Wirtz returns but Leverkusen held to goalless draw with Union Berlin
Wirtz returns but Leverkusen held to goalless draw with Union Berlin
Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz (L) and Union's Rani Khedira in action during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and 1st FC Union Berlin at the BayArena. Bernd Thissen/dpa
Florian Wirtz made his return from injury, but couldn't help his Bayer Leverkusen avoid a setback in the Bundesliga title race in a goalless home draw with Union Berlin on Saturday.
Leverkusen star Wirtz started on the bench after had been sidelined since early March due to a ligament injury in his right ankle. He came on in the 57th minute, but the defending champions couldn't do better than a draw.
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Leaders Bayern Munich can now open an eight-point gap if they win the top clash against Borussia Dortmund later.
Mainz, meanwhile, dropped out of the Champions League qualification zone after a 2-0 defeat to Hoffenheim, who were led to victory by Andrej Kramaric's brace.
Mainz lost the position to RB Leipzig, who on Friday defeated VfL Wolfsburg 3-2.
In the battle for the Conference League, Johan Manzambi scored a late goal to give Freiburg a 2-1 win at Borussia Mönchengladbach and help his team leapfrog Gladbach for the spot for the European competition.
Elsewhere, 10-man Augsburg claimed a late 2-1 win at lowly Bochum, while St Pauli Hamburg are now seven points above the drop zone thanks to a 2-1 win in stoppage-time at bottom side Holstein Kiel.
Leverkusen's Nathan Tella (L) and Union's Christopher Trimmel in action during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and 1st FC Union Berlin at the BayArena. Bernd Thissen/dpa
Leverkusen's Nathan Tella (L) and Union's Leopold Querfeld in action during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and 1st FC Union Berlin at the BayArena. Bernd Thissen/dpa
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