Intro:

Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2 at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday to stretch seven points clear of third-placed Schalke in the German Bundesliga. Also on Saturday, Mainz won 2-0 against relegation-threatened Nürnberg to move into the final Europa League place, although Borussia Mönchengladbach only have to secure a point at Schalke on Sunday to return to sixth spot.

Script:

It's been said football is a game of two halves but when Bayer Leverkusen played Borussia Dortmund on Saturday just one half was enough, with all four goals coming before the break.

Leverkusen captain Lars Bender kicked things off after just seven minutes.

Dortmund levelled when Oliver Kirch scored a near post flick-on after Marco Reus' free kick.

Jürgen Klopp's men enjoyed more possession but they were caught on the counter-attack when Gonzalo Castro connected with teenager Julian Brandt's hanging cross.

A handball by Werkself right-back Roberto Hilbert gave Reus the chance to score his 16th league strike this season and salvage a 2-2 draw.

Also on Saturday, Mainz strengthened their push for a Europa League place with a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nürnberg.

Shinji Okazaki got on the end of Johannes Geis' free-kick to head home his 14th goal of this campaign; a league record for a Japanese player.

Nürnberg -- which was a key part of the Roman Empire -- completed a 2-0 victory thanks to Christoph Moritz. Their quest for Europe is still going strong.