Champion Dortmund stumbles

It came as a surprise to pundits when Borussia Dortmund stumbled away to FC Nuremberg Saturday, drawing 1-1 with the Bavarian club.

It was an exciting match, with both teams giving the respective goalkeepers several scares. In the end, Nuremberg were happy to walk away with a point after conceding six shots on goal.

The visitors started strong, but fortunes turned at the half hour mark when Czech international striker Tomas Pekhart put the hosts up 1-0 after heading home a corner from Hiroshi Kiyotake. The excitement was short-lived at the Frankenstadion, though, when Dortmund's Jakub Blaszczykowski quickly equalized in the 40th minute.

The Polish international put a right-footed shot from close range past Schäfer, giving the visitors the momentum heading into halftime.

Dortmund continued to put pressure on in the second half, but could not break down Nürnberg's defense. Right back Timmy Chandler was given the unenviable task of marking Dortmund's Marco Reus, but the American international did well to keep the young German star at bay.

Neither team conceded in the second half, though Nuremberg were surely happier to walk away with a point. The draw means extends Dortmund's undefeated streak in the Bundesliga to an impressive 30 games.

Bremen dominate northern derby

Hamburg's new signing Rafael van der Vaart was in the stands on Saturday, but the visitors could have used his help on the field. It was a tough day for the club, who lost 2-0 to northern rivals Werder Bremen.

Bremen looked the superior side from start to finish, putting an impressive nine shots on goal. In the 41st minute, Hamburg's Jeffrey Bruma took down Eljero Elia in the box. Aaron Hunt failed to capitalize when goalkeeper Rene Adler saved the penalty, and the visitors were lucky to enter halftime level at 0-0.

Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink introduced midfielder Robert Tesche to start the second half, but it did little to stop Bremen's onslaught. The hosts again drew a penalty when Dennis Aogo fouled former Bayern Munich striker Nils Peterson in the box. Hunt again stepped up to take the kick, and this time comfortably slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Hunt was the creator 15 minutes later when he put Peterson on goal with a well-timed ball through the Hamburg defense. Peterson's clinical finish went between Adler's legs and into the back of the net.

The visitors never looked likely to recover, and the game ended 2-0 to Bremen. It is the second league defeat for Fink's men after falling 1-0 at home to Nürnberg last weekend.

Eintracht Frankfurt put four past Hoffenheim

Newly promoted Eintracht Frankfurt grabbed their second win of the season Saturday when they handed 1899 Hoffenheim a heavy home defeat. The visitors had luck on their side at the Rhein-Neckar Arena, putting four goals past goalkeeper Tim Wiese.

It was an afternoon to forget for the newly-signed German international. Frankfurt's Alexander Meier scored the first goal of the night when his 39th-minute shot from outside the box took a deflection and rolled into the net.

The second came from Frankfurt Captain Pirmin Schwegler, who unleashed a powerful, swerving shot from long distance that Wiese was unable to stop.

Things went from bad to worse after halftime for the home team. Red cards in the 70th and 74th minutes sent Sejad Salihovic and Stephan Schröck to the locker room early, leaving Hoffenheim with nine men and more than 15 minutes to play.

Kevin Volland fouled Bastian Oczipka in the box in the 82nd minute, and Alexander Meier completed his brace with a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. Frankfurt's Martin Lanig added insult to injury when his stoppage time header beat Wiese for the fourth goal of the evening.

Schalke breeze past Augsburg

New signing Ibrahim Afellay made his debut in the 83rd minute Saturday, but by then Schalke already had decided the match. The hosts controlled the game for nearly the entire 90 minutes, handing Augsburg a 3-1 defeat.

The goal of the afternoon no doubt came from midfielder Jermaine Jones, who picked up the ball near the halfway line and drove down the pitch, completing his solo effort with a well-placed low shot that keeper Simon Jentzsch was unable to stop.

Substitute Torsten Oehrl's 79th-minute goal came as little consolation for the visitors, who have yet to pick up a point in two games this season.

Leverkusen nab first win

Bayer Leverkusen earned their first win of the season with a 2-0 home victory over SC Freiburg. Gonzalo Castro's 8th-minute goal set the pace for the home team, who had 10 shots on goal to Freiburg's one.

Defender Philipp Wollscheid's headed goal off a corner in the 54th minute allowed his side to relax, and ride out the remainder of the game with confidence.

Leverkusen will no doubt have one eye on their Europa League campaign, which begins later this month. The club were drawn with Ukraine's Metalist Kharkiv, Norway's Rosenborg Trondheim and Rapid Vienna in the group stage on Friday.

Scoreless in Düsseldorf

Fortuna Düsseldorf held new-look Borussia Mönchengladbach to a scoreless draw in the final game of Saturday's Bundesliga action. Gladbach spent big this summer, but did not impress on the night.

The hosts defended well for most of the game, and took offensive control in the second half. In the 53rd minute Gladbach defender Tony Jantschke brought down striker Stefan Reisinger in the box, sparking jeers from supporters for a penalty call. None came, and the two sides played on.

Despite spending a good deal of time in their own half, Gladbach gave up few threatening chances to Fortuna. As the game wound down, with neither team testing the other's goalkeeper, a draw looked increasingly likely.

Newly promoted Fortuna now have yet to concede a goal in two league games.