Bailey brace sends Leverkusen top

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP):

Jamaican winger Leon Bailey scored twice as Bayer Leverkusen charged to the top of the German Bundesliga with a 4-1 win over nine-man Hoffenheim yesterday.

With no fans to drive their team on in an empty stadium amid the coronavirus pandemic, the atmosphere in Leverkusen came from a group of farmers outside the stadium, honking the horns of tractors decorated with lights in a local Christmas parade.

Much like the Union Berlin fans who let off fireworks to inspire their team to draw with Bayern Munich on Saturday, Leverkusen’s tractor convoy was followed by success for the home team.

Leverkusen took the lead by one point from Bayern and Leipzig. Leverkusen sold their best-known player, Kai Havertz, in the off season but have stayed unbeaten in the Bundesliga as other title rivals slipped up.

A moment of sublime skill from Bailey put Leverkusen ahead in just the fourth minute, as he cut in from the right flank and curled a shot into the top-left corner from a tight angle. By the time it became clear Bailey’s effort was no cross, it was too late for goalkeeper Oliver Baumann to stop.

Bailey’s second goal was an early Christmas gift. He had plenty of time to intercept a poor back pass from Andrej Kramaric, arriving far ahead of Baumann to score. A goal from Christoph Baumgartner in the 50th briefly put Hoffenheim back in the game, but then 17-year-old Florian Wirtz beat two Hoffenheim defenders and flicked the ball over Baumann to make it 3-1.

A second yellow card for Florian Grillitsch in the 64th damaged Hoffenheim’s chances of a comeback, before his teammate Stefan Posch was also sent for a second booking.

Lucas Alario scored an added-time penalty on his return from injury, his eighth goal in as many Bundesliga games.