Ilkay Gundogan scores against Hoffenheim as Dortmund losing drought ends

Bundesliga

Dortmund - Ilkay Gündogan was the matchwinner as Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways after a 1-0 win against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Matchday 14's opener.The midfielder grabbed his first Bundesliga goal in 20 months to end Dortmund's near month-long wait for a win in the Bundesliga and, at least temporarily, take them off the foot of the table and out of the bottom three ahead of the remainder of the weekend's fixtures. 

Gündogan goal 

BVB had a spring in their step right from the start with a Marcel Schmelzer effort after 40 seconds drawing encouraging applause from Klopp. The coach had made the bold decision to leave out Roman Weidenfeller as part of five changes to the side beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt a week ago, with Mats Hummels returning from injury at the heart of the defence, but the decision was proven correct, with his side's organisation and discipline visible from the outset. Hoffenheim were being as vigilant as possible to keep a buoyant BVB at bay, but just one lapse in concentration was all it took for their defence to be breached. Just before the 20-minute mark, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lifted a teasing cross to the far post where Gündogan ghosted in to head home his first Bundesliga goal since April 2013. 

Imperious Hummels 

Playing for the first time in 73 games with the very same back line used in the UEFA Champions League final defeat to FC Bayern München, Dortmund showed the same resolve which got them to that season's Wembley final, restricting Hoffenheim to just one speculative Sven Schipplock effort in the whole of the first half. Credit for that could be correlated with the return of Hummels, who made a decisive block at the start of the second half to scamper back and deflect a Sebastian Rudy free-kick wide with Mitch Langerak beaten. It was a warning to Dortmund that one goal may not be enough, and they thought they had added a second when Aubameyang headed in, but the offside flag was raised to deny him. 

One-way traffic

Hummels so very nearly announced himself at the other end too as Dortmund looked to turn the screw, but Oliver Baumann parried his header from a corner over the bar. Aubameyang then suffered similar treatment from the Hoffenheim custodian, who was keeping his team in the contest, turning another effort from the Gabon forward onto the outside of the post after the had seen his second goal of the night ruled out for offside. Henrikh Mkhitaryan also missed the target as the home fans' nerves were put to the test by side's their failure to finish Hoffenheim off. They got away with it, though, despite Hoffenheim's appeals for a penalty when Neven Subotic clashed with Tarik Elyounoussi inside the box. There was nothing to block Dortmund's path to a much-needed win, however, and the relief inside the Signal Iduna Park at full time was palpable.

SC Paderborn wins again, scores a come from behind win over Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1

PADERBORN COMEBACK TO SNATCH VICTORY OVER FRANKFURT

Paderborn - SC Paderborn 07 came from a goal behind to pick up their third win of the season, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 at the Benteler Arena in Matchday 8’s final encounter.

Following a quiet first half, Alexander Meier struck first for the Eagles, who failed to seize on the chance to move into the top three as late goals from Marvin Ducksch, captain Uwe Hünemeier and Stefan Kutschke saw plucky Paderborn snatch all three points.

Slow out of the blocks

Keen to assert themselves in the opening exchanges of the encounter, Paderborn were quick to establish their punishing pressing game against a Frankfurt line-up who seemed flat-footed in the face of their hosts’ approach. Chances were few and far between though, with only an unfortunate bobble preventing Elias Kachunga tapping home from Süleyman Koc’s drilled cross. 

It was the only chance of note in a turgid first half hour of proceedings. Eintracht were offering little or no threat in the final third - Takashi Inui’s wayward shot from range their only effort on goal before the break - while Paderborn couldn’t produce the all-important delivery to unlock the visitors’ rigid backline. 

Alexander the great

Patrick Ziegler’s curling effort from the edge of the area on the cusp of half-time came closest to flipping the script, but with the sides locked in a stalemate following a less than enterprising first 45 minutes, both will have been grateful for a chance to regroup.

Though neither outfit entered the fray with renewed vigour after the restart, Frankfurt’s tactical tweaks soon began exposing Paderborn’s vulnerability on the counter. The improvement in performance duly delivered the opening goal as Inui’s drilled cross picked out Meier, whose side-footed effort cannoned in off the post shortly before the stroke of the hour. 

Paderborn punish Eagles

It was the moment that sparked the game into life as Andre Breitenreiter’s charges threw caution to the wind on the back of the Paderborn head coach making two attacking changes, which produced immediate results. Stefan Kutschke and Ducksch combined to great effect moments after coming off the bench, as the latter smashed a superb volley across goal and inside the far post.

