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Gladbach stop in-form Frankfurt

David RaishOctober 7, 2012

Borussia Mönchengladbach managed to stop an in-form Eintracht Frankfurt, but the newly promoted side remain second in the Bundesliga table despite suffering a 2-0 loss. Hannover drew Dortmund to remain unbeaten at home.

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Moenchengladbach's Dutch forward Luuk de Jong celebrates after scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt in the German city of Moenchengladbach on October 7, 2012. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ
Image: Getty Images

Borussia Mönchengladbach handed Eintracht Frankfurt their first loss of the season Sunday afternoon with a resounding 2-0 win. The visitors controlled the lion's share of possession, but could not put together a cohesive attack in the final third.

After a somewhat timid opening few minutes, Gladbach launched themselves into the lead with a beautiful strike from distance by Juan Arango. The Venezuelan midfielder took the ball on the right wing, cut in and fired a curling shot from nearly 30 yards out that Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp could only stand and watch.

The goal ignited the fans at Borussia-Park, but it was the visitors who retained the majority of possession. Around the 18-minute mark, forward Olivier Occean controlled a long ball from captain Pirmin Schwegler and rounded the keeper, but he rolled the ball wide past an open goal.

Gladbach doubled their lead in the 24th minute when midfielder Havard Nordtveit sent a ball over the Frankfurt defense toward a running Luuk de Jong (pictured at top). The Dutch forward met the ball on the bounce and finished powerfully across goal to beat Trapp.

Frankfurt don't capitalize on possession

Frankfurt again recovered by controlling possession for the remainder of the period, but poor passing and execution in the opposing half kept the score at 2-0 going into the break.

When play resumed, it was the visitors who again pressed, seeing an impressive 64 percent of possession. But bad touches meant the chances Frankfurt did create went unfinished.

Despite suffering their first loss of the season, newly-promoted Frankfurt will still head into the international break second in the Bundesliga table. They sit two points above Schalke with 16 in total, but trail five behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Lucien Favre's Gladbach are finally starting to come together after bringing in several new faces this summer. The hosts jump into 10th place in the league, and face Werder Bremen away next on October 20.

Hannover hold Dortmund

Hannover remain unbeaten at home after salvaging a late 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund Sunday evening.

Dortmund opened their scoring account in the 26th minute when Lukasz Piszczek broke free on the right, and sent a low ball into the box that Robert Lewandowski finished easily.

The visitors continued to run at Hannover but were dealt a blow when winger Jakub Blaszczykowski came up injured in the 39th minute. The Poland captain appeared to hurt his leg while delivering a cross, and had to be substituted for Kevin Grosskreutz.

Dortmund's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski scores past Hanover's goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler during the German first division Bundesliga football match Hannover 96 vs Borussia Dortmund in Hannover on October 7, 2012. AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN ALTERNATIVE CROP
Lewandowski put Dortmund ahead in the 26th minuteImage: Getty Images

Despite finding themselves a goal down, Hannover managed to create chances of their own, the best of which came in stoppage time of the first half. Didier Ya Konan managed to beat goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, but his slow shot was cleared off the line by Piszczek and the hosts entered the half down 1-0.

Home side fights back

Hannover fought back in the second half, continuing to create chances while holding the Dortmund machine at bay. The hosts left it late to equalize, taking advantage on an 86th minute free kick.

Szabolcs Huszti's attempt hit the wall and bounced to Ya Konan. The Ivorian attempted to bicycle the ball into the net, but it went wide and fell to substitute Mame Biram Diouf, whose left-footed finish past Weidenfeller made up for his glaring miss just moments earlier.

Hannover held on for the draw, much to Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp's chagrin. His side now sit in fourth place with 11 points, ten clear of leaders Bayern. They face rivals Schalke next in the fabled Revierderby October 20.

All level in Stuttgart

Vedad Ibisevic and Stefan Kiessling traded a pair of goals each in VfB Stuttgart's 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

It was the visitors who took an early lead in the 12th minute when Stuttgart keeper Sven Ulreich attempted to clear a cross but knocked the ball straight into Kiessling. The forward simply let the ball bounce off him and into the net, making it 1-0 to Leverkusen.

Stefan Kiessling of Leverkusen celebrates his team's first goal with team mate Andre Schuerrle during the Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Mercedes-Benz Arena on October 7, 2012 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Kiessling scored two in Leverkusen's draw with StuttgartImage: Getty Images

The hosts were handed an opportunity to equalize just seven minutes later when Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes took down Ibrahima Traore in the box. Ibisevic stepped up and dispatched the penalty with confidence, tying the score at 1-1, where it would remain into halftime.

Trading goals again

Ibisevic put Stuttgart into the lead just ten minutes into the second period when he put Raphael Holzhauser's cross past Leverkusen's Bernd Leno. The hosts' lead was short-lived, though, as the visitors equalized soon after.

In the 59th minute, Kiessling got on the end of Michael Kadlec's free kick into the box, putting a far-corner header past Ulreich to draw level.

Kiessling's score proved to be the last of the game, and it ended 2-2. The draw was enough to move Stuttgart out of the drop zone, and they now sit 15th with five points from seven games.