Leverkusen, with a goal from Granit Xhaka, and Dortmund record clear home victories in the 11th round of the Bundesliga. Stuttgart win thanks to Swiss assists. Leipzig lose.
With Gregor Kobel back in goal for BVB after missing three games, Dortmund also won their eighth home game of the season 4-0 against Freiburg. They have now picked up 15 of their 19 points in the Bundesliga in front of their own fans. Maximilian Beier and Felix Nmecha, who are improving their form, scored before the break, while Julian Brandt made it 3-0 with a free-kick in the second half.
German champions Leverkusen had more trouble than Dortmund in their 5-2 home win over Heidenheim, as two defensive errors gave the underdogs an early 2-0 lead. Exequiel Palacios and Patrik Schick twice turned the game around in the 52nd minute. The highly efficient Schick completed his hat-trick with a 4:2 before Granit Xhaka scored with a beautiful shot from the edge of the box to make the final score 5:2. The Swiss national team captain, who celebrated his second goal of the season with clear signs of pregnancy, was awarded a second goal for the assist at 1-2.
The gap between Leverkusen and Dortmund and leaders Bayern Munich, who beat Augsburg 3-0 on Friday, remains large at nine and ten points respectively. Leipzig are now also eight points behind Munich. Marco Rose's team lost 4-3 at Hoffenheim after leading three times, with goals from Adam Hlozek (82') and Jacob Bruun Larsen (87') bringing the score from 2-3 to 4-3 late on to reward the hosts for a good performance on coach Christian Ilzer's debut.
FC Bayern's closest rivals are now Eintracht Frankfurt, who edged past Leipzig with a 1-0 home win over Werder Bremen. Mario Götze scored the winner in the 45th minute.
Stergiou and Rieder impress
Leonidas Stergiou surprisingly made his first start of the season for VfB Stuttgart in the 2-0 home win against Bochum. The 22-year-old defender had had to take a break for several months due to inflammation in his vertebrae and had to do some rebuilding work. His last Bundesliga appearance was in mid-May. Stergiou made his return to the Bundesliga. The former St. Gallen right-back stood securely at the back and assisted Chris Führich's 1:0. Substitute Fabian Rieder set up Justin Diehl's 2:0 with his first touch of the ball.
Telegrams and table:
Eintracht Frankfurt - Werder Bremen 1:0 (1:0). - 58,000 spectators. - Goal: 45 Götze 1:0 - Comments: Eintracht Frankfurt without Amenda (injured).
Borussia Dortmund - Freiburg 4:0 (2:0). - 81'365 spectators. - Goals: 7. Beier 1:0. 40. Nmecha 2:0. 66. Brandt 3:0. 77. Gittens 4:0. - Remarks: 63rd yellow card against Osterhage (Freiburg). 93rd red card against Adamu (Freiburg, assault). Borussia Dortmund with Kobel.
Hoffenheim - Leipzig 4:3 (1:2). - 28'023 spectators. - Goals: 15 Orbán 0:1. 17 Hlozek 1:1. 19 Nusa 1:2. 50 Bischof 2:2. 67 Nsoki (own goal) 2:3. 82 Hlozek 3:3. 86 Bruun Larsen 4:3.
VfB Stuttgart - Bochum 2:0 (0:0). - 59'000 spectators. - Goals: 53. Führich 1:0. 78. Diehl 2:0. - Remarks: VfB Stuttgart with Stergiou (until 85) and Rieder (from 77). Bochum without Loosli (not in the squad).
Wolfsburg - Union Berlin 1:0 (0:0). - 23'861 spectators. - Goal: 71st Baku 1:0 - Remarks: Wolfsburg with Zesiger (from 93rd).
Bayer Leverkusen - Heidenheim 5:2 (2:2). - 29'103 spectators. - Goals: 10. Dorsch 0:1. 21. Honsak 0:2. 30. Palacios 1:2. 32. Schick 2:2. 52. Schick 3:2. 71. Schick 4:2. 82. Xhaka 5:2. - Comments: Bayer Leverkusen with Xhaka.
The other games of the 11th round. Friday: Bayern Munich - Augsburg 3:0. - Saturday: Eintracht Frankfurt - Werder Bremen 18.30. - Sunday: Holstein Kiel - Mainz 05 15.30. Borussia Mönchengladbach - St. Pauli 17.30.
SDA
