and they took it to move four points clear of third.
