Ten-man Werder Bremen went top of the German league yesterday thanks to a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg despite having Germany goalkeeper Tim Wiese sent off after just 17 minutes.
The 29-year-old was shown a straight red after an ugly tackle on Nuremberg striker Christian Eigler which forced Bremen to bring on reserve keeper Sebastian Mielitz.
Werder then took the lead when Turkey midfielder Mehmet Ekici scored against his former club just seven minutes later.
Torrential rain delayed the start of the second half but the hosts levelled on 62 minutes with a late header from Philipp Wollscheid.
The point leaves Bremen top on goal difference, and level on 13 points with Moenchengladbach, to leave Bayern just a point behind before their game away to Schalke 04 today.
’Gladbach kept up their impressive start to the season with a 1-0 win at bottom side Hamburg. Igor de Camargo got the crucial goal with a header on 66 minutes to knock Bayern down to third.
Hamburg remain rooted to the bottom of the table with one point from six games as pressure grows on coach Michael Oenning.
Having lost 2-0 at Chelsea in their opening Champions League game on Tuesday, Leverkusen were dismantled by Cologne as Germany striker Lukas Podolski and Slovakian forward partner Milivoje Novakovic ran riot in a 4-1 victory.
While Novakovic scored the opening goal after being set up by Podolski, the Slovakian then turned provider to set up both of his team-mate’s goals as Cologne took a 3-0 lead after 54 minutes.
Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes pulled a goal back, but things got worse for coach Robin Dutt when he saw Germany winger Andre Schuerrle sent off for a heavy tackle on Christian Eichner just before Novakovic and Podolski combined to set up midfielder Mato Jajalo for the fourth goal on 90 minutes.
Hoffenheim earned a 3-1 win at home to Wolfsburg to go fourth, while new boys Hertha Berlin and Augsburg, who both won promotion from the second division last season, played out a 2-2 draw at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
In the late match, Kaiserslautern got their first win of the season when they beat Mainz 3-1.
Results
B. Leverkusen 1 - Cologne 4
Hamburg 0 - B. M’gladbach 1
H. Berlin 2 - Augsburg 2
Nuremberg 1 - W. Bremen 1
Hoffenheim 3 - Wolfsburg 1
Kaiserslautern 3 - Mainz 1
Played Friday
Freiburg 1 - Stuttgart 2
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Werder Bremen | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 13 |
| B. M’gladbach | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 13 |
| Bayern Munich | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 12 |
| Hoffenheim | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 12 |
| Stuttgart | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 10 |
| B. Leverkusen | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| Nuremberg | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Schalke | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 9 |
| Hertha Berlin | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| Hanover | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| B. Dortmund | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| Cologne | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 7 |
| Mainz 05 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 7 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 6 |
| Kaiserslautern | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 5 |
| Freiburg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 4 |
| Augsburg | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 3 |
| Hamburg | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 1 |
Today
Hanover vs B. Dortmund - 15.30
Schalke 04 vs B. Munich - 17.30