Borussia Dortmund moved to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday after Maximilian Beier scored an 80th-minute winner in a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
In a match with few clear-cut chances, substitute Jobe Bellingham made an immediate impact by threading a clever pass into the path of fellow substitute Beier, who finished from just inside the penalty area to secure all three points.
The victory was Dortmund’s first league win since mid-September and ended a difficult spell for Kovac’s team, which had won just one of its previous four matches across all competitions after beginning the season with six consecutive victories.
Bayern Munich can reclaim the top spot with a win away at Freiburg on Sunday. However, the defending champions will be without coach Vincent Kompany, who was receiving hospital treatment for an unidentified virus after collapsing during training on Friday.
“We’ve got a great team. Those who aren’t playing from the start, they’re the finishers. They’re the ones who close out the match, who decide things,” Kovac said.
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“Maxi struck that shot really well. I’m happy for the lad because he’s had a tough time lately.”
Dortmund’s best opportunity of the first half fell to Serhou Guirassy after 15 minutes. The Guinea international found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Noah Atubolu but opted for a delicate chip that was pushed away.
Guirassy went close again shortly after the interval, heading a Joey Veerman corner against the crossbar.
Beier replaced Fabio Silva with 22 minutes remaining and made his opportunity count, collecting Bellingham’s pass before curling home the decisive goal with 10 minutes left.
Fuellkrug Shines as Bremen Beat Mainz
Niclas Fuellkrug continued his impressive scoring run, finding the net for the sixth consecutive Bundesliga match as Werder Bremen claimed a 3-2 away victory over Mainz.
The striker, who returned to Bremen on loan from English Championship side West Ham in the summer, converted two penalties inside the opening 25 minutes to register his second consecutive Bundesliga brace.
Ludovit Reis scored Bremen’s other goal, while Anthony Caci and Lee Jae-sung found the net for the hosts.
Fuellkrug has now scored eight goals this season, half the total he recorded during his final campaign with Bremen in 2022/23, when he finished as the Bundesliga’s leading scorer.
The Germany international endured a difficult spell at West Ham, scoring only three goals during an injury-hit 18-month period, before managing just one goal during a six-month loan at AC Milan.
Bremen’s coach praised the striker’s renewed confidence and influence on the team.
“You can tell that he feels comfortable,” the coach said.
“He is our guiding star — and he’s shining brightly right now. He’s carrying this team along with him.”
Leipzig Bounce Back With Four-Goal Victory
RB Leipzig responded to their heavy 4-1 defeat away to Real Madrid in midweek with a commanding 4-0 home win over promoted Elversberg.
Romulo scored twice, while Tidiam Gomis and Christoph Baumgartner also found the net as Leipzig climbed to fifth place in the standings.
Gomis had scored Leipzig’s only goal against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Leipzig have been particularly dominant at home, winning all four of their home league matches without conceding a goal and scoring 18 times in the process.
Paderborn Secure Rare Win
Rayan Philippe scored in the 88th minute against his parent club Hamburg to give promoted Paderborn a 1-0 victory.
The result marked only Paderborn’s second win of the season.
Elsewhere, Augsburg and Union Berlin shared the points in a 1-1 draw, with both teams finishing the match with 10 players.
Cologne and Schalke played out a goalless draw in a match overshadowed by a serious clash of heads involving visiting players Robin Gosens and Soufiane El-Faouzi. Both players left the field following the incident.
