Bundesliga: Dortmund close in on Bayern as Hoffenheim defeat RB Leipzig to extend their unbeaten home run

(Football news) Borussia Dortmund defeated VFB Stuttgart 2-1 to be within just one point behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. The result gave coach Marco Rose a club record seven home wins from seven home league matches this season. Stuttgart were defensively compact from the start which made it difficult for Dortmund to carve out too many open chances, though Reus and Malen came the closest, the best chance in the first half fell to Tanguy Coulibaly as he made Gregor Kobel pull off a magnificent save. Malen came to Dortmund with a hefty reputation but had failed to make an impression on the home crowd, as the Dutch forward scored his first Bundesliga goal in the 56th minute.

Stuttgart quickly bounced back with Roberto Massimo as he latched onto a through ball before finishing past Kobel in the 63rd minute. Dortmund were desperate for the winner, the hosts scored through Marco Reus as he finished from close range after Florian Mueller had stopped Thorgan Hazard’s shot. With this result Dortmund moved to 27 points as Stuttgart went into the relegation zone.

Marco Rose after the match said “We took notice of the result yesterday, we’re within one point of Bayern and we’re not having an easy period. We’re fighting for results, we’ve done really well in the Bundesliga. We are ambitious and want to stay up there at the top. Now Bayern are coming here soon, but before that we have a difficult game in Wolfsburg. It’s the German Bundesliga, you don’t get anything for free. But we’re Borussia Dortmund and we have ambitious goals.

"We didn't really shine, but we fought," Dortmund defender Mats Hummels told Sky. "It was another step in the right direction.

Jude Bellingham after the match said.”I’m just very happy for him (Malen) really,It’s about time that he scored in the league. He’s finally done it and I think he’ll kick on now and start to get some more as he gets more confidence.”

“I’m very happy to score in front of the Yellow Wall,” Malen said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of and I’m really happy that I could help the team as well

RB Leipzig lost 2-0 against Hoffenheim as they slumped to their third defeat of the season. Goals from Malian midfielder Diadie Samassekou and Israel striker Munas Dabbur were enough for their fifth home victory of the season. With this result Jesse Marsch’s side are on 18 points in 7th position. "I am really disappointed," fumed the American ahead of Wednesday's Champions League game at Club Brugge with Leipzig out of contention for the last 16. "Hoffenheim's will was much greater than ours. That is unacceptable. We were flat, soft, not good enough, not intense enough. It's difficult for me to understand why”.

Borussia Moenchengladbach continued their surge up the table with a 4-0 victory against bottom side Greuther Fuerth. Jonas Hofmann scored twice in the rout, while his team-mate Florian Neuhaus capitalised on a poor pass from goalkeeper Marius Funk to fire into an empty net. Wolfsburg scored two goals in two minutes to seal a 2-2 draw against Arminia as striker Lukas Nmecha scored his fourth goal this season. Goals by Japanese midfielder Masaya Okugawa and striker Fabian Klos put the hosts 2-0 up, but Wolfsburg hit back as Dutch striker Wout Weghorst and Nmecha scored in quick succession for Florian Kohfeldt side.

Also read: Bundesliga: Bayern suffer a shock loss to Augsburg in the Bavarian Derby

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