Bundesliga Matchday 23 in pictures
Borussia Dortmund bagged the derby spoils with a 3-0 win over Schalke on Saturday in the Bundesliga. There were wins elsewhere too for Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim.
Bremen get Dosted by Wolfsburg
In one of the season's most entertaining matches, Bremen led Wolfsburg 3-2 at the half. Then up stepped Bas Dost, the Dutch striker who seems to score every time he touches the ball these days. Within the space of two minutes Wolfsburg were ahead and went on to win 5-3. Dost has scored thirteen goals this season, eleven of them in the past six matches.
Dortmund pull off superhero act
The 167th Ruhr Valley derby was typically intense and chaotic with a great atmosphere Dortmund had 31 shots on goal as they pummeled the Royal Blues and won 3-0. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus both scored and drew some laughs with their Batman and Robin act.
Hertha strike late to down Augsburg
For most of the ninety minutes in the German capital, this looked like a certain goalless draw. But Salomon Kalou pounced on a ball two minutes from time to hand Berlin a surprise win over European-chasing Augsburg. Kalou's strike was the first home goal for the Berliners in 407 minutes of football.
Leverkusen end winless run against Freiburg
Following three league games without a win, many were beginning to question Roger Schmidt and Bayer Leverkusen. But now, after a victory over Atletico in the Champions League, Leverkusen have jumped back into the top four with a win over Freiburg, courtesy of Simon Rolfes' first-half goal.
Volland scores as Hoffenheim beat Mainz
Mainz coach Martin Schmidt couldn't make it two wins from two since replacing Kasper Hjulmand. His team fell to Hoffenheim 2-0 on Saturday. Kevin Volland got the opening goal of the game before Eugen Polanski - a former Mainz player - struck to secure the three points in their drive for European competition.
Stuttgart surrender lead to Hanover
It seemed after a while that Stuttgart coach Huub Stevens would mastermind his basement boys to a surprise win at Hannover, after Christian Gentner handed the Southern Germans the lead. But Lars Stindl got the hosts an equalizer, and the teams had to settle for a 1-1 draw and a point apiece.
Bayern criticized despite clear win over Cologne
Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer slammed the lack of concentration in Bayern's performance on Friday against Cologne. The German champions beat their opponents 4-1, but Manuel Neuer had to step up and deny the away side at various times in the second half. Schweinsteiger, Ribery, Robben and Lewandowski scored for the Bavarians.
Meier is on fire for Frankfurt
Alexander Meier scored twice for Eintracht Frankfurt in their 2-1 win over Hamburg in Saturday's late game. He missed a penalty, which denied him a hat-trick, but the striker now has 16 goals for the season. Zoltan Stieber had equalized to make it 1-1 at the break.
Paderborn doomed by two Gladbach deflections
You have to feel for Paderborn keeper Lukas Kruse. He was wrongfooted twice is his side's 2-0 loss in Mönchengladbach, with both balls taking unhappy rebounds. On the other hand, Paderborn rarely threatened the Foals' goal, so the loss was deserved.