Lewandowski steers Bayern past Schalke
Sancho helps Dortmund rally to beat Cologne 3-1
BERLIN, Aug 24, (RTRS): Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick to help champions Bayern Munich cruise to a 3-0 victory at Schalke 04 on Saturday for their first win in the Bundesliga this season.
The 31-year-old Poland forward grabbed his first goal with a 20thminute penalty and added another with a superbly taken free kick five minutes after the restart.
He completed his ninth Bundesliga hat trick in the 75th to take his season tally to five goals in two league matches.
Bayern, who stumbled to a 2-2 draw in their opener against Hertha Berlin, are on four points, two behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, who won 3-1 at Cologne on Friday.
Lewandowski has now converted 24 of his 27 Bundesliga penalties while also scoring 16 goals in 19 league matches against Schalke.
His second goal looked to be a wake-up call for Schalke who grabbed control of the game and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty for a handball by Bayern’s new signing Ivan Perisic.
Their revival was shortlived, however, and Lewandowski put the game beyond them when he controlled the ball at the edge of the box before completing his hat trick with a clinical finish.
Philippe Coutinho, Bayern’s biggest signing for the season, also came on in the second half for his first appearance on German soil after joining on loan from Barcelona.
Bayer Leverkusen scored three times in the first half to ease past hosts Fortuna Duesseldorf 3-1 on Saturday and join leaders Borussia Dortmund with maximum points from their first two Bundesliga matches.
A sixth-minute own goal from Lewis Baker put the visitors ahead and Charles Aranguiz added another goal in the 33rd. His effort was initially ruled out for a suspected handball but following a video replay the goal stood.
Kevin Volland, who was also involved in the first goal, set up Karim Bellarabi for their third goal six minutes later.
Fortuna cut the deficit in the 82nd with Alfredo Morales.
Freiburg are also on six points after coming from a goal down to beat promoted Paderborn 3-1 while Borussia Moenchengladbach, on four points, did the same for a 3-1 victory at Mainz 05.
In Berlin, Jadon Sancho scored one and set up another for Borussia Dortmund to again come from behind and maintain their winning start to the Bundesliga in a 3-1 win at Cologne on Friday.
Dortmund also had to come from a goal down to beat Augsburg 5-1 in their opening game last weekend.
The 19-year-old Sancho became the youngest to ever clock 15 goals in the league when he cancelled out Dominick Drexler’s 29th-minute opener for Cologne in the 70th, then set up Paco Alcacer to seal the win in injury time after Achraf Hakimi gave Dortmund the lead in the 88th.
“The key was that we stayed calm,” Dortmund captain Marco Reus said. “The game also showed that we’re a long way off our potential.”
The visitors struggled until Lucien Favre introduced Hakimi and midfielder Julian Brandt in a double substitution in the 62nd. The latter was involved straight away and was decisive for the third goal with a brilliant ball forward for Sancho on a break.
Cologne were celebrating their first home game back in the Bundesliga following their promotion as seconddivision champions, but, despite a plucky performance, slumped to two defeats from two games following their 2-1 loss at Wolfsburg last weekend. The team were still applauded and cheered by fans long after the final whistle.
The fans also feted a new mascot, a goat named Hennes IX, who was attending his first game following the retirement of his predecessor Hennes VIII. The new Hennes, of a traditional but endangered domestic animal breed, took over this month as the older goat was forced to abdicate due to health reasons. Hennes VIII, the club’s mascot for 11 years, was to remain available for visits at the local zoo.