Dramatic late winner see Leverkusen stay on top
Exequiel Palacios bagged a dramatic stoppage-time winner to give Bayer Leverkusen a 1-0 win at Augsburg that kept it on top of the Bundesliga with a four-point advantage over Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen hit the woodwork and missed a hatful of chances throughout the match, which appeared to be heading for a goalless stalemate until Argentina international Palacios stabbed home from close range to lift his team to 45 points at the halfway stage of the season.
Champion Bayern, a 3-0 winner over Hoffenheim on Saturday (AEDT), remains second on 41, but does have a game in hand.
Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen team remains unbeaten after 26 matches in all competitions this season, and it had the upper hand from the start. Despite its dominance, though, it managed only to hit the post through Alejandro Grimaldo's left-foot shot in the 28th minute.
Augsburg keeper Finn Dahmen did well to deny Robert Andrich and Patrik Schick after that and Grimaldo was also denied by Dahmen in the first half with Leverkusen clearly missing the offensive power of Victor Boniface.
The Nigerian, Leverkusen's top scorer this season, was injured last week while preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations and will be out at least until April after adductor muscle surgery.
The visitors created chances for Jeremie Frimpong and Jonas Hofmann after the break and Augsburg, which did not have a shot on goal in the first half, threatened twice on the break.
Seconds before the final whistle, however, Palacios benefited from confusion in the box to break the deadlock and win a crucial match in the restarted season.
