Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen back on top in Germany
Bayer Leverkusen regained its two-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table after a solid 3-0 win at Werder Bremen to hand coach Xabi Alonso the perfect gift on his 42nd birthday.
The pressure was back on Leverkusen to secure the three points after Bayern Munich opened the round with a 1-0 win at Cologne to pinch top spot for 24 hours.
Victor Boniface thought he'd opened the scoring on six minutes but his goal was ruled out for offside. Three minutes later, that was all forgotten as Olivier Deman found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and deflected into his own net to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
It was 2-0 just prior to the break after Jeremie Frimpong lashed home from inside the box and Alex Grimaldo added a third 14 minutes from time to make things comfortable and ensure Leverkusen won its 11th match of the season from the 12 played so far.
Xabier Alonso Olano
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Alejandro Grimaldo García
Bayer 04 Leverkusen