Leipzig, Bremen boost hopes of European berths

BERLIN (AP) — Leipzig closed in on Champions League qualification, and Werder Bremen boosted its hopes of European soccer, with Bundesliga wins on Saturday.

Leipzig consolidated third place after stretching its unbeaten league run to 11 games with a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Kevin Kampl got the home side underway with a curling shot inside the far post in the 15th and Timo Werner headed the second goal in the 28th.

Two late goals from Davy Klaassen and Theodor Gebre Selassie gave Bremen a 2-1 win at home over Freiburg.

Bremen remains unbeaten in 2019 — six wins and six draws in the Bundesliga, two German Cup wins over Borussia Dortmund and Schalke — and climbed to sixth, the last qualification place for the Europa League with five rounds remaining.

Florian Kohfeldt’s team is one point above seventh-placed Bayer Leverkusen, which ended a run of three defeats with a 1-0 win at Stuttgart thanks to Kai Havertz’s second-half penalty. Stuttgart’s Santiago Ascacibar was sent off after lashing out at Havertz in injury time.

Fifth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach won 1-0 at bottom side Hannover.

Lars Stindl’s return to Hannover was ended after a collision with Matthias Ostrzolek in the first minute. The Gladbach captain had to be helped off the field before he was taken to the hospital.

Borussia Dortmund hosted Mainz later Saturday, hopeful of reclaiming the league lead with a convincing performance after last week’s 5-0 drubbing at Bayern Munich. Bayern plays Sunday at Fortuna Duesseldorf.