Bayer Leverkusen's hopes of retaining their Bundesliga crown were dealt a huge blow following a 1-1 draw with St. Pauli on Sunday.
2024/2025 Bundesliga
1-1
Match Report
Xabi Alonso's side are now eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich, who beat Heidenheim 4-0 on Saturday, with just four games of their 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 they were unable to capitalise on their lead before half-time, with St. Pauli improving significantly after the break.
They thought they had drawn level when Morgan Guilavogui tucked the ball home, only for the goal to be ruled out by 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 tap into the net.
Neither side were able to find a winner in the closing stages, though the result put Leverkusen's title defence on the brink ahead of facing Augsburg next weekend.
Points are shared.
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) April 20, 2025
90+4‘ | 1-1 | #FCSPB04 pic.twitter.com/UR2Pd3B7Tl
Data Debrief: Same old story for Leverkusen
Many believed it would have been difficult for Leverkusen to replicate their Bundesliga success from last year, and it looks as though they have fallen just short late on.
But it was another game that Alonso's side have thrown away a lead in the league. Leverkusen have now lost 15 points from winning positions in the Bundesliga this season. Only Wolfsburg (17) and Stuttgart (23) have lost more.
And they can have no complaints about the point, ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.74 from their six shots, while St. Pauli accumulated a 1.15 xG from their 10 efforts.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
7' Match Event for FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
14' Match Event for FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
28' Highlight from FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
32' GOAL! FC St. Pauli 0-1 Leverkusen (Patrik Schick)
50' Highlight from FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
59' Match Event for FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
61' Highlight from FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
66' Highlight from FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
75' Highlight from FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
78' GOAL! FC St. Pauli 1-1 Leverkusen (Carlo Boukhalfa)
89' Match Event for FC St. Pauli vs Leverkusen
Line-ups
FC St. Pauli XI: Hauke Wahl, Manolis Saliakas, Nikola Vasilj, Eric Smith, Danel Sinani, Siebe Van der Heyden, Connor Metcalfe, David Nemeth, Carlo Boukhalfa, Philipp Treu, Morgan Guilavogui
Subs: Adam Dzwigala, Eggestein, Oladapo Afolayan, Lars Ritzka, Erik Ahlstrand, Ben Voll, Noah Weißhaupt, Robert Wagner, Elias Saad
Leverkusen XI: Hradecky, Xhaka, Grimaldo, Tah, Schick, Exequiel Palacios, Tapsoba, Tella, Jeremie Frimpong, Hincapie, Wirtz
Subs: Hofmann, Andrich, A.García, Buendia, Mukiele, Kovar, Victor Boniface, Adli, Arthur