BERLIN:
Borussia Dortmund led twice but were held 2-2 by local rivals Schalke and lost. Bayern Munich which first won 5-3 against Augsburg and ended Saturday two points on top of the Bundesliga.
Kenan Karaman scored Schalke’s second goal with 10 minutes remaining to snuff out visiting Dortmund’s hopes of continuing their momentum in the title race.
With several attacking stars missing including captain Marco Reus, defender Nico Schlotterbeck needed to step up. Dortmund ahead, hammer a low drive out of the box.
Schalke equalized five minutes into the second half through Marius Buelter, who latched onto a cross from substitute Rodrigo Zalazar.
Dortmund regained the lead after 60 minutes, when Emre Can received a pass from the defense of Rafael Guerreiro who tapped home.
With 10 minutes remaining, Schalke brought Dortmund back in front when an unmarked Karaman headed past ‘keeper Alex Meyer.
Schalke sat in the depths of death, enjoying Dortmund’s efforts to find a victory and stop for a photo that will be celebrated as a victory for the team that lives in the relegation zone.
Schlotterbeck said the result was “too little” for Dortmund’s ambitions this season, while manager Edin Terzic said his side “let the win go” by losing control.
“The game was very bad, just like what Schalke wanted.”
A “satisfied” Schalke manager, Thomas Reis, praised his side’s fightback, saying “to come back like this, you have to enjoy it .”
At the beginning of Saturday, two goals from Benjamin Pavard and the first in Bayern colors for Joao Cancelo helped the leaders to win 5-3 at home against Augsburg.
Bayern’s Jamal Musiala says his side are back in the swing of things but was disappointed to concede three goals at home after reaching the Champions League in quarter with a win on Wednesday at Paris Saint-Germain.
“All three of those goals were goals we shouldn’t accept,” the 20-year-old said after the win over Augsburg.
“We hate it. We always want to keep a clean sheet.”
Four of Bayern’s five goals came from defenders, allaying fears that the side might be toothless after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s pre-season game.
Augsburg took the lead after two minutes through Mergim Berisha, who scored the only goal in his side’s 1-0 win over Bayern in September.
Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann praised his team’s “great fight” after the early setback, but lamented “taking our foot off the pedal at the end” of the game.
The home side stepped up and responded after 15 minutes through Cancelo, who scored his first goal for Bayern since joining them on loan from Manchester City at the end of January.
Pavard struck twice, the first by the hosts into the box and the second by a nice shot over Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz.
Leroy Sane added Bayern’s fourth at half time.
Berisha converted a second half penalty before Canadian winger Alphonso Davies added Bayern’s fifth late in the game.
Augsburg’s Irvin Cardona scored a consolation goal in injury time.
Sadio Mane, making his first start since the November injury that kept him out of Senegal’s World Cup squad, had two assists.
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