Dortmund go top in Bundesliga with win, Leipzig also bounce back

Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to top the table for at least one night.

Two substitutes eventually made the difference after Frankfurt had held firm for a long time, as Maximilian Beier curled the winner in the 80th minute off Jobe Bellingham.

"We allowed a little bit in the first half and nothing in the second. We dominated the second half and got the win from a compact defence," Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck told Sky TV.

"It is not perfect yet, but we are getting better. Now we go unbeaten to Bayern." 

Dortmund, who had drawn their two previous league matches, moved three points ahead of champions Bayern Munich who play at third-placed Freiburg on Sunday and will go top again with victory before hosting Dortmund next weekend. 

Bayern will be without coach Vincent Kompany, who is in hospital after collapsing on Friday, and players including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich and winger Luis Díaz on Sunday. Fourth-placed Leverkusen play the other Sunday game at Hoffenheim.

In other action, Christoph Baumgartner scored on his Bundesliga return as RB Leipzig trounced Elversberg 4-0, Werder Bremen won 3-2 at Mainz with the help of a Niclas Füllkrug brace, Paderborn defeated SV Hamburg 1-0, Augsburg and Union Berlin drew 1-1 and there were no goals at Cologne v Schalke.

Borussia Mönchengladbach won 3-2 at VfB Stuttgart on Friday to claim their first points of the season on the seventh attempt.

Dortmund back to winning

In Dortmund, Serhou Guirassy had a dangerous shot in the 15th minute saved by Frankfurt goalkeeper Noah Atubolu. Guirassy should have scored two minutes later one on one against the keeper but Atubolu prevailed again with his right arm. 

A deflected shot from Daniel Svensson hit the top of the bar, but Frankfurt almost stole a 34th minute lead when a mistake from Felix Nmecha saw Younes Ebnoutalib with only Gregor Kobel to beat but couldn't get the ball past him.

Kobel tipped a shot from Fares Chaibi over the bar shortly after the restart before Guirassy came even closer at the other end when his header off a corner kick hit the crossbar in the 53rd.

Beier came on in the 68th and Bellingham in the 79th. A minute later, the two combined for Beier to curl into the right corner from the edge of the area for a late victory.

Leipzig bounce back

Leipzig and their new coach Martín Demichelis were under pressure to deliver after a 6-1 defeat at Bayern Munich and a 4-1 loss at Real Madrid, and they responded well against Elversberg.

Rômulo scored a 66th and stoppage time brace, with Tidiam Gomis in the 48th and Christoph Baumgartner in the 84th getting the other goals. 

Baumgartner headed home after coming on for his first league match of the season after a thigh injury that cost him playing for Austria at the World Cup.

"The most important thing is that we won the match. But it is cool when you score a goal right away after such a long time," Baumgartner said.

Demichelis said "it was our duty to win after the two defeats" and that "it was also important to keep a clean sheet."

Füllkrug delivers again

League top scorer Füllkrug became the first Bremen player since club and Germany legend Rudi Völler 41 years ago to reach eight goals in seven matches when he converted penalties in the seventh and 25th minute.

Hosts Mainz revived their hopes from Anthony Caci's header in the 33rd. Bremen got a third from a deflected shot by Ludovit Reis in the 61st, Lee Jaesung responded with a glancing header two minutes later but Bremen held on.

"It was a really hard-fought match in which we scored at the right moments," Füllkrug said. "I was totally exhausted from the deep defending.

Elsewhere

Hamburg's run of three straight victories ended with defeat at Paderborn, where on-loan Rayan Philippe condemned his parent club to defeat in the 88th.

Augsburg and Union Berlin drew 1-1 from a 71st-minute diving header by Han-Noah Massengo for the hosts and Janik Haberer's equalizer three minutes later. Union had Felix Uduokhai sent off against his former club for a last-man foul, and Augsburg's Juma Bah followed for a reckless tackle.

The day's matches were overshadowed by head injuries for Schalke players Robin Gosens and Soufiane El-Faouzi and Augsburg's Calvin Brackelmann in nasty collisions, with all three players taken to hospital.