Bayern defend top spot in German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich returned to the top spot after beating Darmstadt 1-0 while Ingolstadt upset ten-men Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at the closer of the 15th round of Bundesliga on Sunday.

The "Bavarians" craved out a hard earned 1-0 victory over resilient bottom team Darmstadt as Douglas Costas unleashed a hammer to make the difference.

Despite encountering the last team of the Bundesliga standings, Carlo Ancelotti' s men struggled to overcome the hosts' well positioned defence.

The German record champions controlled the ball but lacked in ideas to pose any threat to Darmstadt' s goalkeeper Michael Esser, who had nothing to do until the break.

After the restart, things started where they left off. Bayern controlled the proceedings on the pitch whereas the "Lilien" kept the visitors on the distance.

Nevertheless, Bayern Munich' s efforts paid off in the 71st minute when Douglas Costas drilled a long-range hammer from 25 meters into the top left corner to smooth the way for the 11th victory of the season.

Darmstadt had the golden chance to restore parity after a free kick but Manuel Neuer was on guard to deny twice in the closing period.

With the result, Bayern move atop the standings due to a better goal difference than newly promoted stunner team Leipzig. Darmstadt remain in the Bundesliga bottom after suffering the seventh straight defeat.

"It was a difficult game for us," Bayern head coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "Darmstadt defended very well. We did not play fast enough in the first half. In the second half we improved our performance. In the end, it is important to win and to stay atop the standings."

Elsewhere, eighth placed Bayer Leverkusen lost surprisingly 2-1 to 17th placed Ingolstadt.

The "Schanzer" broke the deadlock with 26 minutes into the game as Alfredo Morals' header beat Leverkusen custodian Bernd Leno.

Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Charles Aranguiz received his marching order after booking his second yellow card in the 49th minute.

Despite being one man down Leverkusen restored parity through Admir Mehmedi, who capitalized on a moment of madness from Ingolstadt' s defence in the 63rd minute.

However, Ingolstadt had the last laugh as Almog Cohen wrapped up the win with the 2-1 winner in the 73rd minute.

The victory lift Ingolstadt on the 16th place, which is a relegation play-off spot meanwhile Leverkusen dropped from the 8th to the 9th place. Endit