Borussia Dortmund has missed the leap to the top of the Bundesliga. Coach Edin Terzic's team had to admit defeat in the away game on Saturday at 1. FC Köln despite a 1-0 lead in the end 2-3 (1-0).
In the event of a win, BVB would have climbed to first place because leaders 1. FC Union Berlin slipped up at the same time. The surprise team of the previous season conceded a defeat after 14 unbeaten games with the deserved 0: 2 (0: 2) at Eintracht Frankfurt.
SC Freiburg closed 2-1 (2-0) against FSV Mainz 05 on points to Union and is now second in the table ahead of FC Bayern Munich, who had already ended their earnings crisis on Friday with a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen . On Saturday it was announced that Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich, both of whom had played through, had tested positive for the corona virus. Both national players are symptom-free and are in domestic isolation.
Letsch loses debut
Meanwhile, Thomas Letsch's debut as coach of VfL Bochum went terribly wrong. The still winless bottom of the table lost its away game at RB Leipzig clearly 0: 4 (0: 2). In the basement duel, VfL Wolfsburg won 3-2 (2-2) against VfB Stuttgart.
Dortmund took the lead after half an hour through Julian Brandt. The assist came from 19-year-old Jew Bellingham, who was allowed to wear the captain's armband on behalf of the injured Marco Reus and Mats Hummels. In the second half, Cologne came up stronger and turned the game around with a double strike from Florian Kainz (53rd) and Steffen Tigges (56th). Dejan Ljubicic (71st) made it 3-1, substitute Tom Rothe (78th) shortened the lead for Dortmund.
Union boned weaker
The absence of defense chief Robin Knoche, who, according to coach Urs Fischer because of "private circumstances", was not part of the starting XI, was clearly noticeable in the Union. When Mario Götze (12th) and Jesper Lindström (42nd) conceded goals, the defense of the guests acted incorrectly.
Freiburg got off to a good start with an early 1-0 through Michael Gregoritsch (3rd), who scored his fourth goal of the season. The Austrian also had his feet in the game to make it 2-0, hitting the crossbar. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (27th) headed the rebound into the goal from a very short distance. Aaron Martin Caricol (52nd) scored for Mainz.
Right from the start, Leipzig set a high pace that Bochum found difficult to follow. After Timo Werner had initially failed at the post (7th), the international scored eight minutes later to make it 1-0. Strike partner Christopher Nkunku followed up with a converted penalty kick (23rd). Werner (53rd) and Nkunku (85th) were successful again in the second half.
Late Wolfsburg happiness
In a lively game in Wolfsburg, Serhou Guirassy (22') and Konstantinos Mavropanos (45') scored for Stuttgart in the first half, while Omar Marmoush (23') and Maximilian Arnold (38') scored for VfL. When Arnold scored from about 22 meters, VfB goalkeeper Florian Müller, who let the ball slip over his fists, cut an unfortunate figure. Yannick Gerhardt scored the winning goal for Wolfsburg in injury time (90.1).
In the evening game, promoted Werder Bremen beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-1 (4-0) at home and celebrated their third win of the season. Niclas Füllkrug (5th/13th), Marvin Ducksch (8th) and an own goal by Gladbach's Ramy Bensebaini (37th) made things clear at half-time. After the break, Marcus Thuram (63') scored for Borussia, but Mitchell Weiser (73') quickly restored the old gap.
