Bundesliga Matchday 8 in Pictures
Mönchengladbach beat Wolfsburg, Berlin win big and Stuttgart grab a late draw in the Bundesliga round 8 action ahead of Sunday's Bayern-Dortmund clash. Here's a look in pictures.
All square in Leverkusen
Leverkusen and Augsburg are both playing in Europe, but both have proven inconsistent domestically so far. Bernd Leno was the unluckiest man of the weekend, when Jonathan Tah's casual back-pass hit a bobble and found the net past his foot. Karim Bellarabi equalized for Leverkusen in the first-half, and 1-1 is how the score remained after Hakan Calhanoglu missed a penalty.
Guardiola's Bavarians better than ever
It was the spectacle of the weekend, as 'Der Klassiker' returned, with Bayern Munich hosting Borussia Dortmund. And what a one-sided match it was. Braces from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller, along with a Mario Götze goal, gave the home side a 5-1 win. Bayern are now a massive seven points clear atop the Bundesliga.
Cologne shock Schalke with shut-out
Schalke had kept three clean sheets on the trot before their home match against Cologne, but it was the Billy Goats battening down at the back. Keeper Timo Horn was rarely troubled, and Cologne showed their newly acquired firepower up front, rrunning out 3-0 winners. Modeste, Gebhardt and Zoller were the goal scorers.
Hertha hammer Hamburg
Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga, who used to play for Hertha Berlin, couldn't bear to look at the scoreboard in the German capital. Hertha grabbed the lead in the first half and never looked back, running out clear 3-0 winners. Salomon Kalou got the first goal, before oldie-but-goodie Vedad Ibisevic scored a late brace.
Mönchengladbach win third straight
It was a hard-fought affair between Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg with few chances for either side in the early phase of the match. But hosts Gladbach broke through a quarter of an hour before time with a goal by Havard Nordtveit, and Ibrahima Traoré added a second. The 2-0 victory was the Foals' third win on the trot after they lost their opening five.
Hannover finally record first season win
Strugglers Hannover came into Saturday as the league's only team without a win, but finally got to celebrate three points with a 1-0 home vistory over Werder Bremen. Salif Sané scored the lone goal of this testy but tedious match, which took Hannover off the bottom of the table.
Stuttgart salvage late point in Hoffenheim
Lots of looks at goal but in the end nothing to show for it - that's been the story of Stuttgart's season so far, and it was almost more of the same against Hoffenheim. The hosts took the lead twice, but Stuttgart equalized both times thanks to youngsters Jan Kliment and Timo Werner. The 2-2 scoreline meant Stuttgart at least took something home with them.
Ingolstadt notch up debut Bundesliga home win
Pascal Groß got his name in the history books by scoring the first-ever first-division goal for newcomers Ingolstadt. And it also proved to pave the way for an initial Bundesliga home win for the Bavarians, who defeated an anemic Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0. Stefan Lex scored the second goal.
Mainz win five-goal thriller over Darmstadt
In the end Mainz were the ones celebrating, but they were made to sweat for the three points. The men in red went up by two goals after 25 minutes only to see their plucky opponents equalize. Just after the hour, Mainz retook the lead 3-2, and they held it until the end. Darmstadt missed a last-second penalty, though, which would have secured them a point.