Bundesliga: Leverkusen Bounces Back, Leipzig Held, and More

Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen put their first defeat in 35 Bundesliga games behind them with a convincing 4-1 win over Hoffenheim. The victory will serve as a confidence boost for Xavi Alonso’s men ahead of their Champions League campaign, which begins next Tuesday against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.

Frenchman Martin Terrier scored his first Bundesliga goal to give Leverkusen a deserved lead, before Victor Boniface danced around defenders to add a second. Mergim Berisha soon pulled one back, but Leverkusen eventually found a way through, with Florian Wirtz converting a penalty and Boniface adding a well-taken second.

In other matches, Leipzig was held to a 0-0 draw by Union Berlin, despite dominating the game. With Marco Rose out suspended and Bo Svensson sick, both teams were without their head coaches on the sidelines. Xavi Simons hit the bar, and Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow saved a Lois Openda penalty and a David Raum free kick to frustrate the hosts, who couldn’t maintain their perfect start to the season.

Frankfurt beat Wolfsburg 2-1, with Omar Marmoush scoring a goal in each half against his former employer. Stuttgart got their first win of the season by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1, thanks to two goals in four second-half minutes from Ermedin Demirovic. In-form Germany striker Deniz Undav had given Stuttgart the lead in the first half, only for Alassane Plea to equalize for the hosts. Junior Adamu scored a brace to help Freiburg to a 2-1 win over Bochum, who had taken the lead with their first goal of the season.

Later on Saturday, Bayern Munich can maintain their perfect start to the season with an away win against newly-promoted Holstein Kiel, a side they famously lost to on penalties in the second round of the German Cup in January 2021.