Though Inui and Haris Seferovic both came within a whisker of restoring Frankfurt’s lead, the momentum had well and truly shifted in favour of the hosts, who were unrelenting in cranking up the pressure. As a result, Hünemeier swept home Mario Vrancic’s clever delivery with just over ten minutes left to play, before Kutschke rounded Felix Wiedwald to complete the comeback, moving Paderborn above their opponents in the Bundesliga standings. 

Stuttgart clawed back to draw with Bayer Leverkusen 3-3

STUTTGART FIGHTBACK LEAVES LEVERKUSEN STUNNED

Stuttgart - A stunning comeback rescued VfB Stuttgart a dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

The Swabians fought back from three goals down thanks to strikes from Timo Werner, Florian Klein and Martin Harnik after Heung-Min Son’s double and Karim Bellarabi had given Leverkusen a seemingly comfortable three-goal half-time lead.

Son brace

Boosted by their streak of four competitive games without a defeat, Leverkusen settled into their rhythm quickly, dictating both pace and possession in the early stages against a deep-lying Stuttgart side. Their dominance paid off after four minutes when Son collected from Stefan Kießling to slot in from close range.

The South Korean was at the heart of all Leverkusen's attacking efforts, imposing a constant threat on the Stuttgart defence. He made it two only five minutes later, picking up Thorsten Kirschbaum’s loose clearance and hammering the ball into the back of the net from a good 30 yards.

Werner pulls one back

Antonio Rüdiger gave the guests their first serious warning at the other end with a promising header near the half-hour mark, but things soon went from bad to worse when, after Kießling’s effort from a tight angle bounced off the post, Bellarabi crowned a fantastic solo effort to hand Bayer a comfortable three-goal lead.

Stuttgart were never going to give in on their own patch, however, with Armin Veh’s men emerging for the second half completely rejuvenated. Martin Harnik came close to pulling one back for the Swabians, swerving marginally wide, before Werner went one better, nodding Klein’s cross into the far left corner.

Harnik to the rescue

The hosts managed to keep up the pressure against a detereorating Leverkusen side, bossing possession and carrying the far greater threat as the game progressed. The 2007 Bundesliga champions soon saw their efforts pay further dividends when Klein hammered the ball home from long range, leaving Bernd Leno in the Leverkusen goal with no chance whatsoever.

Sensing their chance to snatch an unlikely draw, Stuttgart threw men forward in the final stages, and it was the tireless Harnik who sent the home side level with 13 minutes on the clock, nodding in substitute Filip Kostic’s pinpoint free-kick to make it 3-3. Roberto Hilbert passed up one final chance to give Leverkusen a dramatic late win as a thrilling contest ended all square.

Borussia Monchengladbach, FSV Mainz share points 1-1

GLADBACH AND MAINZ SHARE THE POINTS TO STAY UNBEATEN

 Mönchengladbach - Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FSV Mainz 05 both maintained their unbeaten starts to the 2014/15 Bundesliga campaign after sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Borussia Park on Sunday eveningMax Kruse put the hosts in front with a well-taken finish as Gladbach controlled the early exchanges, but Jonas Hofmann levelled from the spot shortly before half-time to ensure the visitors remain just two points behind in the standings. 

Strong start 

Following Gladbach’s energy-sapping draw in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, Foals coach Lucien Favre rotated his attacking options by leaving Andre Hahn, Ibrahima Traore and Thorgan Hazard on the bench, instead fielding Fabian Johnson and Patrick Herrmann on the wings. The changes failed to disrupt the hosts’ rhythm though and they began the brighter of the two, with Raffael testing Loris Karius in the visiting goal with a smart shot from ten yards after just four minutes. It was not long before Gladbach did take the lead though. A well-worked team move down the left culminated with the ball falling to Johnson just inside the Mainz penalty area. The USA international swiftly found Kruse hovering around the penalty spot, and after taking a touch to control the ball, the forward flicked his left boot and directed it into the net. 

Hofmann replies 

The home team continued to attack and given their dominance all over the pitch, Mainz’s equaliser came against the run of play. After right-back Julian Korb was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box, Hofmann sent Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer the wrong way from the ensuing penalty. Raffael had a chance to restore his side’s lead just before the break following another flowing Gladbach move, but his left-footed shot flew over to allow Mainz to remain on level terms at half time. After the restart the Foals initially set about flexing their muscles once more and pressed Mainz deep into their own half, at times committing six players forward to close down the opposition. It failed to force any errors though, with a couple of long-distance Granit Xhaka strikes as close as they came to scoring again. Having withstood that early barrage, Mainz took control of the game for the first time, keeping hold of the ball and dictating the pace of the encounter. 

