Bayern defeat Augsburg, leaders Leverkusen slip up against Gladbach

Champions Bayern Munich won the Bavarian derby at Augsburg 3-2 on Saturday to reduce their gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen from four to two points.

Leverkusen were held to a goalless draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach and saw their run of four consecutive Bundesliga wins come to an end. They remain, however, the only unbeaten team in the league this season.

Deniz Undav scored a hat-trick as VfB Stuttgart thrashed RB Leizpig 5-2, while Werder Bremen claimed a second consecutive win with a 3-1 against Freiburg.

Elsewhere, VfL Wolfsburg and Cologne played out a 1-1 draw, while Hoffenheim were also held to a 1-1 draw with Heidenheim.

"We’re delighted with the result. We knew it would be a tough game," Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said.

Bayern suffered two scares early in the game, the first when Augsburg were initially awarded a penalty in the fifth minute after Matthijs de Ligt handled the ball. But a video review showed that the offence took place outside the box and the penalty decision was overturned.

Augsburg then thought they had the lead in the 12th, but Elvis Rexhbeçaj's goal was ruled out for offside after video review.

The German record champions eventually broke the deadlock in the 23rd as Aleksandar Pavlovic scored his first goal of the season, and Alphonso Davies made it 2-0 before the break.

The hosts didn't take long to react and Ermedin Demirović pulled one back in the 52nd, but Harry Kane, who hadn't scored a goal in two Bundesliga games, was on target in the 58th.

Bayern, however, didn't have a drama-free victory as Augsburg had two late penalties. Manuel Neuer saved Sven Michel's effort in the 88th, but Demirović didn't waste the second spot-kick in stoppage-time. Augsburg, however, had no time to fight for a potential comeback.

"These are extremely important points, but also credit to Augsburg for their performance. I’m very happy with the team’s attitude," Tuchel said.

The coach will be concerned over winger Kingsley Coman, who picked up an injury and had to be subbed off after the first goal. The player left the stadium on crutches.

"It’s a knee injury. We’ll have to wait and see as to what the final outcome is. It’s probably a fairly serious injury - it looked a painful one," Tuchel said.

The Bavarians already have a long list of injured players. On Saturday, they were without Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer, Joshua Kimmich and Bouna Sarr. Kim Min Jae and Noussair Mazraoui, meanwhile, are away at the Asian and African Nations Cups.

Leverkusen were clearly the better team on the pitch during the entire game, but failed to convert their superiority and some clear chances into goals.

Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas also did his part very well to keep his net clean, making some important saves in close-range attempts.

The best opportunity was missed by midfielder Florian Wirtz, whose shot in the 24th was saved by Nicolas with his knee.

In the second half, Leverkusen wasted several clear chances too. In the 56th, Wirtz played Jeremie Frimpong into the area but the Dutch full back could only swipe at the ball with his left foot and his effort went wide.

Frimpong then managed to clear a pass from Alejandro Grimaldo in the 60th, instead of firing it at the target. Frimpong tried to return the favour in the 62nd, but it was Grimaldo's turn to blast the ball over the goal.

In Stuttgart, Enzo Millot scored from the spot to give the hosts the lead in the 25th and Undav played a one-two with Jamie Leweling to slot in the second in the 30th.

Benjamin Sesko immediately cut Leipzig's deficit back to one goal just two minutes later, but that was restored in the 48th when Leweling scored Stuttgart's third.

Leipzig found a quick answer with Lois Openda in the 55th, but the hosts reacted just a minute later with Undav, who completed his hat-trick in the 75th.

"It was a very intense game and we played brilliantly today. I’m happy I was able to score three goals and help the team," Undav said.

Stuttgart sit third in the standings, but 10 points behind Bayern and still far from the title race.

"You could feel the energy we had out on the pitch. We deserved to win and I can’t rate it highly enough – it was a great performance," Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß said.