Bayern win again, Hoffenheim down Mainz

Bayern Munich 3-1 Darmstadt

(Müller 49', 71' Lewandowski 84' – Wagner 26')

Bayern Munich were given a rare scare on Saturday when minnows Darmstadt travelled to the Allianz Arena and took an early lead when Sandro Wagner managed to beat debutant defender Serdar Tasci to the near post to knock home an unexpected goal.

Bayern would end the game with all three points but they were forced to wait until the 49th minute to draw level, when Thomas Müller finished off a penetrating cross from Rafinha. The German would then drag Bayern into the lead when he received another cross - this time from Arturo Vidal - and to the amazement of fans and critics alike, managed to chest the ball down only to volley it over his own shoulder and into the corner of Darmstadt's net.

By then, the Bavarian giants were in full flow. Galvanised by the early second-half goal and the introduction of Franck Ribery, Pep Guardiola's side wrapped up the win through a Robert Lewandowski goal in the 84th minute. The departing manager may harbor concerns about his defense ahead of their test against Juventus next week but on Saturday all three points were theirs following an initial hiccup.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 Cologne

(Dahoud 9')

Andre Schubert did little to hide his delight after the final whistle on Saturday,having watched his Foals pick up all three points in a tightly contested Rhineland derby - for just their second competitive win since the start of the year.

Cologne had proved resilient on the road in recent months having lost just one of their last seven away games in the Bundesliga ahead of Saturday's game, but were ultimately undone by a solitary goal against their rivals.

The one goal that defined the derby came early on when Raffael – a source of so much inspiration for Gladbach this season - turned inside and squeezed a pass through three Cologne defenders to find Mahmoud Dahoud in front of goal with time and space. The Gladbach prospect wasted little time upon receiving the ball and knocked it past Timo Horn with a powerful outside of the foot shot to pick up his fourth goal of the season.

Opportunities to add to the one goal would come from both sides, with Lars Stindl having a goal disallowed in the 52nd minute before Anthony Modeste was denied by first the post and then an outstanding save from Yann Sommer 10 minutes before time.

Hertha Berlin 1-1 Wolfsburg

(Kalou 60‘ – Schäfer 53‘)

Wolfsburg continued their modest turn in form on Saturday with a 1-1 draw away to Hertha Berlin. In the capital, the Wolves managed to halt a run of form that had seen them lose their last three Bundesliga away games.

Dieter Hecking's side took the lead in the 53rd minute when Portuguesse winger Vieirinha managed to find makeshift winger Marcel Schäfer in the Hertha box, who duly opened the scoring with a brilliant, placed shot from his weaker foot.

Hertha equalized just seven minutes later when a rebounded shot landed at the feet of Salomon Kalou, who jinked past a defender to then fire a shot through Naldo's legs and into the Wolfsburg goal. Not for the first time this month, the Wolves had been undone by poor defending.

Hoffenheim 3-2 Mainz

(Amiri 13‘, Uth 68‘ 76‘ – Cordoba 11‘, Samperio 78‘)

Julian Nagelsmann picked up his first win as Hoffenheim manager in his first home game for the club, beating a Mainz side who were very much expected to take at least a draw from this fixture.

Indeed it was the carnival club who took the incentive after just 11 minutes when Jairo Samperio played a wonderful through ball for Jhon Cordoba to calmly slot past Oliver Baumann in goal.

Yet before Mainz could finish patting themselves on the back for sticking to the script, Hoffenheim had found their equalizer through Nadiem Amiri, who slotted home after a smart pass from Eduardo Vargas.

From then on it was Hoffenheim's game. In the 76th minute Mark Uth tapped the ball home to take the lead for the home side, following a powerful run and cross from Pavel Kaderabek before the forward made it three for Hoffenheim just eight minutes later.

Jairo Samperio would pick up something of a consolation just two minutes later with a wonderfully placed drive to double Mainz's goal tally but the victory belonged to Hoffenheim. An important win that drags Nagelsmann's side closer to safety.

Ingolstadt 2-0 Werder Bremen

(Hübner 12', Hinterseer 90')

Just above Hoffenheim in the relegation battle is Werder Bremen, who suffered further anguish in Ingolstadt as the promoted side claimed a comfortable 2-0 win at the Audi-Sportpark.

The home side took the lead in the 12th minute when a free kick into the box was followed by no less than three shots and a bounce off the crossbar before Benjamin Hübner knocked the ball past Felix Wiedwald in the Bremen goal.

Lukas Hinterseer doubled Ingolstadt's lead and ultimately put the game beyond doubt in the 90th minute, after scoring from the penalty spot. The forward was asked to retake it after an Ingolstadt player encroached in the box but was happy to do so and once again knocked the shot home to claim an important three points for the promoted side.