Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich stumbled to a 1-1 home draw against Hoffenheim on Saturday but stayed three points clear at the top as Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired four goals past Hamburg SV following his midweek ban.
Bayern fell a goal behind when Kerem Demirbay’s thundering shot in the 16th minute left keeper Manuel Neuer rooted on the spot.
Hoffenheim were doing well to contain the Bavarians’ attacks but could do nothing when Steven Zuber slid into the box to clear a cutback from Douglas Costa but instead sent the ball into his own net.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were more aggressive after the break with both Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller hitting the post but Hoffenheim managed to hold on to snatch a point.
“We had some problems intially and could not free ourselves from Hoffenheim’s pressing,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We were better in the second half. A win would have been deserved based on the chances we had. But that’s football. Sometimes you are unlucky.”
Bayern remain top on 24 points with RB Leipzig, in second spot on 21, hosting Mainz 05 on Sunday. Hoffenheim are third on 20.
Aubameyang, surprisingly banned from their midweek Champions League win over Sporting following an unauthorised trip to Italy, redeemed himself with a four-goal performance in their 5-2 victory at Hamburg.
It took only four minutes for the Gabon international to open his account before recording a first-half hat-trick in just 27 minutes and scoring again early in the second half to put Dortmund 4-0 up, while taking his season’s tally of league goals to 11.
Hamburg’s Nicolai Mueller scored twice, either side of Ousmane Dembele’s fifth goal, to make the scoreline slightly more respectable for the hosts.
The win lifted Dortmund to fifth on 18 points and left Hamburg anchored in last place on two, having failed to win a game so far.
Germany forward Mario Gomez scored twice for Wolfsburg in a 3-0 victory at Freiburg to help them earn their first league win since August and move out of the relegation zone into 13th spot.
Eintracht Frankfurt snatched a 1-0 victory against sixth-placed Cologne to move alongside their opponents into seventh place on 18 points.
Bayer Leverkusen are two points behind after wasting a hatful of chances but still beating Darmstadt 98 3-2.
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