Champions Extend Winning Streak

It was business as usual in the Bundesliga as champions Werder Bremen continued the winning ways that brought the title to the Weserstadion in May. They thrashed Hansa Rostock 0-4 in northern Germany to secure the biggest win of Week Two and maintain a 100 percent record in the league so far.

After a balanced first half, the double winners turned on the style with two goals from Croat Ivan Klasnic and one each from Frenchman Johan Micoud and Finnish newcomer Petri Pasanen. Although Rostock disputed Klasnic's second, the third goal of the game, there could be no denying the gulf in quality as the game wore on. Werder keeper Andreas Reinke was singled out for praise by his team mates after the game for a string of fine saves that ensured his side went clear at the top of the table on six points after two matches.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Hertha BSC Berlin

Championship rivals Bayern Munich labored against a determined and physical Hertha Berlin side in the Olympic Stadium on Saturday and will feel aggrieved at the 1-1 score line.

By the end of the first half, Bayern would have willingly settled for that result after Hertha's Brazilian Marcelinho scored the opener in the 15th minute after a one-two with Pal Dardai. The Berliners then spent the rest of the half frustrating the Bavarian giants who eventually resorted to strong-arm tactics and wild shots from distance.

The second-half was a different story and Bayern coach Felix Magath must have wondered why his players didn't take Berlin apart in the final period.

After Roy Makaay equalized from close range two minutes after the break, Bayern looked a different team, although the hard tackles remained a feature for both sides.

While more chances fell to Bayern, Magath and his team will sit in fourth place until next weekend wondering how they could have spurned so many gilt-edged opportunities to win the game.

Schalke 04 2-1 Kaiserslautern

Two teams looking for their first win, Schalke 04 and Kaiserslautern made a number of changes to the teams that started the campaign with defeats in Week One.

The changes paid off for the visitors as Kaiserslautern's Jochen Seitz opened the scoring after a through ball from club newcomer Carsten Jancker.

But the first victory was to be Schalke's. Two strikes from Gerald Asamoah, one in each half-- the first squeezed in from a tight angle, the second when free in the middle from a corner -- gave the home side a deserved 2-1 win.

Mainz 2-1 Hamburg SV

Bottom club Hamburg were looking to get off the foot of the table against Bundesliga newcomers Mainz and went ahead through Daniel van Buyten, who reacted first to the rebound after a Christian Rahn shot to give the visitors the lead.

However, Brazilian Antonio da Silva took advantage of a mix-up in the Hamburg defense shortly after halftime, then slotted in a second two minutes later to give Mainz a 2-1 victory and root Hamburg further to the bottom of the league.

More match reports on the next page.

Mönchengladbach 2-3 Dortmund

A back-and-forth match in the newly opened Borussia Park stadium had fans from both the home side Mönchengladbach and visitors Dortmund on the edge of their seats, with the advantage changing hands throughout.

In the end, Mönchengladbach will feel unlucky to have lost the first match in their new stadium as Dortmund snatched the victory with a 2-3 win. The home side's Czech midfielder Ivo Ulich was left free in the middle to convert a Christian Ziege cross in the seventh minute, only for Dortmund's Danish newcomer Niclas Jensen to equalize seven minutes later. His free kick benefited from a deflection.

Markus Hausweiler's sharp turn and thunderous shot from 20 meters restored the home side's advantage but headers from Czech striker Jan Koller and Brazilian Ewerthon in the 36th and 38th minute gave the visitors the win.

Nuremberg 1-1 Stuttgart

Early league leaders Stuttgart were up against surprising second placers Nuremberg on Saturday and took the lead through Week One's hat-trick hero Cacau, who rushed onto a cross to open the scoring in the seventh minute.

However, Stuttgart's hero soon turned to villain after he was dismissed after a second yellow card just before halftime. Nuremberg had previously equalized before Cacau saw red, Croat Ivica Banovic turning the visitor's defense and thumping in a left-footed shot in 15th minute. After a dominant first half, despite conceding a goal, 10-man Stuttgart lost the impetus in the second half and both sides ran the clock down for a 1-1 draw.

Bochum 2-2 Leverkusen

A cracking match on Sunday saw regional rivals Bochum and Leverkusen clash in the Ruhr Stadion in the Bundesliga's first local derby.

Leverkusen, now unbeaten in 13 Bundesliga outings, eventually missed their chance to join champions Werder Bremen at the top of the table after Czech forward Vratislav Lokvenc had given Bochum a 29th minute lead. A Dimitar Berbatov header in the 66th minute equalized only for Christoph Preuss to restore Bochum's advantage on 70 minutes. Leverkusen were saved from defeat by an 87th minute equalizer from Ukranian Andrej Voronin which earned his team a point.

Wolfsburg 0-1 Freiburg

In the other Sunday match, Regis Dorn snatched victory for Freiburg in the 85th minute with a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner after Wolfsburg's Diego Klimowicz had earlier seen a powerful first-half header hit the crossbar. The 0-1 away win was Freiburg's first since they defeated Borussia Dortmund 1-2 in October 2001.

It could have been a different story, however. Wolfsburg were the more attacking side and were unlucky when a Thomas Brdaric header struck a post on 57 minutes.