Gladbach wasteful 

That was obviously not to Favre’s liking and after witnessing his side struggle to muster the dynamism and energy of the first half, he brought on Hahn and Hazard in an effort to inject new vigour into the Foals’ play. The former went close within moments of taking to the pitch but his shot lacked accuracy and failed to test Karius, while Hazard had a gilt-edged opportunity to snatch the victory when played through by Xhaka, but Karius was once again able to block. The clearest chance fell to Raffael late on after another superb team move, but the Brazilian could not squeeze his close-range effort over the line after Hazard’s cut-back had taken Karius out of the game. Gladbach will likely view the draw as two points dropped, but the match nevertheless offered further evidence of their strength this term as a team to be reckoned with in the top third of the table.

Bayern Munich too much for Hannover 96 4-0

Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben star as Bayern Munich beat Hannover

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben scored twice each as the champions crushed Hannover 4-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of the table as rivals Borussia Dortmund lost to Hamburg.

The Bavarians needed only 13 minutes to tighten their grip on the game, scoring first through Poland’s Lewandowski after only six minutes and doubling their lead seven minutes later as Robben pounced on a Hanover mistake.

Lewandowski, who joined from Dortmund this season, benefited from a superb through ball in the 38th minute form Juan Bernat, for his fourth league goal of the campaign. Robben also go this second goal, slotting in 11 minutes from time as undefeated Bayern moved up to 17 points.

“Maybe it was our best performance yet [this season],” said Robben, who now has 59 goals and 42 assists in 110 Bundesliga games. “We had fun on the pitch and it was also great for our fans. We played very aggressively up front and created a lot of chances. We should have scored even more but 4-0 is good enough.”

Schalke tops Borussia Dortmund 2-1

SCHALKE CLAIM DERBY WIN AGAINST DORTMUND

Gelsenkirchen - FC Schalke 04 emerged victorious in an electrifying 145th Ruhrderby, overcoming arch rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the Veltins Arena.The hosts were largely in command before the break and Cameroonian internationals Joel Matip and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put them into a two-goal lead. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back for Dortmund, but the visitors were unable to make their second-half dominance count, eventually paying dearly for mistakes before the break. 

One-two punch 

Schalke settled into their rhythm quickly against their Ruhr district opponents, repeatedly passing their way towards the Dortmund goal in the opening stages. Sidney Sam gave Dortmund a first serious warning only two minutes into the game, seeing his effort saved by Roman Weidenfeller, before Choupo-Moting was thwarted. The BVB keeper was eventually beaten in the ninth minute, however, when Royal Blues centre-back Matip was left to head home. It was the wake-up call BVB needed, with Jürgen Klopp's men slowly starting to find a way into the game in. Both Kevin Großkreutz and Ciro Immobile saw their sides' first attacking efforts blocked after 15 minutes of play, but it were the home side who remained the more threatening side. They were soon able to double their advantage when Choupo-Moting took advantage of a poor clearance from Adrian Ramos to lash in a second. 

Aubameyang strikes 

Dortmund had been victorious in three of the sides' four previous meetings at the Veltins Arena, and they nevertheless responded well to the setback, as Ramos set up Aubameyang to sweep home from inside the box and notch in this fixture for the second season running. Lukasz Piszczek then came close to levelling matters shortly before the break, with Ralf Fährmann doing well to keep the Polish right-back's effort out. The visitors kept up their momentum after the interval, breaking forward with pace and purpose and as they began to enjoy the larger share of the possession. Immobile and Piszczek from distance, as well as Aubameyang with a free-kick, all sent purposeful efforts towards the Schalke goal, but none could beat an alert Fährmann on his 26th birthday. 

No joy for Kagawa 

Intending to add creativity to his Dortmund attack, Klopp threw on Shinji Kagawa near the hour stroke of the hour, with the Japanese settling into the five-time champions' offensive midfield, but clear-cut goalscoring chances became increasingly difficult to come by as the game wore on against a stiff Royal Blues defence. The Japanese international was at the heart of most of Borussia's action as Schalke's disciplined back line largely held the Schwarz-Gelben to long-range efforts. Dortmund threw bodies forward in the dying stages, but it was Schalke that almost grabbed a third through Huntelaar in added time. The final whistle sounded soon afterwards to signal Schalke's first home win of the season and allow Jens Keller's side to equal Dortmund's record of 30 Revierderby victories.

