Dortmund crush Hamburg

The bookmakers gave Hamburg a slight chance in Dortmund, making them 10-to-1 underdogs. Perhaps that was because they beat Jürgen Klopp’s men twice last season.

In any case, Dortmund began like a team hungry for revenge. Marcel Schmelzer found Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who smacked the ball through Hamburg keeper Rene Adler’s gloves in minute 19. And three minutes later Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubled Dortmund’s advantage with a furious shot.

Against the run of play, Zhi-Gin Lam got one back for the visitors in minute 26 with an inch-perfect shot from distance. At halftime, Dortmund had 13 shots on goal to Hamburg’s one, but the score was only 2-1.

And shortly after the restart it was 2-2. Dortmund forgot to mark defender Heiko Westermann on a free kick, and he gratefully headed home from close range. Dortmund forced a number of saves from Adler, but they were growing visibly frustrated until minute 65, when Mkhitaryan fed Aubameyang, whose hard right-footed shot restored the hosts’ advantage.

Eight minutes later, Aubameyang cleverly allowed the ball to slip to Robert Lewandowski who beat Adler. And only 100 seconds later Marco Reus followed suit. The match had gone from thriller to blow-out in ten minutes. And a humorless Lewandowski headed home another ten minutes from time to complete the 6-2 scoreline.

"That was great," Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp raved after the match. "It was really fun to watch."

Dortmund extended their club record perfect Bundesliga start to five games, while Hamburg will have to recover from their second blow-out loss of the young season.

Bayern's favorite visitors

In earlier Saturday action, Bayern's home record against Hanover was such that the bookies made the visitors 16.6-to-1 underdogs. But punters fancying a flutter against all reason might as well have organized their money in neat little piles and set it on fire.

The outsiders put up stiff resistance in the first half, however, as Bayern dominated possession but generated few compelling chances. Hanover striker Didier Ya Konan came closest to scoring when he hit aluminum shortly before the break. Meanwhile, the most striking thing about the hosts was their gimmicky Oktoberfest kits.

It was up to Mario Mandzukic to break the ice for Bayern. The Croatian slotted home a clever pull-back pass by Toni Kroos in minute 51. And fifteen minutes later, the Bavarians stormed forward and Franck Ribery put in a rebound to double Bayern's advantage. And 2-0 the score stayed as Bayern were content to while away the remainder of the match.

"It took us a while to get into the game. But we improved in the second half and deserved the victory," Munich left back David Alaba said after the match.

Leverkusen too strong for Wolves

Bayer Leverkusen were trying to rebound from a loss in round 4 and re-establish themselves in the top three. And they got off to a hot start, when Sidney Sam caught visitors Wolfsburg out on the break and threaded the needle in minute 24.

But the Wolves hung tough and were rewarded after the half-hour mark. Ivia Olic volleyed home a precision cross by Ricardo Rodriguez. The score at half-time: 1-all.

The hosts started the second half strongly but were thwarted by their own errant aim and Wolves keeper Diego Benaglio. It was up to Leverkusen's Mr. Reliable, Stefan Kiessling, to restore the hosts' advantage on the hour mark, heading home a free kick.

Just before the final whistle, Wolfsburg's Luiz Gustavo held Kiessling and saw his second yellow card. It was the second time the Brazilian has been sent off with two yellows this season. And Kiessling scored late to complete a 3-1 win that gives Leverkusen welcome momentum ahead of their Champions League clash against Manchester United on Tuesday.

"I think every victory gives us self-confidence," Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypiä said. "Tomorrow we'll start preparing for Manchester United."

Leverkusen also rejoined the Bundesliga's top three, while Wolfsburg's poor away form continues to haunt them.

Bremen flail versus Frankfurt

In Bremen, visitors Frankfurt took the lead just before the quarter of an hour mark. Vaclav Kadlec poked home after a nice display of passing - it was the Czech striker's second goal for the Eagles.

And halfway through the first half, the hosts were down to ten men, after a foul by Franco di Santo for which the phrase "studs up" was an understatement. Frankfurt were able to pass the ball around at will, and Kadlec doubled their lead before half-time.

"We didn't play like a home side should,"sighed Bremen coach Robin Dutt after the match. "It's unacceptable."

There was a glimmer of hope for the short-handed hosts in the second half, when Aaron Hunt drew a foul in the box, but he shot the resultant penalty straight at Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp. Adding insult to injury, Sebastian Prödl scored an own-goal of the what-was-he-thinking variety with ten minutes left.

In Mainz, Kevin-Prince Boateng put visitors Schalke ahead in the first half with a fine curling shot after picking off an errant pass by Shinji Okazaki. Mainz pressed for an equalizer but came up short, handing the Royal Blues a 1-0 away win.

There were no goals in the first half of Augsburg's match against Freiburg. But Freiburg substitute Admir Mehmedi caught the Acorn Boys out on the break immediately after the restart. Augsburg recovered with a goal by Halil Altintop just after the hour mark.

Tobias Werner landed the lucky punch in injury time to secure a 2-1 for Augsburg. They've won three straight games in the top flight for the first time in their history. Meanwhile, Freiburg are still searching for their first season victory.

On Friday, Stuttgart got a very fortunate 1-0 win over a wasteful Hertha Berlin. Sunday sees Hoffenheim take on Mönchengladbach, while Braunschweig and Nuremberg both seek their first season wins in the late match.