Borussia Dortmund dropped their first Bundesliga points of the season on Wednesday as their 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim left Bayern Munich two-points clear at the top.
After Bayern’s staggering 5-1 win at home to Wolfsburg on Tuesday, when Robert Lewandowski scored five goals in nine second-half minutes, Dortmund squandered the chance to regain top spot.
Dortmund had their 11-match winning run ended as they failed to match the Bavarians’ six straight wins, giving Pep Guardiola’s side a psychological advantage for the Dortmund-Bayern clash in Munich on Sunday week.
Second-placed Dortmund found themselves 1-0 down at Hoffenheim when Germany international Sebastian Rudy netted just before the break.
But Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel brought on defensive midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and the equaliser followed soon after.
Midfielder Gonzalo Castro chested down Mats Hummels pass and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stabbed home his seventh goal in six league games on 55 minutes.
Aubameyang scored in his sixth successive league game to set a new Bundesliga record
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It means the Gabon winger has scored in each of his first six league games this season to set a new Bundesliga record.
It was the perfect time to score just moments after Hoffenheim’s Chile international Eduardo Vargas had hit the post after beating Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki, but Borussia could not force a winner.
Despite holding Dortmund, Hoffenheim are second from bottom of the table with just two points from two draws.
“We beat about the bush a bit,” Tuchel told Sky.
“We didn’t have the necessary drive in our game. We need to be dangerous in front of goal.
“We weren’t forceful enough, but we must take care that we don’t see ourselves as the losers, because we’re not.”
Chicharito scored his first league goal in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 win over Mainz
Ex-Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez scored his first goal in the Bundesliga with the winner for his new club Bayer Leverkusen to seal their 1-0 win over Mainz.
It ended his side’s three-match losing streak in the German league.
Having already scored for Leverkusen in the Champions League, ‘Chicharito’ produced a superb solo effort with a darting run before showing clinical finishing on 69 minutes.
The Mexican made way for Stefan Kiessling soon afterwards, but ex-Dortmund midfielder Kevin Kampl hit the post as Leverkusen came within a whisker of a second in the final ten minutes.
Schalke are third after Cameroon centre-back Joel Matip headed home from a corner, then Leroy Sane scored late on, his second in as games, to seal their 2-0 home victory against Eintracht Frankfurt, fortheir third consecutive win.
Borussia Moenchengladbach climbed off the bottom of the league with their first win after five straight defeats with a 4-2 victory over Augsburg under caretaker coach Andre Schubert, following Lucien Favre’s shock resignation.
‘Gladbach, who host Manchester City next Wednesday in the Champions League, raced into 4-0 lead after just 20 minutes with goals by Fabian Johnson, Lars Stindl, Granit Xhaka and teenager Mahmoud Dahoud, who scored his first goal for the club on only his seventh appearance.
Augsburg hit back when Paul Verhaegh converted two second-half penalties, but ‘Gladbach held on and are now 16th.
Hanover went bottom after their 2-1 defeat at home to Stuttgart, which leaves coach Michael Frontzeck under pressure with just one point from their opening six games, while Stuttgart are second from bottom.
By AFP
