Berlin, Nov 4 (IANS) Bayern chasers Schalke and Dortmund dropped points at title race while the record champions returned to winning ways following a 3-0 victory at Hamburg to increase their lead to seven points on top of the standings after the tenth round of German Bundesliga football.
Bayern Munich sealed the first win in Hamburg after almost six years Saturday owing to a dominant performance, reports Xinhua.
Hamburg were on equal footing with the Bavarians in the opening period but as soon as the match progressed, Bayern controlled the proceedings on the pitch.
Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger opened the scoring following a counter. Toni Kross curl cross into the penalty area found Schweinsteiger at the second post, who scored with a diving header from close range five minutes before the break.
After the break the Bavarians were not done with the scoring as Thomas Mueller curled home from sharp angle to double the lead.
With 53 minutes into the match, Toni Kross took the wind out of Hamburg's sails when he hammered home into the top left corner following a combination with Franck Ribery.
"The performance of my team was superb. We made an excellent game against a team that played highly committed and motivated," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said.
Hoffenheim and Schalke staged well-positioned defenses from the kick-off.
Hoffenheim shocked Schalke with the opener at the 13th minute when Kevin Volland utilized a solo run by Fabian Johnson to finish a counter.
Schalke remained unimpressed and piled on the pressure whereas Hoffenheim defended their neat lead deep in their own half.
With 34 minutes into the game, Schalke's efforts were rewarded as Roman Neustaedter nodded home the from goal area following a corner by Jefferson Farfan.
After interval, Schalke started where they left off but it was Hoffenheim that took the 2-1 lead at the 67th minute.
Schalke defender Joel Matip had brought down Kevin Volland to ensure a penalty for Hoffenheim. Roberto Firmino stepped up to convert the penalty into the roof of the net.
The hosts defended deep and lurked for counters to kill the clock but Schalke levelled the score eight minutes before final whistle through Atsuto Uchida, who tapped a follow up shot from very close range.
Schalke started a run on Hoffenheim's goals but for all that the hosts clinically shocked the "Royal Blues" with a counter attack as Sven Schipplock scored the 3-2 winner one minute after his substitution.
"We lost today because of our inexperience. If you fail to exploit your opportunities at second half, you lose a game," Schalke coach Huub Stevens said.
Reigning champions Borussia Dortmund dropped points at the title race when they were held to a goalless draw with Stuttgart on home soil.
It was an entertaining and offensively minded match match by both sides unfortunately they were unable to break the deadlock.
Dortmund had a couple of golden scoring opportunities but Stuttgart's goalkeeper Sven Ulreich did his best to deny the scores.
"It was an intense match with a couple of opportunities for us. We were committed and dominant," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said.
Hannover overcame harmless Augsburg 2-0 to stop their downtrend of only one point out of four matches.
Nuremberg defeated Wolfsburg 1-0 to wrap up the first win after six winless matches.
Borussia Monchengladbach and Freiburg share points following a 1-1 at Borussia Park.
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