Bayern-hunters Gladbach equal club record
BERLIN - Borussia Moenchengladbach stayed within four points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich as Sunday's 3-1 home win over Hoffenheim equalled a club record of 17 games unbeaten this season.
Left winger Patrick Hermann was Gladbach's star at Borussia Park as he set up the first goal for right winger Andre Hahn, then netted twice either side of half-time.
After Hahn had put the hosts ahead, Hoffenheim's French striker Anthony Modeste equalised with 30 minutes gone when he powered past Gladbach defender Martin Stranzl to fire home.
But Herrmann converted a Hahn cross just two minutes later, then tapped in the rebound after Havard Nordtveit's free-kick was parried with 52 minutes gone.
Gladbach coach Lucien Favre celebrated his 57th birthday with the win which equalled the club's record from the 1970/71 season of 17 games unbeaten in all competitions.
Borussia finish the weekend third in the table on goal difference, but level on 20 points with VfL Wolfsburg.
The pair are just four points behind leaders Bayern with Hoffenheim fourth after their first defeat of the season.
On Saturday, Bayern compounded Borussia Dortmund's misery with a 2-1 victory over last season's Bundesliga runners-up, who now find themselves 16th in the table and amongst the relegation places after their fifth consecutive defeat.
With seven points from their first ten Bundesliga games, it is the worst start to a league season in Dortmund's history and they are the only team in Germany's top flight to have lost seven games this season.
Marco Reus, who is reported to be a Bayern target, gave Dortmund a first-half lead only for Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski to score against his old club before Arjen Robben converted an 85th-minute penalty.
Robben returned to haunt Dortmund having scored the winner in the 2013 Champions League final and he also netted in Bayern's 2-0 extra-time win over Dortmund in May's German Cup final in Berlin.
Wolfsburg finish the weekend second with a 4-0 hammering of VfB Stuttgart on Saturday as ex-Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne netted his first goal of the season and created another two.
Wolves picked up their sixth straight win in all competitions.
At the foot of the table, both north German neighbours Werder Bremen and Hamburg picked up wins which saw Dortmund drop into the bottom three.
A Rafael van der Vaart penalty sealed Hamburg's 1-0 win at home to Bayer Leverkusen in a bad-tempered affair which saw nine yellow cards -- six were handed out in the first half alone -- after two separate scuffles broke out.
Freiburg, who are at Cologne later on Sunday, went bottom of the table after Werder Bremen moved up to 17th with caretaker coach Viktor Skripnikas getting them their first win of the season.
Ex-Chelsea and Wigan striker Franco di Santo netted both goals in a 2-1 victory over Mainz.
Hanover 96 went sixth with a 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
On Friday, Roberto di Matteo picked up his third win in four matches as Schalke 04 coach when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored in a 1-0 victory at home to Augsburg to go seventh.