Reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen slipped up with a 1-1 draw at St. Pauli on Sunday to drop eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich as their slim hopes of defending the Bundesliga title were all but ended.
Second-placed Leverkusen, who won the domestic league and Cup double last season without defeat, conceded a 78th-minute equaliser. They now have 64 points after 30 matches, with Bayern top on 72 after their 4-0 win over Heidenheim on Saturday.
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso admitted the distance to Bayern was now considerable with only 12 points available.
“Clearly, mathematically it is not over but we know there are very, very few chances,” Alonso told a press conference. “Too many draws this season. That is the reason. Now the gap to Bayern is too big. But we have to be realistic. It is not all over yet. This is not the end of the season yet.”
Forward Patrik Schick headed in an Alex Grimaldo free kick to give Leverkusen a 33rd-minute lead for the visitors with his 18th league goal of the campaign.
Despite having Germany international Florian Wirtz in the starting lineup for the first time since he suffered an ankle injury in early March, they could not score again.
St. Pauli gradually fought their way back into the contest, kept Leverkusen away from their box, and levelled in the 78th minute.
Keeper Lukas Hradecky failed to gather the ball from a weak free kick, spilling it into the path of Carlo Boukhalfa, who tapped in from close range.
“In the second half St. Pauli upped the pressure and we did not find that last pass to score a second goal,” Alonso said. “Then we conceded the goal and it is just not enough for us. This is the way it is.”
Despite it being a bitter evening for Alonso’s Leverkusen, they stretched their unbeaten run on the road in the Bundesliga to 32 consecutive games and are now only one match away from equaling Bayern’s all-time league record.
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