Leverkusen suffer surprise defeat, Stuttgart hit six

Bayer Leverkusen made a stuttering start to their Bundesliga preparations as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of third-tier outfit Sonnenhof Grossaspach.

Roger Schmidt’s side were unable to find a way through in high temperatures on Sunday as Pascal Breier’s strike just before the half-hour mark settled the match.

The striker capitalised after Leverkusen lost possession in midfield, the hosts subsequently breaking before Breier fired past Dario Kresic.

Stuttgart had no such problems against Viktoria Plzen as they ran out 6-3 winners in their friendly in Austria, Martin Harnik grabbing two in the first half for the Bundesliga side.

Harnik’s strikes added to Jerome Kieswetter’s opener before Arianit Ferati, Carlos Gruezo and Jan Kliment completed an emphatic win for Alexander Zorniger’s side.

Meanwhile, Hannover needed spot kicks to separate themselves and Lekia Gdansk, the visitors winning 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Ludlin.

Gdansk duo Damian Garbacik and Jerome Gierszewski both missed from the spot to hand Hannover victory, after Kenan Karaman had levelled in the final minute of normal time for the German side.