Hannover 96 back to winning ways after nipping FC Koln 1-0

Hannover up to third as Hertha get off the mark

Hannover 96 moved up to third in the Bundesliga thanks to a 1-0 win over the hitherto unbeaten 1. FC Köln at the HDI-Arena.

Horn finally beaten

The Reds went in front after only five minutes' play with Joselu turning and shooting past Timo Horn after Jimmy Briand's effort was blocked. Not only was it the first time Horn had been beaten in the Bundesliga, but it was also the earliest goal Köln have conceded since Peter Stöger took charge. The goal gave Tayfun Korkut's men confidence and Marcelo perhaps should have doubled their lead with a volley which he sent over after good work from Leonardo Bittencourt and Leon Andreasen.

Köln responded in kind, pitching their tent in and around the Hannover box for much of the second half, but the hosts had drawn a line that they were not going to let the Billy Goats cross. Ron Robert Zieler was the furthest man behind that line and his authority ensured Hannover's defence was not going to be breached

Bayern Munich stamp its class on early leader Paderborn 4-0

Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring the second goal for Bayern 

Bayern Munich 4 Paderborn 0: Newcomers given reality check by the Champion.

A Mario Gotze brace helped Bayern Munich secure a comfortable 4-0 win to give high-flying newcomers Paderborn a Bundesliga reality check.

Pep Guardiola's side may have been unspectacular in the opening four games of their title defence, yet Bayern never looked like losing at the Allianz Arena against Paderborn, as Gotze's double, Robert Lewandowski's half-volley and Thomas Muller's close-range finish late on secured victory. 

Paderborn, competing in the Bundesliga for the first time, sat top of the table on goal difference ahead of Bayern prior to Tuesday's game after an encouraging start to the campaign, but they were well beaten by the champions. 

Gotze gave Bayern the lead after just eight minutes, steering home following a fine flick from Muller.  

Lewandowski hit back at his critics with a 25-yard effort in the 14th minute and Gotze netted his second 12 minutes from time before Muller applied a neat finish to Arjen Robben's 85th-minute cross to end Paderborn's unbeaten start to Bundesliga life. 

Guardiola threatened to ban his players from celebrating Oktoberfest if they failed to beat Paderborn, but Bayern never looked like slipping up as Gotze broke the deadlock after just eight minutes. 

Robben, back after missing Saturday's goalless draw with Hamburg, played Muller into the area and the German forward produced a delightful backheel for Gotze, who stroked a first-time effort into the net. 

Gotze fired a tame effort at Lukas Kruse as he went in search of a second, but Bayern did make it 2-0 after 14 minutes. 

Lewandowski produced a fine first touch 25 yards out, teeing the ball up perfectly for a half-volley that Kruse failed to keep it out.

The hosts continued to attack, as Lewandowski, Gotze and David Alaba all saw chances go begging, while Idir Ouali prodded straight at Manuel Neuer on the counterattack for Paderborn's best chance 24 minutes in. 

Gotze nearly added a third just before the break, as his low drive from the edge of the area deflected agonisingly wide. 

Bayern started the second half in a far more relaxed fashion and that seemingly presented Paderborn with the opportunity to fight their way back into the contest. 

The visitors crafted a good opening in the 58th minute as Rafinha cheaply surrendered possession and allowed Ouali to deliver a teasing cross from the left, but Xabi Alonso crucially poked it behind for a corner. 

Bayern needed Neuer at his best in the 70th minute as Suleyman Koc ran at Alaba and sent a stinging effort towards the bottom-right corner. 

Any hope of a late comeback was ended 11 minutes from time, though, as Gotze smashed in from close range following a clever Robben run down the right. 

And the Dutch winger then played a decisive role again in Bayern's fourth. 

The former Chelsea man darted past his man and fired a low ball in towards the front post to allow Muller to nip in to divert past the helpless Kruse. 

SC Paderborn continues its amazing run beats Hannover 96 2-0

...when in-form Elias Kachunga struck his third of the season to put the home side ahead

STOPPELKAMP STUNNER DOWNS HANNOVER

Paderborn - Moritz Stoppelkamp scored from 83 metres - a Bundesliga record - to help SC Paderborn 07 to a 2-0 win over Hannover 96 and continue their astonishing start to the season.After two draws at the Benteler Arena, Paderborn began with the urgency required to give their fans a first home win of the season. 

Stoppelkamp was lively in midfield, overrunning Hannover debutant Ceyhun Gülselam, although Hiroshi Kiyotake’s precise shooting remained a threat to the energetic hosts. 

