A 3-2 victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday brings Bayer Leverkusen back to the top of the Budesliga after briefly being knocked down by Schalke's 1-0 win over Mainz on Friday.

Toni Kroos, 19, scored the game's first goal for home team Leverkusen 18 minutes in, only to have Gladbach's Roel Brouwers and Brazil defender Dante bring the guests ahead. Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok brought the game back to a tie before Kroos sealed the deal at the 69 minute mark.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich stayed within two points of the top in third place, pummeling Hertha Berlin 5-2.

Borussia Dortmund are in fifth after beating SC Freiburg 1-0, while VfL Wolfsburg lost ground in a 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hannover 96 lost their two-goal lead on VfL Bochum losing 2-3 and VfB Stuttgart took a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim.

The year's games close on Sunday with SV Hamburg facing Bremen, and Cologne taking on Nuremberg.

acb/AFP/dpa
Editor: Gabriel Borrud