A first half penalty by Florian Wirtz was enough for Bayer Leverkusen to seal victory against 10-man Union Berlin and move within one win of securing the Bundesliga title.

Story of the match Bayer Leverkusen travelled to the German capital looking to maintain their season-long unbeaten run and in search of more history with their ninth consecutive victory.

Only Union Berlin stood in their way.

Nine points clear of Bundesliga relegation, the hosts have turned their season around in the last ten games, ranking seventh in the league for form.

Last time out, Union Berlin kept out Eintracht Frankfurt for an unlikely draw after they had beaten Werder Bremen before the international break.

Leverkusen are yet to lose a league game this season and have picked up 28 points from a possible 30 since January.

In midweek, Xabi Alonso's side also moved closer to the double, with a comfortable 4-0 win against Dusseldorf in the DFL Pokal to seal their place in the final.

Continuing their Bundesliga dominance, Leverkusen dominated the opening 30 minutes.

Opening chance fell to Jonathan Tah who dragged a through ball wide from 12 yards.

In the 8th minute, Leverkusen earned a free-kick on the edge of the box.

Alejandro Grimaldo forced a diving stop from Frederik Ronnow.

In the 15th minute, tricky feet from Nathan Tella created space for a delightful cross into Iglesias Borja, but his header from tipped over by Ronnow from six yards.

Leverkusen kept up the pressure.

In the 28th minute, Grimaldo slid the ball the wrong side of the post from 12 yards.

Eventually, Union found their feet.

First, Robin Gosens headed over a Christopher Trimmel corner in the 35th minute, then Yorbe Vertessen fired over from 15 yards a few minutes later.

It looked like the half would end goalless until added time.

A lazy foul from Robin Gosens on the edge of the box drew a second yellow card and, eventually, left Union's 10 men a goal behind.

Kouakou Kossonou looked like he had scored from the resultant free-kick but VAR ruled it out for offside and then awarded a penalty.

Trimmel was punished for handball as Florian Wirtz calmly scored from the spot.

Second half Against the odds, Union Berlin started the second half strongest but the first chance fell to Leverkusen's Amine Adli.

One-on-one with Ronnow, the Union goalkeeper stood tool and denied Adli from eight yards.

Chances were at a premium as Leverkusen settled into a 4-2-3-1 formation but the hosts kept knocking on the door.

Brief openings appeared and quickly closed for Brenden Aaronson, Benedict Hollerbach, and Mikel Kaufman, but Leverkusen are unbeaten for a reason.

The visitors controlled possession for large swathes of the second half and closed out the game with ease, to move within one win of the Bundesliga title.

There was a late chance for Adli to seal the victory in added time but Ronnow was out quickly to block the chance.

Ultimately, it didn't matter.

It was a record ninth consecutive victory for Champions-elect, Bayer Leverkusen.

The former Southampton and Burnley midfielder has revitalised his career under Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen.

After a difficult season on England's south coast, where Tella managed just three goals and one assist, his move to Germany has ignited Alonso's right wing.

Starts have been few and far between since scoring against wolfsburg in early March, but in 18 games, Tella has scored five times, with two assists.

Today, he was a thorn in Union's left side.

Diogo Leite and Union's defence could not contain the footwork and speed of Tella as he danced through them to create numerous chances.

Tella was in fine form and showed why Leverkusen are so close to securing a historic Bundesliga title.

Elsewhere, Heidenheim humbled Bayern Munich to leave Leverkusen 16 points clear at the top with six games to play.