Goretzka stars as Bayern beats Wolfsburg and Wirtz helps Leverkusen keep pace

BERLIN (AP) — Leon Goretzka scored twice for Bayern Munich as it beat Wolfsburg 3-2 and retained a four-point lead in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayer Leverkusen kept pace by beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in the late game, when Florian Wirtz starred again with two goals and setting up Patrik Schick for the third.

Goretzka fell out of favor at Bayern last season but reminded the club’s bosses of his qualities by scoring twice for the first time since March.

“What he showed is that you always have to deal with your situation professionally. It's not just Leon. It always happens in a squad or over a career,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. ”If you do your work and stay calm, your qualities will always come to the fore. For us, it's great."

Kompany's team started well with Leroy Sané striking the crossbar, then Harry Kane forcing a save from Kamil Grabara in the Wolfsburg goal.

But it took Goretzka to open the scoring in the 20th after surging through the middle of the field before firing inside the far post. Goretzka’s second goal in the 62nd – coming after Michael Olise’s goal in the 39th – proved to be the winner after Mohammed Amoura scored twice for Wolfsburg.

The Algeria forward's second goal in the 88th set up a nervy finale, but Bayern held on for its fourth successive win.

Leverkusen's bosses needed no reminders about Wirtz's quality – the young Germany star played an integral role in Xabi Alonso's team's unbeaten run to the championship last season, and he's doing it again for its title defense.

“We don't need to talk about his qualities,” Gladbach captain Julian Weigl said. “He played another top game today. We didn't manage to stop him.”

Wirtz played the ball through Gladbach defender Ko Itakura’s legs before shooting the opener in the 32nd, converted a penalty in the 62nd, then gave Schick an easy finish to seal the result in the 74th.

Tim Kleindienst scored Gladbach’s consolation in stoppage time.

It was Leverkusen’s 11th straight win across all competitions. The Bundesliga champion next visits Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

“We want to keep the run going, to win as many games as possible,” Wirtz said.

Leipzig squandered a three-goal lead at last-placed Bochum as Dutch forward Myron Boadu scored a 13-minute second-half hat trick for the home team.

“I'm very happy. I've never experienced fans like this before,” said Boadu, who's on loan at Bochum from French side Monaco. “You want to do everything you can to give them a good weekend and a good week. You can never write off Bochum.”

Bochum remained on the bottom, but it has claimed all but one of its 10 points since the experienced Dieter Hecking was appointed coach in November, and can potentially overtake Holstein Kiel next weekend.

Stuttgart capitalized on Leipzig's draw with a 4-0 rout of Freiburg to overtake Leipzig and move to fourth, the last place for Champions League qualification.

It's Stuttgart's third successive win to start the year, including Wednesday's defeat of Leipzig, now a point behind Stuttgart in fifth.

Also, St. Pauli defeated relegation rival Heidenheim 2-0 away, and Hoffenheim won at Holstein Kiel 3-1.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, right, and Gladbach's Stefan Lainer fight for the ball. during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's players celebrate their side's opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, right, and Gladbach's Julian Weigl fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz scores during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Maximilian von Klenze/dpa via AP)

Vfl Bochum players celebrate after Bochum's Myron Boadu scored his side's third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and RB Leipzig in Bochum, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Vfl Bochum players celebrate after Bochum's Myron Boadu scored his side's third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and RB Leipzig in Bochum, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bochum's Myron Boadu, left, celebrates with Bochum's Tim Oermann after scoring his side's opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and RB Leipzig in Bochum, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Munich's Leon Goretzka, left, scores scores the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Munich's Leon Goretzka (center) celebrates with Dayot Upamecano (left) and teammates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Leon Goretzka, left, celebrates with Leroy Sane after scoring his side's third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Munich's Leon Goretzka celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man accused of steering a U-Haul truck toward a Los Angeles demonstration supporting Iran's protests was released after being arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and has yet to be formally charged, authorities said Monday.

Police first said one person was hit by truck during Sunday’s protest, but on Monday said no one was struck. Two people declined treatment after paramedics evaluated them at the scene, the fire department said.

Messages were sent to the city attorney's office Monday asking about possible charges against the 48-year-old man. Police say he sped into the crowd of demonstrators, some waving Iran’s lion and sun flag, an emblem of its former ruler, the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The protesters gathered Sunday afternoon in Westwood, a neighborhood that's home to the largest Iranian community outside the country.

Videos shared on social media show demonstrators scrambling out of the truck's way while a few chase after it. The vehicle stopped several blocks away, its windshield, mirrors and a window shattered. ABC7 news helicopter footage showed police officers keeping the crowd at bay while demonstrators swarmed the truck, throwing punches at the driver and thrusting flagpoles through the driver’s side window.

Investigators searched the truck, “with nothing significant being found,” the police statement said.

Police said the protesters tore down a banner on the truck that read “No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don’t Repeat 1953. No Mullah,” an apparent reference to a U.S.-backed coup in that year which toppled then-Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, who had nationalized the country’s oil industry. The coup cemented the shah's power and lit the fuse for the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which saw Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini usher in the theocracy that still governs the country.

From exile in the United States, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah who fled Iran just before the Islamic Revolution, has called on Iranians to join the demonstrations. Some Iranians have chanted pro-shah slogans, which were once punishable by death, highlighting the anger fueling demonstrations that began over Iran’s sanctions-crippled economy.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with military action over its crackdown on protesters in nationwide demonstrations that activists said Monday had left nearly 600 dead across the country.

Associated Press journalists Julie Watson in San Diego and Michael Catalini in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.

Signs from a Sunday protest, supporting protesters in Iran, are left on a yard Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Signs from a Sunday protest, supporting protesters in Iran, are left on a sidewalk Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)