Bundesliga: Leverkusen smash Bremen for six, Dortmund can only draw
Leverkusen stunned Bremen on Sunday night. Bayern got back to winning ways in the Bundesliga, even if only just. Düsseldorf remain a team in trouble, as do Hannover, while Hertha surprised against a big team once again.
Mainz 1-2 Bayern Munich
Though it wasn't pretty, the defending Bundesliga champions got the three points they needed in Mainz. Leon Goretzka gave Bayern the halftime lead after Thiago's goal was disallowed by VAR. Jean-Paul Boetius scored the equalizer shortly after the break, his first ever Bundesliga goal, but Thiago restored Bayern's league just after the hour mark to seal the win.
Werder Bremen 2-6 Leverkusen
Under pressure, Heiko Herrlich delivered in spectacular fashion as his side hammered one of the most in-form teams in the Bundesliga. Karim Bellarabi inspired the visitors to a three-goal lead at the break, but Werder Bremen got back to within one thanks to Claudio Pizarro and the help of VAR. But the comeback was cancelled as Kai Havertz scored and Bremen collapsed.
RB Leipzig 0-0 Schalke
It's becoming harder to see what the plan is from Schalke's perspective, as Domenico Tedesco's side endured their second bore draw of the week. Breel Embolo missed a glorious chance to put the visitors ahead, but sent his free header wide. There were few real chances for either side on a wet Sunday afternoon in Leipzig, leaving the score a fair reflection of the game.
Nuremberg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
French forward Sebastian Haller rescued a late point for Eintracht Frankfurt on a difficult afternoon in Nuremberg. The Club's impressive home form this season looked set to continued after Adam Zrelak gave them the lead with just 12 minutes remaining, but Haller scrambled the ball over the line from Danny da Costa's cross in injury time to equalize for the Eagles.
Hoffenheim 4-0 Stuttgart
After scoring three in the Champions League on Tuesday, Hoffenheim bagged four more goals against Stuttgart on Saturday. Stuttgart played most of the game with 10-men after Emiliano Insua was sent off. Hoffenheim exploded in the second half, scoring four goals in 12 minutes, with Ishak Belfodil (middle) scoring two of them.
Hannover 1-2 Augsburg
Rani Khedira scored his second ever Bundesliga goal to give Augsburg a 1-0 first half lead. Alfred Finnbogason doubled the visitors' advantage from the spot after Genki Haraguchi handled a ball in the penalty area. Ihlas Bebou put Hannover back in the game, but the hosts couldn't do enough to avoid their fifth defeat of the season.
Dusseldorf 0-3 Wolfsburg
Fortuna's misfortune continued on Saturday as they suffered their fifth consecutive defeat. Referee Daniel Schlager pointed to the spot after a free kick from William struck Rouwen Henning's arm. Wout Weghorst converted the penalty, his third goal in his last four games. Josip Brekalo and Daniel Ginczek added to Wolfsburg's lead in the second half.
Dortmund 2-2 Hertha Berlin
A brace from Jadon Sancho wasn't enough for Dortmund, as Salomon Kalou got a brace of his own to give Hertha a big draw away from home. Sancho's goals came from great team moves, but Dortmund paid the price for not taking more of their chances. Hertha proved efficient at taking theirs, Kalou scored their only chance in the first half and cooly converted a stoppage-time penalty to seal a point.
Freiburg 2-1 Gladbach
Gladbach really do hate playing in Freiburg. They last won in Freiburg in the Bundesliga back in 2002 and despite being the in-form team 16 years later, they couldn't change that stat. After 13 seconds, Gladbach conceded a penalty (see above) which Nils Petersen scored. Thorgan Hazard scored from the spot at the other end, but Luca Waldschmidt struck a deserved winner in the second half.