Bundesliga Review: Dortmund stumble, goal rush for Gladbach

Borussia Dortmund missed the chance to return to the top of the Bundesliga after a 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim ended their 100 per cent start under Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday.

After Bayern Munich’s 5-1 victory over Wolfsburg on Tuesday, Dortmund knew that only a sixth consecutive league win – and a convincing one – would be enough to leapfrog the champions. 

But Dortmund were handed a setback just before half-time, when Sebastian Rudy latched onto a pinpoint Eduardo Vargas pass to fire home at the far post. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levelled shortly after the interval following some neat play between Mats Hummels and Gonzalo Castro, but Dortmund emerged frustrated to leave Bayern with a two-point lead at the summit. 

Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach put their first points on the board in fine style by beating Augsburg 4-2, with all four of the side’s goals coming in a sparkling first-half performance. 

The hosts, bottom of the table prior to Wednesday’s action, were 4-0 up after 21 minutes, displaying a cutting edge that had been decisively lacking in their previous five games.  

Fabian Johnson pounced on Raffael’s blocked effort to drill home after just five minutes, before Granit Xhaka’s diving header doubled the lead.

Lars Stindl and Patrick Herrmann chipped in with two fine efforts from distance before Paul Verhaegh netted a brace of penalties in the second half for Augsburg.

Gladbach are replaced at the foot of the table by Hannover, who fell to a 3-1 defeat at Stuttgart. 

Elsewhere, Schalke secured a third straight win with 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, while Bayer Leverkusen ended a three-match losing streak as Javier Hernandez’s first Bundesliga goal saw them edge past Mainz with a 1-0 win.