Robert Lewandowski scored a last-minute winner Saturday as 10-man Bayern Munich overcame an early goal to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 in the Bundesliga.
Hoffenheim forward Kevin Volland scored after only nine seconds, capitalizing on a poor back pass from David Alaba and shooting through Manuel Neuer’s legs to match the fastest German league goal ever scored. Karim Bellarabi of Bayer Leverkusen managed the same feat one day short of a year ago against Borussia Dortmund.
“We can only learn from it. It’s not the best start in a game but we still had 93 minutes in which to win it,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.
Douglas Costa, Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller all went close as his side sought a response. Mueller forced a great save from Oliver Baumann, then struck the right post, before finally equalizing on the rebound with his right thigh in the 41st after Baumann saved Costa’s initial effort.
Costa was causing havoc on the left wing and another new signing, Arturo Vidal, struck the crossbar in the 66th before Guardiola brought on Lewandowski.
But Bayern was down to 10 men shortly afterward as Jerome Boateng gave away a penalty and was sent off for blocking a free kick with his arm in the 73rd. The defender earned his first yellow card for a foul two minutes earlier.
However, Eugen Polanski struck the penalty against the post, prompting a final push from Bayern.
“After the penalty and the red card we knew we had to play on. We still had two or three big chances,” said Lewandowski, who was denied by Baumann, while Mueller hit the post again.
Finally Costa, now on the right wing, beat two defenders and cut the ball back for Lewandowski to convert inside the left post.
“The last 10 minutes were a bit crazy,” Guardiola said. “We’ve played one of our best Bundesliga games of the last three years.”
With Boateng suspended and Mehdi Benatia going off with a thigh injury in the first half, Bayern has defensive issues ahead of its next game against Bayer Leverkusen.
A perfectly struck 17th-minute free kick from specialist Hakan Calhanoglu was enough for Leverkusen to win 1-0 at Hannover. Roger Schmidt’s side next hosts Lazio in their Champions League qualifier, hoping to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.
Wolfsburg could only draw 1-1 at Cologne amid speculation Kevin de Bruyne was playing his last game for the club.
Simon Zoller scored for Cologne in the 30th but missed further chances for the home side. Wolfsburg substitute Niklas Bendtner equalized in the 83rd.
De Bruyne, linked with a possible transfer to Premier League side Man City, endured a second successive frustrating game and was denied a winning goal in injury time when Timo Horn saved his first effort and Matthias Lehmann blocked his follow-up on the line.
Promoted Darmstadt held Schalke to a 1-1 draw in Gelsenkirchen, with Konstantin Rausch scoring for Darmstadt in the ninth, only for the visitors to be denied by Julian Draxler’s equalizer two minutes after the break.
“We fought for the point with great effort, intensity and willingness to run,” said Darmstadt coach Dirk Schuster, whose side is undefeated after two games on its return to the Bundesliga.
Marco Russ scored late to salvage a 1-1 draw for Eintracht Frankfurt at home against Augsburg, cancelling out Brazilian forward Caiuby’s 23rd-minute strike.
Hamburger SV twice came from behind to beat Stuttgart 3-2 in the late game with goals from Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Johan Djourou in the final minutes.
Daniel Ginczek scored twice, either side of Ivo Ilicevic’s equalizer for Hamburg, to put Stuttgart 2-1 up at half-time.
But the game changed in the 53rd when Stuttgart midfielder Florian Klein was sent off with two yellow cards in as many minutes.
Lasogga finally equalized in the 84th and then turned provider for Djourou to secure Hamburg’s first points in the 89th. It was the Swiss defender’s first Bundesliga goal.
“We played a great intensive game. But then with the red card… It’s bitter,” Ginczek said after Stuttgart’s second successive defeat.