Only one Borussia
September 29, 2012
Marco Reus reminded Gladbach coach Lucien Favre, should it be necessary, of what he's missing this season on Saturday, opening the scoring and wrapping up a comfortable win for his new club Borussia Dortmund.
After a balanced opening, Reus got a little bit of luck early in a run after 35 minues, he continued his dribble into the box and nutmegged Gladbach keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Central defender Neven Subotic, who had already hit the bar and tried his luck from distance, headed home a Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski cross to make it 2-0 five minutes before the break.
Dortmund dominated the second period but were repeatedly rebuffed by ter Stegen. Reus managed to beat his fellow German international again with an outrageous swirling shot from an improbable angle with 20 minutes left on the clock.
That put the game beyond doubt, and when ter Stegen limped off holding his lower back, matters looked set to deteriorate. Within five minutes of swapping keepers, Gladbach were down 5-0. Impressive midfielder Ilkay Gündogan scored courtesy of another Kuba cross, and then returned the favor - setting Kuba up for one of his own with a pinpoint pass.
Dortmund turn around a rather lean spell with this emphatic result, while last year's cinderella side continues to reel - with Gladbach still seeking rhythm and cohesion among its new-look outfit.
Better late than never
League leaders Bayern Munich faced a stiff test from their historically least-loved opponents Werder Bremen, but finished up with a comfortable 2-0 on the scoreboard in Bremen.
In a tight game with saves at both ends, albeit with Sebastian Mielitz busiest in the Bremen goal, Luiz Gustavo broke the deadlock with a delicious left-footed curler from the edge of the box. There was next to no power behind it, but it was placed out of Mielitz's reach.
Bremen immediately won a corner, seeking to tie the game back up, but they conceded possession instead of generating a chance. Bayern raced away with numbers down the pitch, and two substitutes combined to double the advantage. Xherdan Shaqiri timed his low ball to Mario Mandzukic exquisitely, the Croatian international forward would have found it harder to miss clean through in front of goal.
Mandzukic did not start for Bayern, with former Bremen mainstay Claudio Pizarro given the nod up front, but he was the striker to do the damage.
Bayern are a perfect six and six at the top of the Bundesliga - with 19 scored and just two conceded - no team can overtake them over the course of the weekend.
Stuttgart stop the rot
With two points from their first five games, Stuttgart went into their match in Nuremberg badly needing a favor.
Within a minute, defender Marcos Antonio presented just such charity, scuffing a back-pass and allowing Vedad Ibisevic to intercept and beat Raphael Schäfer from point-blank range. It was the earliest goal of the afternoon fixtures, and the easiest.
The game was a tight affair for the most part, but Ibisevic later turned provider and set up Martin Harnik for Stuttgart's second. The win moved Stuttgart, at least temporarily, out of the drop zone after a disastrous start to the season.
Super-sub Sidney Sam
Lukewarm Bayer Leverkusen played out a dry, goalless first half against visitors Greutehr Fürth, before looking to bring some pace off the bench.
Sidney Sam replaced Karim Bellarabi at the break, and within 20 minutes he had scored two goals for the pharmaceuticals - the opener assisted by German international Andre Schürrle.
Bundesliga debutantes Fürth slide into the relegation zone with that defeat, while Leverkusen are inching back towards the upper echelons of the table where they are expected to compete.
Rudnevs decides derby
Hamburg continued their resurgence with an impressive 1-0 win against high-flying Hannover, with Latvian summer signing Artjoms Rudnev scoring the only goal of a deceptively entertaining game after 20 minutes of play. Heung-Min Son started the move, before Rafael van der Vaart played a sweet pass through to the Latvian, who also scored on Wednesday in Mönchengladbach.
Son put the ball in the net himself later in the game, but was ruled just offside as he rounded Ron-Robert Zieler to score.
Hannover clocked only their second defeat of the season, their first with red-hot playmaker Szabolcs Huszti on the pitch.
Forget the football
The other afternoon match ended in a goalless draw, as Hoffenheim hosted Augsburg. The home side were playing in dedication to midfielder Boris Vukcevic, who was seriously injured in a car crash on Friday morning and lies in an induced coma in a Heidelberg hospital.
The game produced no goals, and Hoffenheim sub Sejad Salihovic's red card was the most notable moment. Coach Markus Babbel, upset by the call, was also sent into the stands for an excessive protest.
On Friday, Düsseldorf conceded its first goals of the season, but rallied in the second half to draw 2-2 with Schalke.