Bayer Leverkusen won to move one point clear of Bayern Munich and Holstein Kiel below Dortmund

Alex Grimaldo scored a goal in the second half, as Bayer Leverkusen beat its guest, Mainz, 1-0, reducing the gap with league leaders Bayern Munich to one point. Borussia Dortmund’s struggles in the league continued after they lost 4-2 to Holstein Kiel earlier on Tuesday, increasing pressure on coach Nuri Sahin, who is under heavy criticism. In Leverkusen, the defending champions under Xabi Alonso dominated an in-form Mainz side, but they were kept at bay until Grimaldo curled in a stunning free-kick in the 48th minute. The Spanish defender fired the ball over the Mainz wall and past the outstretched palm of Robin Zentner, scoring his 12th goal in his 50th appearance. In the German League.

Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick said about Grimaldo’s goal, “He always does that, and also in training. It was not a surprise.”

Florian Wirtz, who took the free-kick, along with Nathan Tella and Jeremy Frimpong, missed late chances.

Leverkusen’s tenth consecutive victory in all competitions raised its score to 38 points to defeat Bayern, which will face Hoffenheim at home on Wednesday.

Mainz, which lost its coach Bo Henriksen due to receiving two consecutive warnings due to a verbal altercation in stoppage time, remained in fifth place despite the loss.

Eintracht Frankfurt produced an impressive second-half display to beat Freiburg 4-1 at home, with Omar Marmoush once again scoring.

Marmouche, who has been closely linked with a winter move to Manchester City, scored Frankfurt’s second goal, while Robin Koch, Hugo Ekiteke and Nnamdi Collins scored for the third-placed side.

Shaheen feels the heat

Dortmund were heavily favored over their promoted rivals, who sit second in the table, but were overtaken when Kiel scored three goals in 22 first-half minutes.

Shoto Machino, Phil Harris and Alexander Bernhardsson found the net as Kiel took a three-goal lead in the first half.

Dortmund’s Gio Reyna and Jimmy Gittens scored two goals in the second half, but the visitors were unable to achieve an unexpected comeback, as Jan Fite Arp scored the fourth goal for Kiel in stoppage time.

Captain Emre Can said that Dortmund’s problems “have nothing to do with the coach. We as players are responsible.”

The 31-year-old added, “With all due respect to Kale, we cannot play like this. It is a matter of honor.”

Kiel have now won two of their last three matches to boost their chances of avoiding direct relegation.

With half the season having passed, Dortmund occupies ninth place, 14 points behind league leaders Bayern.

Questions will remain for coach Sahin, who replaced Edin Terzic in the summer, even though the latter led Dortmund to the Champions League final last June.

With would-be striker Donyiel Malen joining Aston Villa just an hour before kick-off, Sahin gave young striker Julian Duranvil his first start.

In cold and foggy conditions on the northern coast of Germany, Dortmund controlled the ball for most of the first half hour, but was unable to penetrate the stubborn hosts.

With 27 minutes gone, Kell forced Julian Brandt into a foul near his own penalty area, and Bernhardsson then passed the ball to Machino who slotted the ball home.

Harris, who was playing in the fourth tier this time last season, doubled Kell’s lead with a clever header shortly afterwards.

Kiel scored the third goal just before half-time, Bernhardsson tapping in a cross from Harris to send Dortmund reeling.

Despite goals from Reina and Gittens in the last 20 minutes, Dortmund were unable to find an equaliser, even when Kiel’s Lewis Holtby received a red card four minutes from time.

Local boy Arp then scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal a famous win for Kiel.

In other matches, Wolfsburg defeated its guest, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 5-1, with Lukas Nmecha scoring two goals in four minutes in the second half.

The Wolves, under former Southampton and RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuttl, have won six of their last eight matches to finish sixth.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)