Germany round-up: Stuttgart take over at the top

VfB Stuttgart moved to the top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at home to BV Borussia Dortmund.

One-point lead
The win, coupled with Bayer 04 Leverkusen's 3-3 draw at champions FC Bayern München, moved Stuttgart a point clear at the head of the standings on 14 points from six games. Felix Magath's side also preserved the Bundesliga's only unbeaten record.

Kuranyi strike
In front of 48,000 fans in Stuttgart, German international striker Kevin Kuranyi headed the only goal seven minutes past the hour to give the home side the three points.

First-half action
The game in Munich was an action-packed affair, with Carsten Ramelow giving Leverkusen a tenth-minute lead. Dutch striker Roy Makaay then followed up his midweek goals in the UEFA Champions League with an equaliser in the 25th minute, and the home side then missed a great chance to take the lead as former Leverkusen midfield player Michael Ballack missed a penalty.

Late equaliser
Brazilian striker França restored Leverkusen's lead almost immediately, and the visitors seemed in control as another former Leverkusen player, Brazilian winger Zé Roberto, was dismissed three minutes before the hour to leave Bayern with ten men. However, two goals in five minutes, from Roque Santa Cruz and Ballack, looked to have earned Bayern the points, only for Yildiray Bastürk to salvage a draw for Leverkusen with nine minutes left.

Bremen bonus
SV Werder Bremen joined Leverkusen on 13 points with a 2-1 home win against TSV 1860 München, with Ailton opening the scoring from the penalty spot three minutes into the second half. Although Markus Schroth equalised nine minutes later, French playmaker Johan Micoud earned Bremen the win six minutes past the hour.

Wolfsburg win
VfL Wolfsburg also stayed in touch at the top with a 3-2 win at 1. FC Köln. Goals from Marino Biliskov and Martin Petrov put the visitors in control, only for Matthias Scherz to halve the deficit before half-time. Andrei Voronin equalised on the hour, but Diego Klimowicz scored what proved to be the winner 18 minutes from time.

Two-goal margin
Hannover 96 moved sixth with a 2-0 win against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, with Thomas Christiansen opening the scoring midway through the first half before Mohamadou Idrissou added a second in the 83rd minute.

Freiburg delight
SC Freiburg defeated FC Schalke 04 2-1, with Zlatan Bajramovic scoring in the third minute only for Darío Rodríguez to equalise for Schalke nine minutes later. Levan Tskitishvili restored Freiburg's lead from the penalty spot six minutes before half-time, and the dismissal of Anibal Matellan six minutes into the second period effectively ended Schalke's challenge.

Hertha held
VfL Bochum 1848 drew 2-2 with Hertha BSC Berlin, for whom Andreas Neuendorf scored twice only for two equalisers, from Thomas Zdebel and Vahid Hashemian, to peg Hertha back.

Commanding Kaiserslautern
On Sunday, Marian Hristov's double and a goal from Germany striker Miroslav Klose put 1. FC Kaiserslautern in command away against Eintracht Frankfurt. Ervin Skela was sent off a minute from the end but his team-mates still had time to miss a penalty, courtesy of Nico Frommer, and pull a goal back through substitute Markus Beierle to make it 3-1.

Reinhardt winner
In the day's other game, ten-man Hamburger SV recorded their first victory of the season ahead of their UEFA Cup campaign, beating FC Hansa Rostock 2-1. It started badly for the Hamburg side, with Martin Max putting the visitors ahead and captain Nico-Jan Hoogma getting sent off before the hour mark. But Bernardo Romeo pulled Hamburg level in the 69th minute and substitute Bastian Reinhardt scored the winner with five minutes remaining.