Leverkusen beats Bochum to keep up pursuit of Bundesliga leader Bayern

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen beat Bochum 3-1 and narrowed the gap to leader Bayern Munich to three points on Friday.

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso could take particular satisfaction from the win after two debatable selections were involved in his team’s goals in a fine second-half display.

Alonso opted to include Ecuadoran Piero Hincapie and Argentine Exequiel Palacios from the start even though they’d had little time to recover from World Cup qualifiers in South America this week.

Hincapie knocked Aleix Garcia’s free kick back across goal for Victor Boniface to put Leverkusen 2-1 up after an hour. Palacio’s nice through-ball allowed substitute Amine Adli to score a late third.

Garcia gave the home side the lead in the 20th minute with a glorious shot past the helpless Timo Horn, only for Bochum to equalize six minutes later thanks to a lovely volley from Felix Passlack.

Bochum remained third from bottom in the relegation playoff spot.

Bayern plays St. Pauli on Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer