Leverkusen cedes ground in Bundesliga title race, Dortmund loses again in Kovač’s debut

BERLIN (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen has been dealt a major blow to its Bundesliga title defense, and Borussia Dortmund’s malaise has continued through Niko Kovač’s debut as coach.

Leverkusen was held to a goalless draw at Wolfsburg on Saturday, allowing league leader Bayern Munich to go eight points clear before the top two clash in Leverkusen next weekend. No team has ever made up such a gap at this stage of the Bundesliga season to become champion. Bayern defeated Werder Bremen 3-0 on Friday.

“The gap has become far too big, unfortunately," Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký said. “That's the difference from last season – the games that we're drawing now, we won last year."

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso made eight changes to the team that edged Cologne to reach the German Cup semifinals, with star player Florian Wirtz dropping to the substitutes’ bench and new signing Mario Hermoso making his first start. Only Nordi Mukiele, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka had started against Cologne on Wednesday.

Dortmund lost 2-1 at home to Stuttgart in Kovač’s first game in charge, the team's eighth league defeat of the season.

Kovač was given an inkling of what was to come when his bag became stuck as he tried leaving the team bus before the match.

Two players who joined Dortmund from Stuttgart in the summer played a role in their ex-team’s goals.

Defender Waldemar Anton turned Chris Führich’s cross into his own net early in the second half, and former Stuttgart forward Serhou Guirassy was at fault for the second goal when he lost the ball in defense. Julian Chabot put the visitors 2-0 up in the 61st.

Dortmund’s ill luck continued when Alexander Nübel did enough to push Jamie Gittens’ deflected shot onto the crossbar.

Julian Brandt pulled one back in the 81st but encapsulated Dortmund’s afternoon with the last kick of the game when he sent a promising free kick well over. Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson was already sent off with his second yellow card for his reaction to a foul.

“Football is emotions, that's why we go to the stadium,” Kovač said of Ryerson's sending off. “If it wasn't like that, we'd go to the theater. There would probably be fewer emotions there.”

It was the seventh defeat Kovač experienced as a coach in Dortmund, just this time it was in charge of the home team.

“The result is the only thing that wasn’t good. The rest was totally fine,” Kovač said.

Croatian forward Marin Ljubičić enjoyed his Union Berlin debut with a goal and an assist after going on as a substitute in a 4-0 win at Hoffenheim.

It was Union's biggest win of the season and bucked its trend of never scoring more than two goals. Union had failed to score at all in four of its last five matches.

Benedict Hollerbach got the scoring underway, Ljubičić delivered the second goal two minutes after going on as a substitute, Andrej Ilić scored his first Bundesliga goal for the third, and Ljubičić set up Hollerbach to complete the rout.

Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt was held 1-1 at Borussia Mönchengladbach, the visiting team's third consecutive draw.

Michy Batshuayi started for his Frankfurt debut, and Elye Wahi went on in the second half to make his. Frankfurt signed both players to make up for Omar Marmoush's departure for Manchester City.

But it was Marmoush's former partner Hugo Ekitiké who delivered a prompt response to Tim Kleindienst's 26th-minute opener for Gladbach.

Freiburg enjoyed a 1-0 win over Heidenheim and Mainz drew with Augsburg 0-0.

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

Stuttgart player celebrate at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Stuttgart player celebrate at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Leverkusen's Nathan Tella, right, plays against Wolfsburg's Kilian Fischer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Swen Pfortner/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Victor Boniface, right, plays against Wolfsburg's Kilian Fischer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Swen Pfortner/dpa via AP)

Wolfsburg's Mattias Svanberg, left, plays against Leverkusen's Aleix Garcia during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Swen Pfortner/dpa via AP)

Dortmund players stand on the pitch at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Dortmund's head coach Nico Kovac argues with referee Daniel Siebert at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Dortmund players stand on the pitch at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Dortmund's Julian Ryerson shouts to referee Daniel Siebert after receiving a red card during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)