Christian Genter (L) of Stuttgart vies with Leon Bailey of Leverkusen during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, on April 28, 2018. Leverkusen lost 0-1. (Xinhua/Joachim Bywaletz)
BERLIN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart are looking at a berth in Europe after beating wasteful Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in the 32nd round in Bundesliga on Saturday.
Christian Gentner's sole goal helped the "Swabians" to seal the second straight victory as Bayer Leverkusen failed to make the most of many promising chances.
Leverkusen grabbed the control from the kick off but it was the visitors who almost opened the scoring after a dangerous free kick from Dennis Aogo across the goal.
The hosts had the golden chance to open the scoring when the video assistant awarded Leverkusen a handball penalty in the 17th minute. Lucas Alario stepped up, only to see his shot from the spot saved by goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.
The hosts remained on the front foot and created another chance but Kai Havertz headed just wide of the target before the break.
After the restart, Leverkusen pressed frenetically for the opener but neither Charles Aranguiz nor Kevin Volland were able to score despite opportunities.
Stuttgart goalkeeper Zieler even invited the hosts with a misplaced pass but Karim Bellarabi failed to beat Zieler on a one-on-one from very close range in the 66th minute.
The visitors punished Leverkusen's wastefulness moments later as Dennis Aogo's pinpoint cross found Christian Gentner, who headed home the winner to secure all three points on the road.
Leverkusen were unable to bounce back as Stuttgart protected their narrow lead to the end.
With the victory, newly promoted Stuttgart climbed to eighth place, two points away from the international business. Leverkusen slipped from fourth to fifth.
"Karim Bellarabi did not accept Stuttgart's gift in the 66th minute. As a result, we get caught in a fast break and concede a goal in the next situation," Bayer Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich said.
"We have to focus on the next game where we host with Hoffenheim a Champions League aspirant," Stuttgart coach Tayfun Korkut said.
The following fixtures conclude the 32nd round on Sunday: relegation-threatened Mainz host Leipzig and Werder Bremen face third-placed Borussia Dortmund.
