Freiburg tops the table

Freiburg topped the German Bundesliga with a commanding 5-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach, while Borussia Dortmund continued their perfect start by defeating newly promoted visitors Paderborn 3-0 in the third round, played yesterday. In the opening match, Freiburg, runners-up in the UEFA Europa League, welcomed Mönchengladbach with a five-goal thrashing. Goals were scored by Yannik Engelhardt (23rd and 79th minutes), Croatian Igor Matanović (29th and 77th minutes), and Maximilian Eggestein (86th minute). Freiburg inflicted a harsh defeat on their visitors, who finished the match with ten men, sending them to the bottom of the table. Freiburg moved to the top of the standings with nine points, ahead of second-placed Dortmund on goal difference. Dortmund achieved their best start in 11 years, since the era of coach Thomas Tuchel. Portuguese forward Fábio Silva opened the scoring for the home side just five minutes after kickoff, capitalizing on a pass from the Guinean striker. Felix Nmecha came on as a substitute and doubled the lead in the 80th minute, before adding his second personal goal and Freiburg’s third nine minutes later with a backheel finish. Bayer Leverkusen and hosts Augsburg drew 2-2. Eintracht Frankfurt secured their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over hosts and local rivals Mainz, thanks to a brace by Ozen (9th and 60th minutes). Hoffenheim also defeated visitors Stuttgart 2-1, with Czech forward Adam Hložek scoring both goals (17th and 67th minutes). Finally, Cologne and Werder Bremen drew 1-1.