The first real chance went the way of Kiyotake’s side, as Leonardo Bittencourt’s shot in the 23rd minute was well parried by Lukas Kruse. Paderborn make it count Hannover enjoyed more possession as the half wore on, with Manuel Schmiedebach firing a long-range effort wide, although Suleyman Koc’s direct running forced two excellent saves out of Ron-Robert Zieler, before the whistle went for half time. 

Koc and Stoppelkamp remained threats as the second period began, making the most of Hannover’s lack of attacking urgency to tear down the flanks and putting in cross after cross. Until the 70th minute, the visitors' defensive tactics were successful, with Marcelo dominating. 

However, when Mario Vrancic’s free-kick wasn’t cleared, Elias Kachunga was alert at the back post to open the scoring. Paderborn fans were already celebrating their first home win of the season when Stoppelkamp sent them into delirium with an injury-time volley from the edge of his own area to make it 2-0 with one of the most remarkable goals of the season.

Borussia Monchengladbach salvage a draw with VFB Stuttgart 1-1

Vavel 

Borussia, fresh from their European tie on Thursday night kicked off with the noisy "Nord Kurve"behind them. 

Dominguez caught Harnik with a stray arm after two minutes and avoided a booking. The resulting free kick caused no problems and Sommer jumped and caught the ball with ease on his home debut. Traore had the first chance for the goals against his former club but he failed to guide his shot goalwards. 

Stuttgart found themselves pinned deep into their own half for the majority of the first ten minutes. A Traore corner on the tenth minute evaded everyone but found Raffael outside the box who wasted an opportunity by fizzing a shot wide. Hahn was next to take a bite of the apple but he, like his teammates before him, wasted his chance and shot wide.

Jantschke fouled Ibisevic after quarter of an hour and Maxim stood over the free kick in dangerous territory, however the Romanian youngster could only put the ball over the top of Sommer's net.

Traore, Hahn and Hrgota all countered with speed but the move was broken down by Traore's weak cross into the box that was dealt with by Schwaab. 

Sakai found himself free down the left hand side again and delivered a inviting ball along the floor intended for Ibisevic. It wasn't to be as Jantschke got infront of the Bosnian and put the ball in to touch. 

Stuttgart put the ball in the net as a result of a free kick but celebrations were cut short by the linesman who had his flag raised. Replays showed an Ibisevic push on Jantschke who'd got the better of him just moments before.

The sides went back into the dressing rooms goalless and there were certainly more negatives than positives for the hosts.

HALF TIME: M'gladbach 0-0 Stuttgart

The sides re-emerged soon unchanged and the visitors got the game rolling again. Hrgota somehow failed to convert into an open goal from just yards out with the first chance of the half. Up the other end Mönchengladbach were punished, Alexandru Maxim hit it low and hard across a helpless Sommer to give the visitors the lead after fifty minutes.

For the first quarter of an hour, The hosts looked like deer caught in the headlights and lost for ideas as their first half dominance was turning against them. Ulreich tipped a Xhaka effort round the post shortly before catching an audacious strike from Nordtveit. 

Hrgota found the net on the sixty-sixth minute but the flag was raised and the goal, subsequently chopped off. The pending change of Hazard for Hrgota went through and one can only wonder would it have happened had Hrgota converted and been onside? Stuttgart made their first change of the afternoon on the seventieth swapping in recently acquired Gruezo for Didavi.

Xhaka hit another effort at goal which was tame at best and straight at Ulreich who looked unbeatable.

World Cup winner Christoph Kramer and US International Fabian Johnson were introduced just minutes later for Nordtveit and a below average Hahn. 

Kramer's first touch of the ball was a cheeky lobbed effort that went over the defence and found Hazard whose fierce half volley could only leave the woodwork shaking.

Gladbach went into the final ten with some new found control which they found with the introduction of Kramer and Johnson eight minutes prior. Ibisevic and Gentner linked nicely before the latter brought out a fine save from Sommer at his near post.

With little over a minute of regulation time remaining Dominguez cut back for Kramer who smashed home past a number of men in red to tie the game at 1-1. 

There was a rather generous three minutes serving of injury time, by Bundesliga standards but neither side could grab a late winner and the game ended a stalemate.

Not the most convincing of performances by Gladbach but you could argue they had one eye looking forward to Thursday's Europa League playoff second leg against FK Sarajevo. 

Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund in opening game 2-0

BBC

Karim Bellarabi scored the fastest goal in German top-flight history - after just nine seconds - to help Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund.

Three passes after kick-off, the 24-year-old midfielder received the ball on the edge of the Dortmund box before turning and sliding in from 15 yards.

It was two seconds quicker than the record held by three players, including Bayern Munich's Giovane Elber in 1998.

