Bochum beat Union in epic dogfight, rampant Leverkusen equal record
Bochum won 4-3 in a classic at Bundesliga relegation rivals Union Berlin on Sunday to move away from the drop zone and give Cologne a glimmer of hope of staying up.
At the other end, recently crowned champions Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run in all competitions this season to 48 games - a joint European record with Benfica - after a 5-1 triumph at sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hugo Ekitiké nodded in to cancel out Granit Xhaka's early curler but Patrik Schick's towering header, a penalty from Exequiel Palacios Jeremie Frimpong's counter-attack goal and Victor Boniface's late spot-kick flattered the treble chasers.
Leverkusen are 2-0 up in their Europa League semi-final ahead of hosting Roma on Thursday while the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern also awaits on May 25.
Frankfurt could still end up in a sixth Champions League spot if remaining results go their way, although the defeat leaves Freiburg Hoffenheim and even Augsburg still in touch with two matchdays left.
In Berlin, Maximilian Wittek scored twice for Bochum with contrasting strikes inside the first 31 minutes and then former Union defender Keven Schlotterbeck, via a deflection, made it 3-0 before half-time.
The second period was completely different and Union's famous fans never stopped encouraging their team, who first netted through Yorbe Vertessen's shot from distance before fellow half-time substitute Chris Bedia kept his cool for Union's second.
But the visitors then went 4-2 up through Philipp Hofmann's unmarked header, only for Benedict Hollerbach to cut the deficit again on 74 minutes. Bochum, though, dug deep to stop the onslaught and hung on.
"We took a big step today," Wittek told DAZN. "We still have two tough games ahead of us. But we want to stay in the league, nothing else matters."
Bochum, who sacked Thomas Letsch last month, had gone eight games without a win but former under-19 coach Heiko Butscher has now masterminded two victories in a row.
The Blues are 14th and three points above 15th-placed Union, who lie six points above Cologne in the automatic relegation places with two matchdays left.
Cologne and Union have similar goal differences and meet by the Rhine next Saturday. Third-bottom Mainz, in the relegation play-off spot despite a resurgence, sit two points behind Union but will go above them with a win at Heidenheim later on Sunday.
"I promise that we will perform completely differently next week," Union midfielder Rani Khedira said. "We'll do everything we can to stay in the league. But we have to deal with all scenarios and be prepared for everything."
Union started the season in the Champions League having finished fourth last term but have endured a roller-coaster campaign, which could end with a return to the second tier after five seasons.
Club president Dirk Zingler gave Union coach Nenad Bjelica his backing before kick-off amid reports they would soon part ways.
