Hoffenheim enjoyed the perfect start to their Bundesliga campaign with a 4-1 victory over Werder Bremen.
Hannover, Kaiserslautern and St Pauli triumph; Borussia hold Nurnberg to draw
Hoffenheim enjoyed the perfect start to their Bundesliga campaign with a 4-1 victory over Werder Bremen.
Bremen took an early lead when Torsten Frings converted a spot-kick in the third minute as the result of a Luiz Gustavo handball.
But it all went downhill for the visitors from there as Hoffenheim unleashed their scoring rampage, with Demba Ba landing the equaliser 20 minutes in.
Peniel Kokou Mlapa put the home side ahead with a right-footed strike from just outside the box in the 37th minute, then Vedad Ibisevic followed up that goal with his own effort just four minutes later to make it 3-1.
Sejad Salihovic added the fourth and final goal for Hoffenheim in the 43rd minute as he powered a free-kick into the top left-hand corner.
Ruud van Nistelrooy struck a second-half brace as
Hamburg opened up the new season with a 2-1 home win over
Schalke.
The Dutch veteran netted within 60 seconds of the start of the second half and then scored the winner on 83 minutes after Jefferson Farfan had levelled 10 minutes from time.
Late goal
Hannover also enjoyed a win as they saw off
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at home thanks to a late headed goal from playmaker Didier Konan Ya.
Konstantin Rausch opened scoring for the hosts in the 21st minute, but Frankfurt were quick to reply with a Benjamin Kohler effort just six minutes later.
The match looked destined for a draw until Konan Ya nodded in a header from directly in front of the net 15 minutes from time to seal the home side's win.
Kaiserslautern unleashed a superb late fightback to recover from 1-0 down and land a 3-1 victory away at
Cologne.
Cologne striker Milivoje Novakovic took advantage of a set-piece situation to smash a right-footed shot into the centre of the net from close range after just eight minutes.
The early goal came after the hosts were reduced to 10 men when Youssef Mohamad was given his marching orders for a foul in the second minute, marking the fastest red card in Bundesliga history.
The visitors left it late before getting back on level terms, securing a goal 20 minutes from the final whistle, with Srdjan Lakic making the most of a Rodnei assist to find the top right-hand corner of the net.
Kaiserslautern then refused to settle for a draw, with Lakic grabbing a second in the 84th minute before Ivo Ilicevic completed the surprise victory just four minutes later.
Comeback
St Pauli claimed the other win of the afternoon as they also came back from 1-0 behind to triumph 3-1 away to
Freiburg.
The home side broke the deadlock in the 78th minute as Papiss Demba Cisse, fed by Cedric Makiadi, found the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
But three late goals sealed the victory for the visitors, with Boll equalising in the 83rd minute before Sukuta-Pasu and Bartels both added last-gasp strikes in the final two minutes of play.
Nurnberg were held to a 1-1 draw on their visit to
Borussia Monchengladbach, despite going ahead early on with a Jens Hegeler goal.
Hegeler, assisted by a Juri Judt cross, nodded in the opener from the centre of the box after just 15 minutes, but Mohamadou Idrissou came back for the hosts 14 minutes before the break.
