Dortmund go level with Bayern after win over leaders Gladbach

Berlin: Borussia Dortmund beat top-of-the-table Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 to jump to fourth in the Bundesliga on Saturday, level with Bayern Munich who earlier dropped points in a 2-2 draw at Augsburg.

The top of the Bundesliga grew even more congested with the top nine separated by just two points. Of the eight who have played so far this weekend, only Eintracht Frankfurt and Dortmund have won.

Gladbach remained top, ahead of Wolfsburg, who drew 1-1 at RB Leipzig, on goal difference. Both have 16 points from eight games. Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig are all one point behind.

Then come four teams on 14 points, including Freiburg, who could have gone top but lost 2-0 at Union Berlin, and Bayer Leverkusen, who could also have taken over first, but lost at Frankfurt on Friday.

In Dortmund, Thorgan Hazard’s first-half strike for the home team against his former club was ruled out by VAR for a tight offside call.

Hazard then found a sprinting Marco Reus with a perfect through ball in the 58th minute. Reus slotted home for the only goal of the game.

Even though another Dortmund strike was erased by VAR in the 85th minute, the home team finished the game hanging on, adopting a back-five and even a back-six in added time to end a run of three successive draws.

Coach Lucien Favre didn’t hide his annoyance with the two tight VAR decisions that went against his side.

Reigning champions Bayern, meanwhile, slipped up for the second league match in succession, having lost 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim before the international break.

Augsburg grabbed a rapid lead -- just as they had in the corresponding fixture last year -- when Marco Richter found the net with a sweetly-struck volley just 30 seconds after kick-off, the fastest goal of the season so far.

Bayern replied as Robert Lewandowski stretched his scoring streak to eight games in the 14th minute from a Serge Gnabry cross.

Agencies