Berlin, March 29 (IANS) Bayer Leverkusen kept their Bundesliga title hopes alive after closing the gap on leaders Bayern Munich to three points with a 3-1 victory over VfL Bochum on Saturday.

Leverkusen made their intentions of staying in the title race clear early on. Dominating possession and controlling the tempo, the hosts were rewarded in the 20th minute when Aleix Garcia found space outside the area and curled a shot into the top corner, leaving Bochum goalkeeper Timo Horn with no chance, reported Xinhua

But the visitors, desperate for points in their relegation battle, made quick response. Six minutes later, Felix Passlack stunned the home crowd with a volley from the edge of the area to level the scores.

Despite enjoying over 70 percent of the possession in the first half, Leverkusen struggled to convert their dominance into further goals as Bochum defended well and looked dangerous on the counterattack.

Leverkusen regained momentum after the break and Victor Boniface found the back of the net on the hour mark. A free kick saw Garcia float the ball into the box, where Piero Hincapie flicked it on for Boniface to slot home from close range.

Substitute Amine Adli put the result beyond doubt with three minutes to play. After a swift counterattack, the winger raced clear and slotted home.

"Bochum put up a good fight. We dominated from the beginning and basically handed them their goal. But overall, we stayed confident and got the win we deserved," said Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky.

Bayern Munich faces St Pauli on Saturday (8:00 PM).