Leverkusen Title Hopes Take Hit In Union Stalemate

Leverkusen, Germany: Bayer Leverkusen's slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title were left hanging by a thread after a scoreless home draw with Union Berlin on Saturday.

Leverkusen could have cut the gap to league leaders Bayern Munich to three points with a victory. Bayern host Borussia Dortmund later on Saturday and can go eight points clear with five games remaining should they beat their 'Klassiker' rivals.

Despite welcoming back star midfielder Florian Wirtz from a foot injury, Xabi Alonso's side lacked fluency in attack, carving out few clear-cut opportunities.

Union had the ball in the net after 14 minutes when Andrej Ilic headed in a rebound after a save from Lukas Hradecky, but the Serbian was flagged for offside.

Wirtz came on after 57 minutes and despite giving his side an initial boost, was unable to break down Union's defence.

Granit Xhaka had a free-kick from the edge of the box in stoppage time but blasted his shot well over the bar.

"We're dropping too many points at home," Leverkusen captain Hradecky said, adding "mathematically there's a small chance (of defending the title), but the probability has decreased."

The draw continues a poor April for last season's unbeaten domestic double winners, who were eliminated from the German Cup semi-finals by third division Arminia Bielefeld.

The draw took Union to 34 points, 12 clear of the relegation spots with five games remaining.

Dangling close to the drop in February, just a year after facing Real Madrid in the Champions League, Union have turned things around.

The Berliners have taken 11 points from an unbeaten five-game run against Leverkusen, Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt, Freiburg and Wolfsburg.

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