Dortmund beats Mainz 2-0 to keep pace with Bayern in Bundesliga, Frankfurt wins 10-goal spectacle
Dortmund beats Mainz 2-0 to keep pace with Bayern in Bundesliga, Frankfurt wins 10-goal spectacle
BERLIN (AP) — Karim Adeyemi scored again as Borussia Dortmund kept pace with Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich by beating Mainz 2-0 away on Saturday.
Dortmund had to do it without star forward Serhou Guirassy, who pulled out before kickoff with a leg problem. Guirassy took a blow in the 1-0 win over Wolfsburg last weekend. Instead, Julian Brandt lined up just behind the front two.
Brandt set up Daniel Svensson for the opener in the 27th minute on a counterattack after Paul Nebel struck the post at the other end.
Adeyemi made it 2-0 on another counterattack in the 40th, cutting out a pass and then racing forward where he played a one-two with Brandt before scoring for the second consecutive game.
Mainz’s prospects took another knock when goalkeeper Robin Zentner was sent off in the 67th for taking down Adeyemi.
Dortmund coach Niko Kovač sent on Portuguese forward Fabio Silva late for his debut.
Dortmund remains the only unbeaten team besides Bayern, which leads with a maximum 15 points from five games with Dortmund two behind after opening with a draw.
Eintracht Frankfurt produced a devastating first-half display to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 6-4 away, having led 6-0 early in the second half.
It took 10 minutes for Frankfurt's Robin Koch to break the deadlock, but when he did, there was nothing Gladbach could do to stop Ansgar Knauff, Jonathan Burkardt, Fares Chaibi and Can Uzun from adding more goals before the break.
Gladbach coach Eugen Polanski – the former under-23 coach serving as an interim solution following the firing of Gerardo Seoane – even tried a double substitution after the third goal, but to little avail.
Koch scored again right after the break – the first time the defender ever scored two goals in a Bundesliga game – but Frankfurt’s burgeoning confidence allowed Gladbach a response.
American defender Joe Scally crossed for Jens Castrop in the 72nd, and Haris Tabaković and Yannik Engelhardt also scored before Scally set up Grant-Leon Ranos for the fourth goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
Bayer Leverkusen eked out a 2-1 win at St. Pauli but lost Patrik Schick to injury late on, when Álex Grimaldo also appeared to get injured.
Heidenheim defeated Augsburg 2-1 at home, a blow for visiting coach Sandro Wagner whose team has now lost four straight.
Johan Bakayoko’s early goal was enough for Leipzig to win 1-0 in Wolfsburg.
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