St Pauli puts big dent in Leverkusen's title hopes
Bayer Leverkusen's hopes of retaining its Bundesliga crown were dealt a huge blow after a 1-1 draw at St Pauli.
Xabi Alonso's side is now eight points behind leader Bayern Munich, which beat Heidenheim 4-0 in its match, with just four games of the season remaining.
Leverkusen edged into a 32nd-minute lead when Alex Grimaldo's teasing free-kick into the box was headed beyond Nikola Vasilj by Patrik Schick.
But it was unable to capitalise on that lead before half-time, with St Pauli improving significantly after the break.
It thought it had drawn level when Morgan Guilavogui tucked the ball home, only for the goal to be ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) for a handball against the midfielder.
But St Pauli did get a deserved equaliser soon after, with Lukas Hradecky failing to gather from a weak free-kick, which allowed Carlo Boukhalfa to poke into the net.
Neither side was able to find a winner in the closing stages, but the result put Leverkusen's title defence on the brink ahead of facing Augsburg next weekend.
Alonso conceded the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich after the match, with his side now eight points adrift of the league leader.
"Clearly, mathematically it is not over but we know there are very, very few chances," Alonso said.
"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.
"In the second half St Pauli upped the pressure and we did not find that last pass to score a second goal.
"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, it did stretch its unbeaten run on the road in the Bundesliga to 32 consecutive games and is now only one match away from equalling Bayern's all-time league record.
