Bayern battle back, Leverkusen edge Hannover
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A 90th-minute Robert Lewandowski goal saw ten-man league leaders Bayern Munich earn a dramatic 2-1 win at Hoffenheim on Saturday despite conceding the joint-fastest goal in German Bundesliga history. The Poland striker sealed the champions' comeback after Germany U-21 striker Kevin Volland had opened the scoring with nine seconds gone, darting onto David Alaba's loose pass and drilling his shot home at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.
Volland's super early goal matched the record set by Bayer Leverkusen's Karim Bellarabi on the opening day of last season at Borussia Dortmund. But Bayern equalised when a Douglas Costa shot rocketed off the hands of Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann and Thomas Muller jabbed home the rebound with his knee on 40 minutes.
Hoffenheim wasted the chance for a historic first win over Bayern at the 15th attempt when Eugen Polanski blasted his penalty attempt off the post after Jerome Boateng's handball saw the Germany international sent off for a second yellow card on 72 minutes. Bayern claimed the dramatic winner when Brazil winger Costa fired in a superb cross, Mario Goetze let the ball roll and Lewandowski drilled home his shot.
Bayer Leverkusen are second after a 1-0 win at Hannover also left them with two wins. Dead-ball specialist Hakan Calhanoglu's 18th-minute free-kick sealed the win to give Leverkusen a boost before Wednesday's UEFA Champions League play-off qualifier, second-leg, at home to Lazio, who they trail 1-0 after the first leg.
Belgian attacking midfielder Kevin de Bruyne started for last season's runners-up Wolfsburg in a 1-1 draw with Cologne. Hosts Cologne took the lead when striker Simon Zoller lobbed Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels on the half hour mark. But Wolfsburg, who are fifth, equalised when ex-Arsenal and Juventus striker Nicklas Bendtner tapped home a Daniel Caliguri cross at the far post on 83 minutes to ensure they shared the points.
Schalke, who routed Bremen 3-0 on the opening weekend of the season, are third in the table after their 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Darmstadt. The Royal Blues fell behind after 18 minutes when midfielder Konstantin Rausch slotted his shot into the top right-hand corner from outside the area. German international Julian Draxler equalised for Schalke when the left winger fired home on 47 minutes after converting Franco di Santo's pass.
In Saturday's final contest, Hamburg moved up to ninth with a 3-2 win at home to ten-man Stuttgart as their ex-Arsenal defender Johan Djourou scored the 89th-minute winner after Stuttgart right-back Florian Klein was sent off for a second booking in as many minutes.