Leverkusen close gap to Bayern, Dortmund thrash Union 6-0

Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen prevailed 2-0 in a one-sided clash at promoted Holstein Kiel on Saturday, while Niko Kovac claimed his first win as Borussia Dortmund coach in a 6-0 thrashing of Union Berlin.

Title holders Leverkusen closed the gap to leaders Bayern Munich to five points.

Bayern, who are Leverkusen's opponents in the Champions League last 16, can restore their eight-point advantage when they host third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Elsewhere, VfL Wolfsburg fought back for a 1-1 draw with lowly Bochum, in-form Mainz defeated promoted St Pauli Hamburg 2-0, and Alexis Claude-Maurice scored a hat-trick in Augsburg's 3-0 win against 10-man Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Dominant Leverkusen

Leverkusen took an early lead in the ninth minute through Patrik Schick, who volleyed Amine Adli's cross into an empty net.

Adli then got a goal himself as he took a perfect-timed pass from Florian Wirtz and chipped it over the goalkeeper from close range in the 45th.

The title holders managed the game well in the second half and secured the three points, as Kiel didn't put up a challenge.

"We controlled the game well and dominated it, even though it wasn't easy. Patrik's first goal was important to win this game. After the last two away draws, today's win was even more important for us," coach Xabi Alonso said.

Dortmund back to winning ways in style

Following two consecutive defeats in the Bundesliga, Dortmund finally tasted victory again with a home win against Union Berlin.

After a slow initial phase, Dortmund got their opener thanks to Diogo Leite's own goal in the 25th.

Julian Ryerson blasted the ball from outside the box and it looked like his effort was going nowhere, until it was deflected by Leite into his own net.

Pascal Gross missed a change in the 30th by hitting the crossbar, but then served Serhou Guirassy, who nodded the ball into the net from close range in the 40th.

The goal marked the start of a gala evening for Guirassy, who went on to score three more goals in the second half.

He was again assisted by Gross to add a second to his name in the 75th before completing a hat-trick in the 80th and heading in one last effort three minutes later.

Maximilian Beier in the 89th completed the final score.

The 6-0 triumph against Union was just Dortmund's second league win this year and a first for coach Kovac, who took over at the start of the month after the dismissal of Nuri Sahin. His two previous games in charge ended in defeat.

Dortmund moved up one position to 10th and are seven points from the Champions League spots.

"Sometimes you need a little bit of luck, sometimes you need one goal to start delivering," Emre Can told broadcasters Sky when asked about the first goal. "The entire team delivered today, big congratulations."

Wolfsburg rescue point with late goal

In Wolfsburg, the home team was stunned when Erhan Mašović gave relegation candidates Bochum the lead in the 50th minute. The Serbian defender was unmarked and completed a corner with a header into the net.

Wolfsburg thought they had the equalizer in the 64th but Mahommed Amoura's goal was ruled out because of a foul in the build up.

But the hosts still rescued a point thanks to Mattias Svanberg's late goal in the 82nd.

Bochum now sit 16th, in the relegation play-off spot, while Wolfsburg moved up to eighth with the point.

The Claude-Maurice show

Gladbach went down to 10 men in the 28th after goalkeeper Jonas Omlin was sent off for fouling Phillip Tietz outside of the box on a clear goal chance.

Claude-Maurice then started his show in the second half. He scored Augsburg's opener in the 55th and added a second in the 61st with a low shot from the edge of the are.

The midfielder crowned his performance completing his hat-trick in the 70th.

Gladbach were forced to play with third goalkeeper Tobias Sippel as Omlin was replacing the injured and regular starter Moritz Nicolas.

"I hadn't really expected to make a comeback," said Sippel, who will probably be between the posts against Heidenheim next weekend. He hadn't played in the Bundesliga for almost two years.

"It's crazy that we've lost two goalkeepers in the space of a week, Moritz Nicolas and Jonas Omlin. Now let's make sure I don't get injured as well."

Elsewhere, Mainz kept their strong form in a 2-0 win against St Pauli with goals from Jaesung Lee and Paul Nebel. They moved up to fifth and are one point from the Champions League zone.