Bayern Munich lost the top spot after losing 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund and Cologne came from behind to beat Monchengladbach 2-1 in the Rhine derby at the 11th round of Bundesliga on Saturday.
The Bavarians suffered their first loss of the season as Dortmund edged the German record champions 1-0 with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men took the reins from the kickoff and pressed Dortmund into defence. Yet, Dortmund’s well-positioned defence prevented the visitors from opening the scoring.
As the match progressed, Dortmund increased their offensive efforts to mark the opener with just 11 minutes into the game when Aubameyang capitalized on Mario Gotze’s square pass to tap in his 12th goal of the season.
With the one-goal lead Dortmund retracted and let Bayern Munich do the work. However, the titleholders lacked in accuracy as Thiago Alcantara, Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels missed the target before the break.
Dortmund grabbed a good start into the second half but Aubameyang was unable to beat Manuel Neuer from sharp angle in. The Gabon international was in the thick of things moments later when he headed Marcel Schmelzer’s cross over the target.
Bayern’s Xabi Alonso almost restored parity but his long effort rattled only the bar in the 61st minute. Aubameyang should have made the game safe when he was one-on-one with Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who defused the striker’s shot on target in the 71st minute.
Bayern pressed frenetically to secure at least a draw but all their efforts remained fruitless in the closing period.
With the first loss of the season Bayern Munich dropped to second place while Dortmund jumped on third position
Cologne reaped a late 2-1 win against league rivals Monchengladbach thanks to Marcel Risse’s last-grasp hammer.
Monchengladbach grabbed a better start in front of home crowd as a result Cologne goalkeeper Thomas Kessler had his hands full of work denying goal scoring opportunities from Thorgan Hazard and Ibrahima Traore in the opening period.
However, Monchengladbach’s effort paid off with 32 minutes into the game as Lars Stindl broke the deadlock thanks to the assistance from Traore to end the hosts’ 495-minute goal drought.
Cologne lacked in penetration and focused on their defence to keep the hosts on the distance. Nevertheless, Monchengladbach almost doubled the lead but Traore’s free kick rattled just the woodwork in the 42nd minute.
After the restart, Cologne turned up to level the scores in the 59th minute as Anthony Modeste headed home a flicked on cross to mark his 12th goal of the season.
Andre Schubert’s men responded well but they were unable to overcome goalkeeper Kessler, who made saves against Oscar Wendt and Fabian Johnson, before Marcel Risse hammered home a free kick from long range to snatch the 2-1 winner in the injury time.
With the result, Cologne moved on to fourth place whereas Monchengladbach slumped to 13th.
Elsewhere, Hertha Berlin shared the spoils with Augsburg following a goalless draw. Mainz overpowered resilient Freiburg as Stefan Bell and Karim Onisiwo ensured the 4-2 victory on home soil. Schalke extend their unbeaten run to 10 games after edging Wolfsburg 1-0 and struggling Ingolstadt beat Darmstadt 1-0.
The following fixtures complete the 11th round on Sunday. Hoffenheim host bottom team Hamburg and Werder Bremen see Eintracht Frankfurt.