Stefan Kiessling's injury-time effort sealed Leverkusen's opening-day win.

"I am really happy for Bellarabi," said Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller. "This record is great for him. We did absolutely everything right in that first half and so did he."

Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp reacted to Bellarabi's record-breaking goal with a disbelieving grin, but was not smiling at the final whistle as he angrily harangued the match officials.

In truth, Klopp could only blame his players for a deserved defeat which already leaves them three points adrift of arch-rivals Bayern Munich.

The under-strength hosts, who were missing several key players through injury, played at a pedestrian pace and were unable to cope with Leverkusen's high-tempo pressing.

Reigning champions Bayern started their title defence with a 2-1 success against Wolfsburg on Friday.

Bayern Munich opens new season with a win over Wolfsburg 2-0

FB Bayern de

Showing supreme professionalism and remarkable early-season freshness,  Bayern made light of their tricky summer with a hard-earned but merited 2-1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg in Friday night’s official 2014/15 Bundesliga season opener.

The 71,137 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena saw Pep Guardiola’s team hit their stride after a 20-minute settling-in period and take a 37th-minute lead courtesy of Thomas Müller’s classic poacher’s finish. Arjen Robben doubled the lead with a fine solo effort immediately after the restart but FCB old boy Ivica Olic cracked a shot past Manuel Neuer to cut the arrears on 52 minutes. The contest boiled up to a frenetic finish with chances at both ends but the Reds held on for an important victory.

The double winners return to action away to Schalke in next Saturday’s second league fixture, before the domestic programme takes a fortnight’s breather for the first international break of the new season.

Debuts for Lewa, Bernat and Gaudino

Guardiola’s starting line-up included all the club’s fit and eligible World Cup winners, plus an emotional return to the Bundesliga fray for Holger Badstuber after a 20-month injury absence. There were top flight debuts in a Munich shirt for summer signings Juan Bernat and Robert Lewandowski, while surprise starter Gianluca Gaudino became the fourth-youngest player ever to represent FCB in the top flight at the age of 17 years, nine months and 11 days.

FCB were without the suspended Jerome Boateng, and injury victims Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery, Rafinha, Javi Martinez and Thiago, but the customary long bench included new backup keeper Pepe Reina in his first squad appearance for the Reds, fellow summer arrival Sebastian Rode, US starlet Julian Green, and another youngster with a famous father, Lucas Scholl.

The champions started with Neuer in goal and – unlike most of the pre-season friendlies – four rather than three at the back, namely Bernat, Badstuber, Dante and captain Philipp Lahm. David Alaba and Gaudino began in defensive midfield, with Müller, Mario Götze and Robben looking to supply centre-forward Lewandowski.

VfL boss Dieter Hecking’s line-up included ex-FCB men Luiz Gustavo and Olic, plus former Bayern youth Max Grün in goal as the stand-in for regular keeper Diego Benaglio (flu).

Mkhitaryan set up Borussia Dortmund mastery over Bayern Munich 3-0

Rafinha was sent off for putting his hand
on Mkhitaryan's face

BBC Sport

Bayern Munich suffered back-to-back Bundesliga defeats for the first time since November 2011 as Borussia Dortmund cruised to victory.

Pep Guardiola's champions fell behind after Henrikh Mkhitaryan coolly stroked home a fine left-foot finish.

Bayern were 2-0 down at the Allianz Arena when Marco Reus scored after Franck Ribery lost possession.

Dortmund wrapped up the points when Jonas Hofmann found the net before Bayern's Rafinha was sent off.

The Brazilian defender was shown a straight red card in stoppage time after putting a hand in Mkhitaryan's face.

It completed a frustrating game for Bayern, who started with Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng on the bench ahead of Wednesday's German Cup semi-final with Kaiserslautern.

The hosts, who have now failed to win all three league games since being crowned German champions last month, were a shadow of the team who has dominated on the domestic and European stage this season.

While Bayern lost at home in the league for the first time since October 2012, this result will at least soften the blow for second-placed Dortmund after a one-sided title race. Despite victory, Jurgen Klopp's side are 17 points behind the champions with four games of the league season remaining.

They never looked back after Armenia midfielder Mkhitaryan's composed 20th-minute finish following an incisive run and inch-perfect pass from Reus.

Mario Mandzukic wasted a chance to level shortly before the interval, the Croatian hooking his shot wide after Rafinha's floated ball, and it was a costly miss as Reus doubled Dortmund's advantage soon after Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had gone off injured.

Neuer's replacement, Lukas Raeder, was beaten after Ribery gifted possession to Dortmund, which allowed the visitors to pour forward and score.

