Leverkusen beats Freiburg in the Bundesliga to bounce back from 7-2 PSG rout

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LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Ernest Poku continued his strong goalscoring form as Bayer Leverkusen bounced back from its heavy loss to Paris Saint-Germain to beat Freiburg 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

In its first game since a 7-2 loss to PSG ended Kasper Hjulmand's unbeaten start as coach, Leverkusen looked a very different team, ending an eight-game unbeaten run for Freiburg in all competitions.

Poku scored the opening goal off a slick one-two with Aleix Garcia that allowed him to run onto the ball on the edge of the area and shoot with power.

That took speedy Dutch midfielder Poku to three goals and an assist in his last four Bundesliga games as he settles in following a turbulent start to his time at Leverkusen. Poku signed in August as part of Leverkusen's rebuild under Dutch coach Erik ten Hag, who was fired less than three weeks later.

Defender Edmond Tapsoba, one of the few players left from Leverkusen's 2023-24 title-winning season under Xabi Alonso, doubled the lead with a towering header in the 52nd. Philipp Lienhart's sending-off for a second yellow card all but ended Freiburg's hopes of a comeback.

There was another boost for Leverkusen as Czech striker Patrik Schick came off the bench for his first game in a month after a thigh injury. Leverkusen ended the day fifth, seven points off leader Bayern Munich. Freiburg is 11th.

Deniz Undav's first goal of the season sent Stuttgart back to third in the league with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over 16th-placed Mainz.

Undav, who's had an injury-disrupted season so far, sped away from the Mainz defense to run onto a long ball from Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and flicked a shot over Robin Zentner in the Mainz goal in the 80th.

Nadiem Amiri had given Mainz the lead with a 41st-minute penalty after Stuttgart’s Dan-Axel Zagadou headed the ball onto his teammate Chema Andrés’ arm while trying to clear a long throw.

Chris Führich leveled the score for Stuttgart with the last kick of the first half, hitting a dipping long-range shot past Zentner.

Much of the first half was played in a hushed atmosphere as both teams’ fans reacted to a medical emergency involving a fan of Mainz, which said at halftime the supporter was stable and headed to the hospital.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday as Mainz hosts Stuttgart in the second round of the German Cup.

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