Bayer Leverkusen boosted their hopes of securing Champions League football next season when they eased to a 2-0 home victory over Augsburg in the Bundesliga.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fifth-placed Leverkusen moved level on points with Borussia Moenchengladbach, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League spot but could only draw 1-1 at home to Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Gladbach, ahead on goal difference, have a game in hand but also must face Leverkusen on March 22.
Moussa Diaby grabbed the first-half opener and Nadiem Amiri rifled in on the hour for a fifth straight win in all competitions.
"The result is good, but I'm really not satisfied with how we started out," Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz told a news conference.
"We were too slow and playing backwards too often. We switched some things around after Augsburg were running at us a lot and after that you could see our quality up top."
European hopefuls Wolfsburg moved up to seventh with a 4-0 home stroll over 15th-placed Mainz in the late game.
Croatian midfielder Josip Brekalo struck from 25 metres on 21 minutes although goalkeeper Robin Zentner could maybe have done better.
Renato Steffen then nodded in just before the break after Mainz, in a special carnival kit, failed to clear.
Yannick Gerhardt's tap-in and a second classy finish from Steffen completed the rout.
Wolfsburg trail Leverkusen and Gladbach by nine points but are in a prospective Europa League spot for next term if a top-six team win the German Cup.
Sixth-placed Schalke, in a guaranteed Europa League qualifying pace, are just two points ahead with 11 games left.
Australian Associated Press