TSG 1899 Hoffenheim temporarily topped the Bundesliga after beating Schalke 04 on Saturday afternoon, although they were overtaken by the day’s end by Borussia Dortmund, following their dismantling of Borussia Mönchengladbach.
There were also victories for RB Leipzig and 1. FSV Mainz 05, whilst the two other afternoon matches finished as goalless draws.
Hoffenheim and Leipzig bag three points
The game between Hoffenheim and Schalke was billed as a meeting between the league’s two youngest coaches – 30-year-old Julian Nagelsmann and 32-year-old Domenico Tedesco, who had worked together at Hoffenheim and completed their coaching badges together.
On the pitch, Schalke slumped to a second successive loss, following defeat in midweek to Bayern Munich. 19-year-old Dennis Geiger gave the hosts an early lead but it was a close thing in the end, with Lukas Rupp only making the points safe in the third minute of stoppage time.
Leipzig, coached by the equally-progressive but somewhat older Ralph Hasenhüttl, returned to winning ways after a mini-slump with a 2-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt. Jean-Kévin Augustin and Timo Werner scored their goals, although Ante Rebic – an ex-Leipzig loanee – pulled one back to make for an interesting final ten minutes.
De Blasis penalty gives Mainz victory
After throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose against Hoffenheim in midweek, Mainz picked up their second win of the season with a narrow 1-0 success against Hertha BSC. The only goal came through a Pablo De Blasis penalty just after the break, with VAR intervening to penalise Karim Rekik‘s foul on Yoshinori Muto in the box. Hertha saw out the final moments with ten men after Vedad Ibisevic’s late red card.
FC Augsburg’s three-match winning run was brought to an end following a stalemate with inconsistent VfB Stuttgart. It was an uneventful match, but the point was enough to put Augsburg into the top four, at least until Hannover 96 face bottom side 1. FC Köln on Sunday afternoon.
There were also no goals between Werder Bremen and SC Freiburg, who both missed out on escaping the bottom three as a result. Thomas Delaney and Nils Petersen had the best opportunities for their respective sides but failed to take them.