No mercy
September 12, 2011
In Sunday's Bundesliga action, Timmy Simons scored two penalties in four minutes to give 10-man Nuremberg a 2-1 win at Cologne.
Simons got the ball past Cologne's goalkeeper Michael Rensing in the 31st and 35th minutes, after Cologne captain Geromel conceded both spot kicks.
Cologne revved up their game in the second half searching for an equalizer, but their hopes were dampened 15 minutes from time when Miso Brecko was shown a straight red card, leaving both sides on with 10 men.
In the end, Adil Chihi pulled one back for Cologne in the 39th, but it wasn't enough.
In the day's other game, Mario Mandzukic scored twice as Wolfsburg came from behind to defeat Schalke 2-1 at home.
Schalke striker Raul had put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute, but Mandzukic pulled his team level 20 minutes later from a header. The Croatian secured Wolfsburg's first victory this season with an 82nd-minute winner.
"We invested more than Schalke did and fully deserved a win," said Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath after the match.
Crushed and pounded
Bayern Munich crushed SC Freiburg 7-0 on Saturday, climbing to the top of the Bundesliga table while defending champions Borussia Dortmund suffered a surprising defeat at the hands of Hertha Berlin.
Bayern's striker Mario Gomez racked up four goals against Freiburg, while French international Franck Ribery scored twice and substitute Nils Petersen sank one goal.
"I am happy if I score goals," Ribery said. "But it is more important that we do well as a team."
The Bavarians now lead the Bundesliga with 12 points, knocking Bayer Leverkusen from the top spot after that club's 4-1 victory against Augsburg on Friday.
"We were very strong, but you first have to keep the opponent at bay," Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said. "I think we could possibly have won even higher, but we also sat back a bit at the end as we have a difficult Champions League match ahead of us."
Surprise defeat
In something of a shocker, Dortmund suffered their second defeat in five matches, losing 2-1 at home against Hertha Berlin as they prepare for Tuesday's visit of Premier League side Arsenal in Europe's premier club competition. Dortmund lost just one of their 16 opening matches last season.
The loss leaves coach Jurgen Klopp's side 10th in the table and puts Berlin seventh.
"Hertha deserved to win," said Klopp. "They were very disciplined in defense, we made it easy with our impatience.
Werder Bremen won against Hamburg 2-0 in an entertaining and hard-fought match. Peruvian international Claudio Pizarro was his side's match winner after he gave them the lead in the 52nd minute with a header and then added a second in the 78th minute with a remarkable solo effort.
He was given a standing ovation with five minutes to go in the game.
In other Saturday matches, Hoffenheim won 4-0 at Mainz, Stuttgart beat Hannover 3-0, and Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated Kaiserslautern 1-0 at home.
Short time at the top
In Friday's soccer action, Bayer Leverkusen saw itself perched on top of the Bundesliga, albeit briefly, with a 4-1 away win over promoted side Augsburg.
Star of the match was Sidney Sam, who scored twice to put Augsburg's hopes of a first top-flight win out of reach.
Augsburg had enjoyed a flying start only five minutes into the game, when Japanese midfielder Hajime Hosogai scored after connecting with a cutback from Daniel Baier.
The home side's celebrations, however, were short-lived with Sam scoring just a minute later thanks to an angled pass from Stephan Kiessling.
Kiessling himself was next to score, on 22 minutes, after an assist by Renato Augusto, while Augsburg failed to capitalize on some chances of their own.
Despite pressure from Augsburg in the second half, Sam was able to extend his side's lead with a skillful left-foot shot on 72 minutes.
Substitute Eren Derdiyok completed the rout seven minutes later, latching onto a loose ball after his initial effort was saved.
Author: Spencer Kimball, Richard Connor (AP, dpa)
Editor: Kyle James