BERLIN: Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund dropped their first points of the season yesterday with a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg, while Bayern Munich earned a 4-0 win at Schalke.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern remain second in the table, but are now level with Dortmund on both goal difference and points after their win in Gelsenkirchen.
“That was our best performance so far in the Bundesliga, we dominated against one of the best teams in Germany,” said Guardiola after his side enjoyed 70 percent ball possession against Schalke.
“We did very well over the 90 minutes which pleased me.
“In Germany, you have to limit your opponents’ ability to counter-attack and we cut down their chances and controlled the game.”
Despite making a bright start, Jens Keller’s Schalke undid all their good work as first Munich vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, then striker Mario Mandzukic were left unmarked in the area to head home.
Schweinsteiger, back in the starting side after straining ankle ligaments last month, smashed home Arjen Robben’s corner on 21 minutes and 60 seconds later, Mandzukic converted David Alaba’s cross.
France winger Franck Ribery and then replacement striker Claudio Pizarro added late goals as Schalke’s four-match winning run came to an abrupt halt.
Bayern have now gone 31 games without losing a Bundesliga match and have recorded 26 league wins and five draws since losing 2-1 loss to Leverkusen in October 2012.
Having won their first five league games, Dortmund stumbled as left-back Marcel Schmelzer’s first-half free-kick was cancelled out by Nuremberg centre-back Per Nilsson’s second-half strike.
Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp brought a weakened team with centre-back Mats Hummels missing with a back injury.
Star striker Robert Lewandowski and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan started on the bench and were rested after Borussia’s 2-1 Champions League defeat at Napoli on Wednesday.
AFP