More poor defending from Bayern was punished by Hofmann's clinical 56th-minute finish.

Mandzukic had a goal ruled out for offside before Rafinha was sent off for putting his hand in Mkhitaryan's face, in what was a sorry end to a sorry night for Bayern.

Borussia Monchengladbach defeats Borussia Dortmund anew 2-1

Bundesliga

Dortmund - Ten-man Borussia Mönchengladbach put an end to a nine-game winless streak in emphatic fashion by collecting a 2-1 win on the road against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon.A perfectly executed gameplan allowed the Foals to race out to a two-goal lead at half-time, with Raffael and Max Kruse getting on the scoresheet and, though Havard Nordtveit’s sending off threatened to ruin Gladbach’s good work as Milos Jojic reduced the arrears, Lucien Favre’s side battled valiantly to move back within a point of the European qualification spots. 

No daylight

In the absence of first-team regulars Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Dortmund head coach Jürgen Klopp opted for youth over experience by handing Jonas Hofmann his first start of the current campaign. The youngster wasted little time in imposing himself on proceedings by forcing Marc-Andre ter Stegen to make the first save of the game, but it was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock in the evenly-contested opening exchanges. The hosts had established an early control of possession, but were regularly thwarted by Gladbach’s deep-lying and disciplined backline, who denied their hosts time and space on the ball. 

Restricted to creating chances on the counter, the Foals often sought the most direct route to goal and twice managed to carve out goalscoring chances only for Patrick Herrmann to fire off target on both occasions. Quickfire double Reacting to the early warnings, Dortmund pushed forward in search of an opener, but to no avail as Mats Hummels was denied by ter Stegen, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rattled the woodwork with a ferocious effort. However, the visitors’ threat on the break never diminished and soon produced the opener when Raffael bundled Herrmann’s cut-back in at the front post shortly after the half-hour mark. 

Dortmund looked visibly shocked to have fallen behind, but had salt rubbed in their wounds shortly afterwards. After conceding possession in the final third, Gladbach were able to break forward with numbers and Juan Arango fed the unmarked Kruse, who demonstrated great composure to shift the ball beyond Roman Weidenfeller and Lukasz Piszczek, firing into the empty net and ending a run of 870 minutes without a goal. 

Naughty Nordtveit 

Dortmund hadn’t overturned a two-goal half-time deficit since May 1982, but came out after the restart determined to fly in the face of the statistics as Robert Lewandowski sent an early snap-shot just past the near post. With BVB taking more risks and the game subsequently becoming an increasingly open affair, neither side were afforded the opportunity to catch their breath. Lewandowski was denied by ter Stegen at full stretch, but with 20 minutes remaining the hosts were handed a lifeline when Nordtveit picked up two bookings within two minutes to reduce the visitors to ten men. 

Dortmund piled forward in an attempt to capitalise on Gladbach’s vulnerability and Klopp was rewarded for throwing on Marvin Duksch and Jojic, when the Serbian’s deflected volley found the back of the net in the 77th minute. It was a backs-to-the-wall ending for the visitors, but after Duksch had a goal ruled out with time winding down, the Foals managed to hang on to pick up a hard-earned three points.

Arjen Robben hat trick leads Bayern Munich's demolition against Schalke 5-1

 Mario Mandzukic's header made it 3-0

BBC Sport

Arjen Robben's hat-trick helped Bayern Munich thrash 10-man Schalke and extend their Bundesliga lead to 20 points, a league record after 23 games.

David Alaba opened the scoring in the third minute before Netherlands forward Robben chipped in his first goal. Mario Mandzukic's header made it 3-0 and Robben's angled drive put Bayern 4-0 ahead within the first 30 minutes. Bayern's Rafinha put through his own net but Robben scored a penalty as Kyriakos Papadopoulos was sent off.

The victory extended Bayern's record unbeaten league run to 48 matches, dating back to October 2012, and earned their 15th straight league victory. The defending Bundesliga and European champions entertain Arsenal on 11 March with a 2-0 lead from the first leg in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie.

Having been hammered 6-1 at home by Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid on Wednesday in the Champions League last 16, Schalke were again put to the sword as Bayern cruised to victory. With just three minutes gone, left-back Alaba netted a free-kick, then Robben scored either side of Mandzukic's headed goal from a superb Alaba cross to make it 4-0 at the break.

Schalke were gifted a goal when Jefferson Farfan's corner was turned into his own net by Munich right-back Rafinha with 25 minutes left.

