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Leverkusen back in fourth after beating Hertha

Stefan Kiessling and Julian Brandt hit the target as Bayer 04 Leverkusen saw off Hertha BSC Berlin 2-1 to climb back up to fourth in Sascha Lewandowski's first game in charge.

Stefan Kiessling (centre) opened the scoring for Leverkusen
Stefan Kiessling (centre) opened the scoring for Leverkusen ©AFP/Getty Images

Bayer 04 Leverkusen lifted themselves back into Germany's UEFA Champions League slots with a 2-1 defeat of Hertha BSC Berlin in their first outing under caretaker coach Sascha Lewandowski.

Lewandowski stepped up from his duties as youth coach after Sami Hyypiä was dismissed last weekend, and they made the perfect start as Stefan Kiessling headed in Giulio Donati's cross inside the first minute. The hosts then doubled their lead with 24 minutes gone as 17-year-old forward Julian Brandt received a pass from Son Heung-Min and lifted the ball over Thomas Kraft.

Sandro Wagner reduced the deficit before the break, but Leverkusen held on to climb back above VfL Wolfsburg and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in fourth place, with four games left to play. Also on Sunday, ninth-placed TSG 1899 Hoffenheim clinched a 2-0 victory against the team directly above them, FC Augsburg, Sejad Salihović and Jannik Vestergaard getting the goals.