Bayer Leverkusen made it 11 league games unbeaten as a Lucas Alario goal was enough to earn them three points against Werder Bremen.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Werder Bremen

Goals: 1-0 Alario (11’)

The home side dropped Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz despite a 2-0 win in Stuttgart last time out but Argentine striker Alario soon justified his recall. After a quiet opening to the game, Leon Bailey brilliantly latched on to a long ball and Ludovic Sane could only slice the Jamaican’s driven cutback into the path of Alario who scored from three yards out. Kevin Volland and Karim Bellarabi both threatened further, but Maximilian Eggestein’s downward header forced Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno into a flying save just past the half hour. Bailey’s pace was causing Theodor Gebre Selassie serious problems, but Volland could not stretch enough to volley his cross home before another devastating run from the former Genk winger ended with Jiri Pavlenka saving at his near post.

Bailey fizzed a free-kick across goal as Leverkusen continued to dominate after the break and not even the introduction of captain Zlatko Junuzovic with half an hour to play could spur Bremen on in a scrappy second half. Brandt came on to tee up Bellarabi for two great chances to seal the win late on, but Leverkusen closed the game out comfortably nonetheless.

Match stats

Leverkusen are on the longest unbeaten streak of any team in the Bundesliga (W6, D5).Alario's three Bundesliga goals to date have all come at the BayArena, against northern clubs (Bremen, Hamburg and Wolfsburg.Bayer scored in the opening quarter of a game for the first time this season.Thirteen different players have scored for Leverkusen this season - more than any other Bundesliga club.All four of Leverkusen's home wins this season have come against teams who were in the bottom four (Freiburg, Hamburg and Cologne). Bremen are currently 17th.Along with Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, Leverkusen are one of three Bundesliga teams still unbeaten at home this season (W4, D4).

Line-ups

Leverkusen: Leno - Tah, S. Bender, Retsos - Henrichs, Kohr, Baumgartlinger (L. Bender 87'), Bailey (Brandt 80') - Volland (Havertz 67'), Alario, Bellarabi

Unused subs: Lomb, Mehmedi, Jedvaj, Pohjanpalo

Coach: Heiko Herrlich

Bremen: Pavlenka - Veljkovic, Sane (Junuzovic 60'), Moisander - Gebre Selassie, Delaney, Augustinsson - Kaüper (Hajrovic 74'), Eggestein, Kainz (Belfodil 70') - Kruse

Unused subs: Drobny, Bauer, Garcia, Bargfrede

Coach: Florian Kohfeldt