Leverkusen leave blundering Nuremberg mired in drop zone

(Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen took advantage of a blundering Nuremberg performance to win 4-1 on Sunday and leave their opponents stuck in the Bundesliga relegation zone. Emir Spahic, with a brace, Sebastian Boenisch and Roberto Hilbert all scored their first goals of the season as Leverkusen revived their hopes of Champions League football next season. Leverkusen (54 points) leapt over VfL Wolfsburg (53) into fourth place which earns a place in the Champions League playoff round while Nuremberg (26) stayed one off the bottom. The result also raised Hamburg SV's hopes of maintaining their record as the Bundesliga's only ever-present team as it kept them one point and place above Nuremberg in the relegation playoff spot. Defender Spahic put Leverkusen ahead in the 16th minute when he met a loose ball and fired home from 30 metres. Nuremberg were level within 10 minutes when Marvin Plattenhardt's free kick, seemingly intended as a cross, evaded everyone in the penalty area and went straight into the net. The hosts should have gone ahead early in the second half when Josip Drmic went clear on Bernd Leno who saved his effort and then blocked the rebound from Hiroshi Kiyotake. Almost immediately, Boenisch put Leverkusen back in front after Nuremberg defender Mike Frantz missed a chance to clear the ball. Leverkusen's third came after they cleared a Nuremberg corner and Son Heung-min ran from one penalty area to the other before laying the ball into the path of Spahic for a simple finish. Son was also involved in the fourth as his shot was mishandled by goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer and, although it fell to Plattenhardt, the Leverkusen defender instead headed straight to Hilbert who gratefully converted the fourth. (Reporting By Brian Homewood, editing by Pritha Sarkar)