With eight victories in nine league games this season, including goals from Florian Wirtz and Jonas Hofmann, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Freiburg 2-1 at home on Sunday to reclaim the top spot in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso, are two points ahead of the second-place champions with 25 points after only dropping points in a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich.
Since Leverkusen was promoted to the Bundesliga in 1979, Alonso is the first manager to lead the team to win eight straight games in all competitions.
Leverkusen attacked Freiburg’s half from the start, but within the first thirty minutes, they were unable to put a shot on goal.
But in the 36th minute, Wirtz finally gave Freiburg’s defense a scare when he struck from inside the box towards the far post after deftly jinking and turning.
On the hour, Hofmann doubled the lead with a long-range effort that struck the post before rebounding off goalie Noah Atubolu’s back and into the net.
Twenty minutes from the end, Manuel Gulde’s header gave Freiburg a chance to tie the score, but minutes later, Leverkusen should have scored again, but Jeremie Frimpong narrowly missed the mark.
After nine games, Leverkusen has scored 27 goals in the Bundesliga this season, tying the club record set by 24 goals in the 1996–97 campaign.
On Saturday, Leverkusen will next travel to Hoffenheim, which is in sixth place. Freiburg, in eighth place with 13 points, will host Borussia Moenchengladbach, who are in eleventh place.