Bayer Leverkusen battled past Mainz 05 with a 1-0 home victory courtesy of a superb Alex Grimaldo free kick on Tuesday to stretch their winning run to seven straight matches in the Bundesliga and close in on leaders Bayern Munich.

Champions Bayer Leverkusen battled past Mainz 05 with a 1-0 win coming courtesy of a superb Alex Grimaldo free kick on Tuesday to stretch their winning run to seven straight matches in the Bundesliga and close in on leaders Bayern Munich.

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Reuters) -Bayer Leverkusen battled past Mainz 05 with a 1-0 home victory courtesy of a superb Alex Grimaldo free kick on Tuesday to stretch their winning run to seven straight

Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen only managed a narrow 1-0 victory against Mainz but that was enough to keep them close to leaders Bayern Munich. Leverkusen failed to find a way through in-form Mainz in the first half but Alejandro Grimaldo finally broke the deadlock with the winner in the 48th minute.

Borussia Dortmund's struggles in the league continued with a 4-2 loss at Holstein Kiel earlier on Tuesday, raising the heat on under-fire coach Nuri Sahin.

Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen only managed a narrow 1-0 victory against Mainz on Tuesday, but that was enough to keep them close to leaders Bayern Munich. With the win, they are second in the standings,

A second-half goal from Alex Grimaldo sent Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-0 home win over Mainz, closing the gap with league leaders Bayern Munich to one point. With half the season played, Dortmund sit ninth,