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.

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,