Freiburg's early-season charge at the top of the Bundesliga hit a snag as they were forced to share the points in a 2-2 draw away at Eintracht Frankfurt, a result that saw them slip behind Bayern Munich in the standings.
Bayern had already laid down a marker on Friday with a crushing 7-0 demolition of Union Berlin, a result that catapulted the Bavarians above Freiburg before the weekend's remaining fixtures had even kicked off. Freiburg's stalemate in Frankfurt means they now sit level on 10 points with Harry Kane's Bayern side, having tasted their first dropped points of the campaign.
The clash in Frankfurt proved to be an entertaining, end-to-end affair featuring several fresh faces from Jürgen Klopp's expanded 44-man Germany squad. Frankfurt struck first when Younes Ebnoutalib capped off a slick passing move to put the hosts ahead just ten minutes into the contest, a timely moment for the youngster who had only recently earned a surprise first call-up to the national team.
Freiburg responded through Derry Scherhant, another relatively unheralded name included in Klopp's squad, who pulled his side level. Frankfurt regained the advantage soon after via Jonathan Burkardt, but Freiburg were not finished. Scherhant turned provider in the closing stages, setting up Yuito Suzuki to secure a share of the spoils and ensure Freiburg remained within touching distance of the league leaders.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Niclas Füllkrug's remarkable start to life back in Germany continued unabated. The West Ham loanee found the net for the third consecutive league match as Werder Bremen staged a dramatic comeback against Augsburg, recovering from two goals down to claim a 3-2 victory at home. Füllkrug's contribution came via a spectacular strike from distance in the 86th minute to draw his side level, before substitute Mitchell Weiser struck the decisive blow with a stoppage-time winner to send the home crowd into raptures.
Hamburg finally got off the mark this season, picking up their first win, first goal and first points in style with a 2-1 triumph over Cologne at home. Albert Gronbaek was the architect behind both goals, teeing up Nicolas Capaldo and Yussuf Poulsen respectively as the historic German club moved out of the relegation zone.
That victory allowed Hamburg to leapfrog Borussia Mönchengladbach, who endured a torrid afternoon in a chaotic 4-3 home defeat to Mainz. The result compounded a difficult week for Gladbach, who had just parted ways with sacked head coach Eugen Polanski. To make matters worse, the home side also missed a penalty during the loss, their fourth in a row, leaving them as the only club in the division yet to register a single point after four matchdays.
With the season still in its early stages, the gap at the top remains tight, with Bayern's dominant form putting pressure on Freiburg to respond, while at the other end of the table, Gladbach face an uphill battle to arrest their alarming slide.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.