To compound Schalke's misery at Munich's Allianz Arena, Greece centre-back Papadopoulos was shown a straight red card for bringing down Mandzukic in the area.

His foul allowed Robben to wrap up his hat-trick with a 77th-minute penalty.

Schalke and Mainz played to a draw 0-0

 Skysports

Schalke failed to win for the first time in 2014 as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Mainz on Friday night.

Schalke's Santana taunts Mainz Shinji Okazaki

The Royal Blues, who face Real Madrid in the Champions League next week and perhaps were already thinking ahead to that match, could count themselves fortunate to have come away without being beaten by a strong Mainz side.

The visitors created the better chances, but failed to beat an inspired Ralf Fahrmann as they moved level on points with sixth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach who host Hoffenheim on Saturday.

It was immediately clear that Thomas Tuchel's side had arrived in Gelsenkirchen with the intention of winning the game. Shinji Okazaki had several good early chances, but met his match in Fahrmann, who also did well to deny Elkin Soto. A good combination between Koo Ja-cheol and Okazaki carved open the Schalke defence once again, but the latter was unable to supply the finish again.

Schalke struggled to break down the massed ranks of Mainz players and a deflected shot from Jefferson Farfan and flick-header from Felipe Santana was the closest they came to scoring. The second half was a similar story with Stefan Bell coming closest to breaking the deadlock with a header which was saved once again by Fahrmann.

Julian Draxler was sent on for the last 20 minutes by Jens Keller, although it made little difference as there was no way through for a Schalke side who looked a shadow of the team which had won four games in a row since the turn of the year.

Borussia Dortmund hammers Werder Bremen 5-1

Bremen - Borussia Dortmund kept the pressure on second-place Bayer Leverkusen after managing to win back-to-back in the Bundesliga for the first time since early November, steamrollering their way to a 5-1 victory at Werder Bremen.First-half goals from Robert Lewandowski and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and further strikes after the break from Manuel Friedrich and one more apiece from Mkhitaryan and Lewandowski wrapped up the points for Jürgen Klopp's side before sub Leven Aycicek bagged a late consolation for the home side. 

The result leaves Klopp's counterpart Robin Dutt with much to ponder as the Green-Whites drop ever closer to the relegation zone – they are now just a point clear of fourth-bottom VfB Stuttgart, who host FC Augsburg on Sunday. 

The hosts made an engaged start, quite in the spirit of midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic's colourful pre-match exhortation to “run until we throw up” and 11 minutes in, Aaron Hunt and Eljero Elia combined well to set up Franco Di Santo, but the Argentinian frontman was unable get his shot off and the moment passed. There was certainly no doubting Bremen's commitment but as the half unfolded, Dortmund gradually kicked into attacking gear and it took last-ditch tackles from Luca Caldirola in the 18th minute and Assani Lukimya not long after that to foil Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus respectively. 

There was no stopping Lewandowski on the 26-minute mark however, the Polish frontman latching onto a ball from Marcel Schmelzer after Elia had given possession away at the corner flag and planting a clinical far-post finish past home keeper Raphael Wolf. Bremen's new signing from Bordeaux Ludovic Obraniak then carved out a couple of chances for Sebastian Prödl and Di Santo, both headers coming to naught, before Mkhitaryan hit the side netting from a tight angle at the other end with Wolf beaten. Four minutes before half time, though, the Armenian international made good on that miss, picking up Lewandowski's ball from the left and drifting along the edge of the box before rifling another clinical shot into the corner of the hosts' net. 

Two to the good at the midway mark, BVB came out hungry for more after the restart and just three minutes in, Friedrich was on hand to knock number three over the line after Philipp Bargfrede had inadvertently teed him up to perfection, attempting to clear a corner from Reus. It was looking a long way back now for Bremen but there was to be no let-up from the visitors, with Lewandowski coming within inches of adding a fourth before his compatriot Lukasz Piszczek rattled the bar with a long-range thunderbolt. It was thus no great surprise when Dortmund did then find the net again, Mkhitaryan rounding off a rapier-like counter-attack by slotting home Reus's backheeled assist for his second goal of the match and fifth of the season. 

It was now turning into a damage-limitation exercise for the hosts and Wolf did his bit with a great flying save to deny Lewandowski ten minutes from time. But five minutes later, the forward latched onto a long ball and rounded the over-exposed keeper to fire his team 5-0 in front and himself to the very top of the individual scoring chart. Leven Aycicek bagged a late consolation for Bremen with a fine 89th-minute finish but while that made for a memorable fresh-off-the-bench top-flight debut for the youngster, there was little else in the way of good news for Werder in this one.