Bayer Leverkusen Slay Werder Bremen To Return To Bundesliga Summit

Strikes from Alex Grimaldo, Jeremie Frimpong and an own goal lifted Bayer Leverkusen to a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday and a return to the top of the Bundesliga. Xabi Alonso's men started the match in second place after Harry Kane scored in Bayern Munich's 1-0 victory over Cologne on Friday, but won comfortably and will end the weekend two points clear atop the table. Leverkusen have won 17 and drawn one of their 18 fixtures in all competitions this season.

"We are in a great dynamic," Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka told Sky Germany.

"We're playing well and everything is going in the right direction at the moment.

"We've a team that listens, that pushes itself to the limit, and that's the only way to win."

Leverkusen were gifted the opener as Bremen midfielder Olivier Deman scored a bizarre early own goal, with the Belgian miscontrolling a cross and the ball bobbling into the far corner.

Frimpong added a second just before half-time, blasting into the top corner.

Bremen's Marvin Ducksch, fresh off making his Germany debut, looked to have cut the lead by scoring on the counter in the second half, but the goal was chalked off by VAR for offside.

Grimaldo sealed the result with a third with 15 minutes remaining for his fourth goal in his past three league matches.

In Saturday's late game, goals from Deniz Undav in the first and last minutes of the opening half took Stuttgart to a 2-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Stuttgart's Waldemar Anton conceded a freak own goal, the ball bouncing off his head and into the net, in the first half but Frankfurt lacked energy.

Frankfurt, who lost their first home match for over a year, were clearly missing the support of their fans, who walked out in protest over claims of