A toothless and undisciplined Borussia Dortmund was held to a 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Stuttgart blew a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw against Mainz.
Dortmund dominated possession in Bremen but failed to break through and played the final 17 minutes a man down after centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck was sent off.
It came into the game with Maximilian Beier as its one recognised striker, having sent Sebastien Haller out on loan to La Liga side Leganes late on Friday.
Summer signing Serhou Guirassy, brought in to replace Niclas Fuellkrug after the Germany striker left for West Ham, is still weeks away from a return from a knee injury.
Beier looked to have won a penalty when he went down in the box after 66 minutes, but the forward was offside.
Schlotterbeck picked up a second yellow for a challenge on Justin Njinmah, reducing his side to 10 men.
The match was the first scoreless draw in 55 Bundesliga meetings between the clubs.
Last season’s surprise runner-up Stuttgart again gave away points from a winning position, drawing 3-3 with Mainz after conceding an equaliser in stoppage time.
Strikes from Enzo Millot and Jamie Leweling inside the opening 15 minutes put Stuttgart in control.
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The host however let Mainz back into the match when Millot gave away a clumsy penalty late in the first half which was converted by Nadiem Amiri.
Jonathan Burkardt, who won the penalty, headed Mainz level after 62 minutes.
Stuttgart — who led in its Bundesliga opener and in the Super Cup against Leverkusen before losing both — led again when Fabian Rieder scored a stunning free-kick with two minutes remaining.
Mainz’s Maxim Leitsch scored in the fourth minute of added time to snatch a point for the visitors.
Eintracht Frankfurt won its opening home game 3-1 against Hoffenheim.
Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike again impressed in the win, scoring the opener and laying on a perfect pass for Hugo Larsson’s second.
Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric, who scored a hat-trick in last week’s season opener, pulled one back for the visitors early in the second half but Egypt winger Omar Marmoush added another to seal the match.
Borussia Moenchengladbach won 2-0 at Bochum, with Tim Kleindienst and Frank Honorat each picking up a goal and an assist.
Top-flight newcomer Holstein Kiel is still looking for its first Bundesliga point, going down 2-0 at home to Wolfsburg, whose goals both came from set-pieces.
In Saturday’s late match, reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen hosts RB Leipzig, while Bayern Munich is in action at home to Freiburg on Sunday.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com