Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 5:27 PM• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 17:40

Borussia Dortmund stepped off the field as the winner on Saturday, partly thanks to the first league goal from Donyell Malen. The attacker opened the score after halftime in the 2-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart. At the same time, Wout Weghorst scored his first goal for VfL Wolfsburg since September 19, although that was not enough for a victory over Arminia Bielefeld. RB Leipzig suffered their first league defeat since the 1-4 loss to reigning champions Bayern Munich on September 11 when visiting TSG Hoffenheim.

Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart 2-1
The teams of Rose and Pellegrino Matarazzo kept each other neatly balanced in the first half. The visitors made a bold impression and were even the closest to an opening goal at Signal Iduna Park. Eight minutes before the break, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel turned a shot from the free-standing Tanguy Coulibaly towards the far corner in an excellent manner. Dortmund got no further than a header from the incoming Donyell Malen, who did not have his sights sharp after preparatory work by Julian Brandt.

Malen scored his first goal in the Bundesliga eleven minutes after the break. The Dutchman’s bet from about eighteen meters was changed by Wataru Endo, leaving goalkeeper Florian Müller without a chance. The lead lasted only seven minutes. Roberto Massimo got rid of himself after a counterattack by Mats Hummels and finished face to face with Kobel: 1-1. Five minutes before the end, the decision came after a counterattack. Thorgan Hazard first encountered Müller, but the ball fell at the feet of Marco Reus and the captain did not fail.

TSG Hoffenheim – RB Leipzig 2-0
Sebastian Hoeness’s team finished the game against a disappointing RB Leipzig, which was lucky to be 1-0 behind at half time. A misstep by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi put the home team in the lead after twelve minutes. After a corner from Dennis Geiger, Gulacsi went under the ball and it was easy for Diadie Samassekou to head the ball into the empty goal.

Hoffenheim was also the better team after the intermission and made it 2-0 after 68 minutes. Munas Dabbur snatched the ball from Tyler Adams, took a few more steps, then aimed the ball from about eighteen yards into the left corner. That was also the final score, partly due to a curious moment in minute 78. A header by Ihlas Bebou first ended up on the right post, after which the ball went past the goal line and Florian Grillitsch aimed the ball from a difficult angle at the left post. Brian Brobbey entered the last twenty minutes as a substitute.

Arminia Bielefeld – VfL Wolfsburg 2-2
Florian Kohfeldt watched in the first half passively as Wolfsburg, with Wout Weghorst in the base and Mickey van de Ven on the bench, lacked creativity in attacking terms. The visit also suffered a lot of ball loss and therefore had difficulty creating danger. Arminia, on the other hand, played an excellent first half, didn’t miss a beat defensively and went into halftime with a deserved 1-0 lead. After twelve minutes, Masaya Okugawa responded with a volley from Patrick Wimmer on the right.

A good penalty by Fabian Klos in minute 54, after a foul by Kevin Mbabu on Alessandro Schöpf, seemed to decide the game, but nothing could be further from the truth. After just over an hour of play, Wout Weghorst completed an action by substitute Dodi Lukebakio from close range and a minute later it was Lukas Nmecha who aimed the 2-2 high in the goal. However, that was also the final score. Van de Ven stayed on the bench for ninety minutes.

Borussia Monchengladbach – SpVgg Greuther Furth 4 -0
From the first minute it became clear that Greuther Fürth, who started with Jetro Willems in the starting line-up, also had no credit to be gained from a visit to Borussia Mönchengladbach. The closing player is on the worst-ever start to the season for a club in the Bundesliga and did not change that on Saturday. The ball was opened by Jonas Hofmann after ten minutes. The attacker took advantage of good preparatory work by Lars Stindl and scored from close range. The second goal followed after half an hour of play, when goalkeeper Marius Funk shoved the ball into Florian Neuhaus’s feet: 2-0.

The most beautiful goal of the afternoon was made on the stroke of half-time by Alassane Pléa. The striker was served by Stindl and suddenly hit the right intersection: 3-0. Gladbach did not slow down after the break and expanded the score after an hour of play via Jonas Hofmann, who scored on Stindl’s instructions for the final score. Justin Hoogma and Nick Viergever were missing from the visitors due to injuries.

Bayer Leverkusen – VfL Bochum 1-0
With Jeremie Frimpong and Daley Sinkgraven in the starting lineup, only the win against Bochum counted for Leverkusen. The team of coach Gerardo Seoane did not win the last four matches in the Bundesliga and dropped to sixth place in the ranking. The team started energetically against Bochum. Frimpong steamed up on the right side of the field, put the ball to Amine Adli’s head near the far post and watched the striker make his first of the season. The home team dominated, but were unable to convert the shower of chances into goals. Florian Wirtz’ header went over and a shot by Sinkgraven was saved by Manuel Riemann. The Bochum goalkeeper was also an obstacle several times in the second company.