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Werder Bremen shared a point at home to Nuremberg in a six-goal thriller with Dutch winger Eljero Elia scoring twice for the hosts in yesterday’s 3-3 Bundesliga draw. |
Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake played a key role in sparking Nuremberg’s fight back from 2-0 down with a first-half goal before his superb pass saw Czech midfielder Adam Hlousek hit the equaliser.
Bremen raced into a 2-0 lead after Nuremberg defender Berkay Dabanli turned the ball into his own net before Elia bagged his first with a superb shot on 34 minutes.
Nuremberg fought back after Kiyotake produced a goal from nothing just before the break, then Josip Drmic made it 2-all early in the second half. Former Juventus star Elia restored Bremen’s lead with a thunderbolt shot from outside the area with 66 minutes gone before Kiyotake’s through ball saw Hlousek hit the equalier to share the point.
The result left Bremen joint seventh and Nuremberg in 15th, but still chasing their first win of the season. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund consolidated their place at the top of the Bundesliga with a 5-0 rout of 10-man Freiburg. Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena means Pep Guardiola’s second-placed side remain level on 19 points with Dortmund, but Jurgen Klopp’s team have a superior goal difference.
Dortmund ran riot at Signal Iduna Park with Germany winger Marco Reus and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski scoring twice before Polish midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski added the fifth 10 minutes from time. Freiburg’s fortunes took a sharp downturn at 1-0 down when Senegalese centre-back Fallou Diagne was sent off after hauling down Lewandowski and Reus drilled home the resulting spot-kick in the 47th minute.
Dortmund host Marseille in the Champions League on today looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat at Napol while the defeat keeps Freiburg second from bottom.
VfB Stuttgart moved up to sixth in the Bundesliga with an emphatic 4-0 rout of bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig.
After Bosnia striker Vedad Ibisevic headed Stuttgart ahead five minutes before the break, Guinea midfielder Ibrahima Traore’s parried long-range shot was netted by Romania’s Alexandru Maxim for a 2-0 lead.
The 25-year-old Traore then scored his first league goal of the season when he latched onto Christian Gentner’s pass behind the defence to slot home on 76 minutes. Traore then found acres of space on the left wing and his cross was converted by Austria’s Martin Harnik four minutes from time to inflict a sixth defeat from seven games on Braunschweig.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match at Manchester City, Bayern stuttered to a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg. “We won, but we must improve a few things,” admitted Guardiola ahead of the trip to Manchester and next Saturday’s Bundesliga clash at third-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
“I am certain that we will put in a good performance in Manchester and Leverkusen.” Bayern needed an hour to break the deadlock as Germany star Thomas Mueller netted his first Bundesliga goal of the season when he met Franck Ribery’s pass from the left wing at the far post.
Bayer Leverkusen stayed third, just a point behind Dortmund and Bayern, with a 2-0 win at home to Hanover 96 as Germany midfielders Simon Rolfes and Sidney Sam scored first-half goals.