Kroos double puts Leverkusen back on top

Teenager Toni Kroos scored twice on Saturday to fire Bayer Leverkusen back to the top of the Bundesliga as the home side came from behind to inflict a 3-2 defeat on Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Kroos, who only turns 20 on January 4, scored the first and last goal of the game as Leverkusen wrestled back control of the German league after Schalke had briefly taken over on Friday night after their 1-0 win over Mainz.

The 19-year-old Kroos opened the scoring on 18 minutes after a pass from ex-Liverpool defender Sammi Hypia.

But goals from ‘Gladbach’s Roel Brouwers and Brazil defender Dante put the guests ahead.

Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok equalised on 60 minutes for the hosts before Kroos scored his second after Germany striker Steffan Kiessling found him on the edge of the penalty area.

The teenager drilled home the winner on 69 minutes to leave his side top going into the winter break.

Bayern Munich stay third and were ruthless against bottom-side Hertha Berlin in a 5-2 rout at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Bayern’s Belgium defender Daniel van Buyten produced a pin-point accurate header on 16 minutes before Gomez bagged his sixth goal in seven games when he converted a close pass from Germany team-mate Philipp Lahm on 31 minutes.

Gomez then turned goal provider when he set up Dutch star Arjen Robben on 33 minutes before rising star Thomas Mueller gave Berlin goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny no chance to make it 4-0 on 60 minutes.

Hertha’s Adrian Ramos and Raffael scored consolation goals on 71 and 90 minutes and Bayern’s Ivica Olic hit his side’s fifth on 77 minutes.

But Berlin are still relegation candidates as they finish the first half of the season with just six points and are six points adrift at the foot of the table.

Dortmund went fourth after they celebrated their 100th anniversary as a club with a 1-0 win at home over Freiburg.

The hosts took the lead when Argentina striker Lucas Barrios scored his ninth goal in ten games when he headed past Freiburg’s French goalkeeper Simon Pouplin on 19 minutes.

Defending champions Wolfsburg were held to a 2-2 draw by Eintracht Frankfurt to finish eighth in the table, while Bochum pulled away from the relegation zone with a 3-2 win thanks to a late free-kick from defender Christian Fuchs.

On Friday, a first-half goal from Peruvian star Jefferson Farfan had put Schalke top after a 1-0 win over Mainz.

Farfan notched his sixth goal of the campaign after taking a neat pass from German under-21 international Lewis Holtby, but Leverkusen took back the lead less than 24 hours later.