Union Berlin lost the lead in the Bundesliga after Bayer Leverkusen scored five second-half goals to win 5-0 on home soil on Sunday.

Leverkusen dominated possession from the kick-off but couldn't do any damage as Union Berlin staged a well-positioned defence.

Goalscoring opportunities were at premium until the closing stages of the first half when Leverkusen's Nadiem Amiri pulled wide from a promising position before Diogo Leite headed Christopher Trimmel's dangerous free kick over the target.

The clash eventually sparked into life after the restart as Robert Andrich latched onto Kerem Demirbay's corner to break the deadlock one minute into the half.

The Werkself doubled their advantage in the 56th minute after Moussa Diaby finished off a counterattack and tapped home from inside the box.

Diaby was a menace in front of goal and made it 3-0 after making the most of Mitchel Bakker's through-ball two minutes later.

Union couldn't put up resistance but Leverkusen weren't done with the scoring, as Adam Hlozek backheeled Amiri's low cross past Union goalkeeper Lennart Grill with 68 minutes gone.

Xabi Alonso's men showed no mercy and made it 5-0 in the 76th minute when Bakker got his name on the scoreboard after poking home after Hlozek's good build-up work.

"Of course, we are satisfied with the result but also with the performance. The first half was very close, the second was very good. The first goal was very important for us," said Alonso.

"We played a controlled first half. We conceded a goal through a set piece and that stunned us. The second goal was a gift from us. If you play like we did today, you get thrashed 5-0 in the Bundesliga," said Union head coach Urs Fischer.

Elsewhere, Freiburg rose to second in Germany's top flight and are on Bayern Munich's heels thanks to a 2-0 victory over Cologne. 

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