Leverkusen miss top-four chance in Union defeat
Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to break into the Bundesliga top four as they suffered a 1-0 loss to Union Berlin on Saturday.
Rani Khedira's first-half lob at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei was enough to snap Leverkusen's four-match winning streak, while it also helped Union pick up their first win of 2026.
The hosts started on the front foot as Derrick Kohn nearly slid Andrej Ilic through early on before they found their opener in the 28th minute, courtesy of some lovely interplay between Khedira and Aljoscha Kemlein.
Kemlein's chipped pass was converted by Khedira, who coolly lobbed Janis Blaswich to give the hosts a deserved lead.
Leverkusen pushed for an equaliser to no avail, with Alejandro Grimaldo lacking his usual threat from set-piece positions.
Substitute Patrik Schick saw a golden opportunity go begging as his stoppage-time header off Ibrahima Maza's pinpoint delivery skewed narrowly over the crossbar.
