A second-half goal from Alex Grimaldo sent Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-0 home win over Mainz, closing the gap with league leaders Bayern Munich to one point. With half the season played, Dortmund sit ninth,

Borussia Dortmund were unable to bounce back from their Friday night defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, falling to a 4-2 loss away from home against relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel.Unlike

Holstein Kiel boost their survival hopes, stunning Borussia Dortmund with three first-half goals in a brilliant Bundesliga win.

The two standout German teams from last season are on opposite trajectories as the pressure mounts in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

Bayer Leverkusen will hope to continue applying pressure to first-placed Bayern Munich when they host Mainz 05 at BayArena on Tuesday in their 17th Bundesliga game of the season.

Nuri Sahin cut a disconsolate figure as he counted the cost of a flu-like illness in the Borussia Dortmund squad, but says they are determined to beat Holstein Kiel.

Alex Grimaldo's free-kick proved the difference as champions Bayer Leverkusen kept up the pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich with a 1-0 win over Mainz on Tuesday.

Holstein Kiel succumbed to a 3-2 defeat on Saturday at the hands of Freiburg, who were leading 3-0 before conceding in the 85th and 90th minutes. Boss Marcel Rapp might feel his team should have done considerably better defensively considering his side did not face a big chance and only faced an xG total of 0.63.

Borussia Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin cut a disconsolate figure on Monday as he counted the cost of a flu-like illness that has cut through his squad and continues to wreak havoc as they prepare to face Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga.

As for Holstein Kiel, Lewis Holtby is expected to return to the line-up while there could also be starts for Andu Kelati and Dominik Javorček, both of whom have played a bit-part role this season. Armin Gigović and Nicolai Remberg have both picked up four yellow cards this season and upon collecting a fifth, will serve a one game ban.

BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 4-2 loss at promoted Holstein Kiel on Tuesday ... another defeat after Friday’s loss to Bayer Leverkusen. Reported Manchester City target Omar ...

A second-half goal from Alex Grimaldo sent Bayer Leverkusen ... with a 4-2 loss at Holstein Kiel earlier on Tuesday, raising the heat on under-fire coach Nuri Sahin. In Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso's ...