Leverkusen, Germany – Sidney Sam scored on each side of the intermission on Saturday as Bayer Leverkusen cruised to a 4-2 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach at the BayArena.
The result sees Leverkusen up to three wins from their first three matches this campaign, and they got off the mark quickly, finding the back of the net in the 23rd minute when Stefan Kiessling converted a penalty kick.
Sam scored his first of the match four minutes later to give the hosts an early two-goal margin and they took the lead into the locker room.
After the break, Monchengladbach responded with a flurry as Martin Stranzl and Juan Arango scored in a three-minute span to pull the sides level with it all to play for over the final half hour.
But it was Leverkusen that seized control of the match as Sam completed his brace with a goal on the hour mark and Gonzalo Castro found the back of the net 18 minutes from time to wrap up three points.
Bayern Munich 2, Nurnberg 0
Munich, Germany - Bayern Munich made it three wins from three matches on Saturday after rolling to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Nurnberg at the Allianz Arena.
The defending champions had an early opportunity to get on the board in the 33rd minute, but David Alaba failed to convert a penalty kick.
Bayern would not find its breakthrough until the 69th minute as Philipp Lahm lofted a corner kick into the Monchengladbach box and it was headed home by Franck Ribery to give the European champs the lead.
Arjen Robben fired one home in the 78th minute to ensure his club collected the three points.
Hannover 2, Schalke 1
Hannover, Germany - Hannover scored a pair of first-half goals on Saturday as the club held on for a 2-1 victory against nine-man Schalke at the AWD Arena.
Things took a positive turn for Hannover early in the proceedings as Schalke's Benedikt Howedes was shown his marching orders in the 14th minute, reducing the Royals Blues to 10 men.
Just one minute later, Szabolcs Huszti converted a penalty kick to give Hannover the lead and Mame Biram Diouf scored in the 42nd minute to double the hosts' lead heading into the second 45 minutes.
10 minutes into the second half, Schalke got back into the match with a goal from Adam Szalai and Huszti was sent off for Hannover in the 74th minute to give Schalke some hope.
But Christian Fuchs was red-carded for Schalke five minutes from time and Hannover held on for the result.
Mainz 2, Wolfsburg 0
Mainz, Germany - Mainz netted a pair of second-half tallies on Saturday as the club rolled to a 2-0 result over 10-man Wolfsburg at the Coface Arena.
After a hard-fought but scoreless first half, it was the home side that finally found the breakthrough on the hour mark as Maxim Choupo-Moting connected for his first goal of the season.
Things got even better for the home side four minutes later when Wolfsburg's Luis Gustavo was sent off, reducing the traveling side to 10 men.
With the man advantage, Mainz was able to put the result away 12 minutes from time through a goal from Nicolai Muller. The result sees Mainz continue its fine early form with three wins from three games.
Hoffenheim 3, Freiburg 3
Sinsheim, Germany - Tobias Strobl's tally 13 minutes from time rescued a point for Hoffenheim on Saturday as the club managed a 3-3 draw with Freiburg in a thriller at the Rhein-Neckar Arena.
Hoffenheim asserted itself early and found the back of the net just nine minutes into the match when Sejad Salihovic converted a penalty kick, but just moments later he was sent off.
Four minutes later Freiburg equalized through Oliver Sorg, but Kevin Volland put the hosts back in front with a goal in the 25th minute of play.
Karim Guede put the sides back on level terms with a goal in the 29th minute for Freiburg, but then things began to go south for the visitors when Francis Coquelin was dismissed four minutes before the break.
Sebastian Freis gave Freiburg the lead in the 65th minute, but Strobl's response for Hoffenheim forced the teams to settle for a point apiece.
Hertha Berlin 1, Hamburg 0
Berlin, Germany - Adrian Ramos scored 16 minutes from time to lift Hertha Berlin to a 1-0 result over Hamburg on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium.
After playing to a 2-2 draw with Nurnberg last week, the result keeps Hertha Berlin unbeaten through their first three matches this season with a pair of wins and a draw.
After a scoreless first half, Hertha found the only goal of the match in the 74th minute when Nico Schulz found Ramos with a nice cutting ball and he dispatched it into the bottom left corner of the net.
Hamburg, meanwhile, is winless in its first three matches with a draw and two defeats.
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