Borussia Dortmund's perfect start comes to halt at Hoffenheim
Borussia Dortmund dropped two points behind league-leaders Bayern Munich as their barren run at Hoffenheim is extended after a 1-1 draw.
Dortmund has won twice from eight attempts at the Rhein-Necker Arena and the trip to the south west of Germany has been a difficult one for the yellow-and-blacks.
Markus Gisdol's side went ahead two minutes before the break with Sebastian Rudy arriving late in the penalty box and finishing from a tight angle. Roman Bürki was called into action a number of times and the Swiss keeper looks established as the club's number one keeper.
Eduardo Vargas almost put the home side home and dry after the restart. The Chilean broke clear and dribbled around Bürki, but he struck the inside of the post with the goal gaping.
Thomas Tuchel's side responded on 54 minutes to draw level. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finished from close range to score his seventh goal in six league games this season. Once Ilkay Gundogan came off the bench, Tuchel's men dominated and should have turned their chances into goals towards the end.
But it's the first setback for Dortmund since Tuchel's arrival and the yellow-and-blacks go into next week's clash with Bayern Munich two points off the top.
Meanwhile, Borussia Mönchengladbach brushed aside a tumultuous week in the club's history following the sudden departure of Lucien Favre with a 4-2 win over FC Augsburg.
Favre's short-term successor Andre Schubert, the coach of the U23 side, will have impressed his bosses for such a quick turnaround over the last few days. The Foals strolled through the gears at Borussia-Park, netting the quickest 4-0 in Bundesliga history after 20 minutes with goals from Fabian Johnson, Granit Xhaka, Lars Stindl and German-Syrian Mahmoud Dahoud. Paul Verhaegh scored twice from the spot for the visitors.
Gladbach was rocked by Favre's resignation on Sunday evening after the Foals lost their fifth league game in a row at rivals Cologne. Despite the best efforts of sporting director Max Eberl, the Swiss coach stood firm, leaving one of Germany's Champions League representatives just 24 hours to find a solution before the midweek round of fixtures.
Schubert restored 27-year-old Johnson to the starting line up and the Munich-born player rewarded his coach by scoring his first Bundesliga goal since March. The USA international hasn't played for Gladbach since the 4-0 defeat at Dortmund on the opening matchday when he tore his calf muscle.
Raffael's shot struck an Augsburg defender after five minutes and the ball fell kindly to Johnson who struck past Marwin Hitz. Gladbach's three goals in three minutes seemed like a contender to upstage Robert Lewandowski's unbelievable streak in nine minutes last night.
Raffael assisted for Xhaka to head home from close range after 17 minutes. Two minutes later, Stindl – a summer signing from Hannover who has yet to find form – picked out the top corner with a splendid, curling effort from the edge of the box.
Midfield teammate Dahoud spun on the ball at the edge of the box 60 seconds later and slammed a shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.
Naturally, Gladbach took their foot of the gas and Schubert's men conceded possession to the visiting Bavarians. Verhaegh's penalty double on 51 minutes and with a quarter of an hour left was never going to be enough to turn the game around as the Foals move off the bottom.
Elsewhere, Stuttgart secured their first league win of the season with a 3-1 win at relegation-threatened Hannover.
After going behind to Karaman's goal early on, Christian Gentner delivered their sixth goal of the campaign finishing after good work from Timo Werner. Highly-rated Werner scored his first goal in 1105 Bundesliga minutes to put Alexander Zorniger's men ahead two minutes later. Alexandru Maxim put the game beyond doubt in the stoppage time.
Bayer Leverkusen collected their first win in four games as former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez struck for the second home game in a row. Leverkusen's three straight losses – to Bayern, Darmstadt and Dortmund - has seen questions asked of head coach Roger Schmidt. But after a win in the Champions League, Leverkusen secured a crucial home win in the Bundesliga.
'Chicharito' fired an instinctive shot at goal on 69 minutes, the ball deflecting against teammate Hakan Calhanoglu and confusing keeper Loris Karius who had already dived in their other direction. Hernandez was soon replaced by Stefan Kießling, but his goal will be a confidence booster for the Mexican who has struggled in his other league appearances.
Schalke moved into third after Joel Matip headed the Royal Blues to three points against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Veltins Arena. Johannes Geis crossed for center-back Matip whose header was too powerful for Frankfurt keeper Lukas Hradecky on 76 minutes. Schalke made the points safe in stoppage time thanks to a fine solo-goal from Leroy Sane.
