体坛英语新闻：Leverkusen, Hoffenheim victorious in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Leverkusen extended Berlin's winless run as Hoffenheim cruised to a 2-0 win over Augsburg to close the 30th round of Bundesliga on Sunday.

Bayer Leverkusen return to a winning way under caretaker Sascha Lewandowski as the "Werkself" secured a 2-1 victory over Berlin to stretch the winless run of the visitors to eight consecutive games.

With the result Leverkusen climbed back on fourth place, a UEFA Champions League play off spot, while Berlin recorded their 13th loss of the season to stay on 10th place of the table.

Leverkusen wrapped up a perfect start on home soil when Giulio Donati crossed into the box to see Stefan Kiessling heading home his 15th goal of the season with just 40 seconds into the encounter.

Leverkusen failed to extend the lead as Gonzalo Castro and Sebastian Boenisch came close. The hosts finally overcame Berlin's defence for a second time at the 24th minute when youngster Julian Brandt volleyed a long ball over custodian Thomas Kraft for the 2-0 lead.

The deficit was a wakening call for Berlin as Sandro Wagner responded to reduce the arrears by header following a free kick cross seven minutes before the break.

After the restart Berlin lacked in penetration whilst Leverkusen wound down the clock to reap the 16th victory of the campaign.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim dampen Augsburg's UEFA Europa League hopes as "1899" extended their unbeaten streak to five matches with a 2-0 triumph at their 200th top-flight appearance.

The hosts sealed the deal with two first-half goals whereas Augsburg became desperate with the faultless performance of Hoffenheim goalkeeper Jens Grahl.

Hoffenheim's free kick specialist Sejad Salihovic smoothed the way for the win with his unstoppable dead ball goal at the 19th minute. The Bosnian capitalized on a free kick and curled the ball over the wall into the bottom right to make it 1-0 on the scoreboards.

After the setback Augsburg tried to respond but Hoffenheim goalkeeper Jens Grahl gave the visitors a difficult time as he denied the efforts by Andre Hahn and Halil Altintop.

Nevertheless, Hoffenheim staged a clinical chance conversion when Jannik Vestergaard doubled the lead against the run of the game with a rebound from close range just before the break.

Augsburg tried to pull one back but they failed because of the Grahl's performance who ensured his side a clean sheet.