Bundesliga Roundup: Borussia Dortmund thump Leverkusen, Bayern held by Leipzig
By Tushar Bahl
Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways with a 4-0 thumping of Bayer Leverkusen, while Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw by RB Leipzig.
After losing to Union Berlin two weeks ago, the pressure was on Borussia Dortmund going into their Bundesliga clash against Bayer Leverkusen. But Lucien Favre’s men issued the perfect response, beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-0. Paco Alcacer opened the scoring in the first half, before goals from Marco Reus (x2) and Raphael Guerreiro sealed an emphatic win for the Black and Yellows.
Bayern Munich started brilliantly but were held to a 1-1 draw by a determined RB Leipzig side. Robert Lewandowski gave the Bavarians the lead in just the third minute. Bayern continued to dominate, but Leipzig were given a penalty in stoppage time, which was converted by Emil Forsberg. The second half saw both goalkeepers make fantastic saves, as neither side was able to find a winner.
Borussia Mönchengladbach won the highly anticipated Rhineland derby, beating FC Köln 1-0 thanks to Alassane Pléa’s goal in the first half. After three defeats in a row, Mainz 05 finally got their season off the mark with a 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin. Robin Quaison gave Mainz the lead, before Marko Grujić equalised in the 83rd minute. But Mainz were not to be denied, and got the three points through Jeremiah St. Juste’s winner in the 88th minute.
Augsburg also registered their first win of the season, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1. Goals from Marco Richter and Florian Niederlechner gave Martin Schmidt’s side a two goal lead going into half time. Gonçalo Paciência pulled a goal back for Eintracht in the second half, but Augsburg held on to claim a massive win.
Werder Bremen beat Union Berlin 2-1 in a hard fought encounter that saw both sides end the game with ten men. Davy Klaassen and Sebastian Andersson netted early penalties to make it 1-1. Klassen missed a penalty in the second half, but Niclas Füllkrug’s headed home from Nuri Sahin’s cross just moments later to give Bremen the win. Former Borussia Dortmund teammates Neven Subotic and Nuri Sahin were sent off late on.
On Friday, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Wolfsburg played out a 1-1 draw. Fortuna took the lead through a controversial goal by Niko Gießelmann. But Wolfsburg found their equaliser through Wout Weghorst to keep their unbeaten run intact.
Next. How have Borussia Dortmund’s new signings performed so far?. dark
Sunday saw SC Freiburg continue their impressive run of form as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Hoffenheim thanks to goals from Christian Günter, Janik Haberer and Nils Petersen. In the final fixture of the weekend, Schalke survived an early scare to thrash Paderborn 5-1. Cauly Oliveira Souza gave the newly promoted side the lead in the eighth minute, but goals from Salif Sane and Suat Serdar helped Schalke turn things around, before Armine Harit (x2) and Ahmed Kutucu found the net to add some gloss to the scoreline.