Back on top
January 25, 2010
Toni Kroos had a big day in the Rhein-Neckar Arena on Sunday, scoring one goal and setting up two others as Leverkusen coasted to a 3-0 away win and returned to the league's summit.
The 20-year-old player on loan from Bayern Munich set up a Sami Hyypia header for the first goal with a precise free kick in the 11th minute.
He then scored one of his own from close range on a counter-attack early in the second half, and provided the assist for Tranquillo Barnetta's goal in the 72nd minute that put the game on ice.
Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes said he like the way his team put the game away.
"At halftime I said we needed to take the initiative, and we did that very well. We showed our quality," he said. "In the second half you could see why we are at the top of the Bundesliga."
Chasing pack
Bayern Munich had spent Saturday night on top after a late goal by Arjen Robben sealed a 3-2 win at Werder Bremen.
Dutch winger Robben's free kick 12 minutes from time came just three minutes after Hugo Almeida had levelled the score for Bremen.
Bayern's coach Louis van Gaal told reporters that he was satisfied with the game.
"I liked that we were very aggressive and we used Bremen's game to our advantage," he told reporters. "Unfortunately, though, we did not make the best of the many chances we had."
Bayern's winning streak now stands at eight games in all competitions, and the team is in second place on 39 points after 19 rounds..
In third place are Schalke 04, who threw away a 2-0 lead against VfL Bochum to finish in a 2-2 draw. Bochum's last-minute equalization came from Vahid Hashemian at 82 minutes and Stanislav Sestak in stoppage time.
Saturday's games turned out two more draws, with Nuremberg and Frankfurt finishing 1-1 and Hertha BSC tying Borrussia Moenchengladbach 0-0. Borussia Dortmund climbed to fourth after beating Hamburger SV 1-0. Mainz beat Hanover 1-0 and on Friday Stuttgart beat Freiburg 1-0.
Wolves in freefall
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, are rumored to be on the hunt for a new coach after sputtering to a 3-2 loss at home to a weakened FC Cologne.
Despite missing the top three strikers in their pecking order (Lukas Podolski, Milivoje Novakovic, Manasseh Ishiaku), Cologne found the firepower to take down the reigning champions, who are winless in the last seven matches.
Newly appointed sporting director Dieter Hoeness refused to speculate on coach Armin Veh's future when pressed on the matter after the game, emphasizing the work that need to be done.
"There's good work being done but I can also see the reality, that we are conceding an incredible amount of goals," he said.
Wolfsburg have conceded 38 goals thus far this season, an average of two a game. No team, aside from last-place Hertha Berlin have given up more.
mrh/AP/Reuters
Editor: Andrew Bowen