Leipzig remain unbeaten, BVB trounce Gladbach

RB Leipzig 2-1 Schalke
(Werner 2' pen., Kolasinac o.g., 47' - Kolasinac 31')

Leipzig's Bundesliga winning streak increased to eight games as they squeezed past Schalke to remain unbeaten in the league. But the win did not come without controversy. Referee Bastian Dankert awarded the Red Bulls a penalty after 19 seconds once Timo Werner went down in the penalty area. Schalke's goalkeeper Ralph Fährmann did his best to argue to Dankert that it was a dive but Werner eventually converted the penalty to give Leipzig the early lead. Sead Kolasinac scored the equalizer before the half, but undid his moment of retribution by heading in an own goal from an Emil Fosberg free kick not long after the break. Leipzig's win keeps them three points ahead of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga and puts an even sharper focus on the pre-Christmas clash between the league's top two.

Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Gladbach
(Aubameyang 7', 68', Piszczek 15', Dembele 64' - Raffael 6')

Gladbach's strong start to the season is now a distant memory after the Foals dropped points for the eighth consecutive Bundesliga game. Raffael got the visitors off to a flyer with a goal from the top of the penalty area but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang erased their lead a minute later with a near-post volley hit too quickly for Yann Sommer to save. Lukasz Piszczek put Dortmund in front shortly after from a corner and Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele put the game out of reach in the second half. Gladbach coach Andre Schubert's job looks in even more jeopardy - his side haven't won since October.

Hoffenheim 4-0 Cologne
(Wagner 8', 67' Toljan 39', Uth 89')

Cologne knocked Hoffenheim out of the German Cup in October, but Julian Nagelsmann's men got their revenge in Sinsheim on Saturday. Jeremy Toljan scored the second Bundesliga goal of his career before halftime after shooting the ball through the legs of Cologne's back-up goalkeeper Thomas Kessler. Sandro Wagner grabbed his first brace of the season and Mark Uth capped off the game with a late goal as Cologne suffered their worst loss of the season. It got worse for the visitors, Marcel Risse had to be taken back to Cologne after injuring his right knee in the first half.

Leverkusen 1-1 Freiburg
(Calhanoglu 60' - Haberer 30')

Off to their worst Bundesliga start in 10 years, Leverkusen's luck did not get any better when they hosted Freiburg on Saturday. Leverkusen failed to register a shot on target in the first half - the first time they have failed to do so in the Bundesliga five years - and Javier Hernandez drove a possible game-winning penalty right into the legs of Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow in the second half. Jannik Haberer scored his first Bundesliga goal of his career from a corner in the first period, a goal Hakan Calhanoglu canceled out at the hour mark after smashing in a cross from Julian Brandt. Leverkusen remain in the bottom half of the table after dropping points for the third straight game.

Wolfsburg 2-3 Hertha Berlin
(Mayoral 13', Seguin 18' - Plattenhardt 16', Esswein 69', Kalou 90')

Wolfsburg have shown signs of turning the corner under newly appointed coach Valerin Ismael but Saturday was another reminder that they still have a lot of work to do. Borja Mayoral and Paul Seguin gave Wolfsburg their two first half leads, both scoring the first professional goals of their careers. But Hertha Berlin were able to equalize each time, first from a Marvin Plattenhardt free kick and then through an Alexander Esswein strike in the second half. Seguin got sent off for a second yellow card in the second half as things continued to unravel for Wolfsburg. Then, to top it off, Wolfsburg's Daniel Caligiuri conceded a late penalty and Salomon Kalou buried the winner from the spot.

Werder Bremen 2-1 Ingolstadt
(Kruse 24', Bartels 76' - Suttner 58')

Werder Bremen put in one of their best displays this term after they finally got their attacking band back together. Max Kruse put the home side ahead in the first half after finishing off a cross from Claudio Pizarro, his first goal since his Bremen return. Markus Suttner levelled for Ingolstadt with a pinpoint free kick but Fin Bartels then restored Bremen's lead in the second half. The win for Bremen was their first since the middle of October and lifts them out of the relegation zone, at least temporarily.