A much-expected raucous atmosphere inside MHPArena set the stage, however, Stuttgart endured a nightmare start. Just six minutes in, Bradley Barcola capitalised on a flicked overhead pass from Desire

After the Champions League excitement, it's back to business in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, while Borussia Dortmund hopes incoming coach Niko Kovač can help spur a stop to its slide.

Of his seven strikes so far, four have given Stuttgart a 1-0 lead, while the other three have come as a substitute – the latter a joint-league-high this term – showing how decisive he's been in key moments of games.

German Bundesliga results on Friday: Stuttgart v Freiburg, Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg, Heidenheim v St Pauli, Bochum v RB Leipzig, Holstein Kiel v Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1730)

German Bundesliga result on Friday: Mainz v Stuttgart, RB Leipzig v Bayer Leverkusen, Augsburg v Heidenheim, Freiburg v Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Bochum (1730)

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich bounced back from a mid-week defeat with a 2-1 win at Freiburg on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund started life without coach Nuri Sahin playing with 10 men in a 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen.

German Bundesliga leading scorers after the weekend's matches: 9: Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt), Musiala (Bayern Munich), Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) 7: Gittens (Borussia Dortmund), Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund), Harres (Holstein Kiel), Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Machino (Holstein Kiel), Stage (Werder Bremen), Undav (Stuttgart), Wind (Wolfsburg)

Stuttgart capitalized on Leipzig’s draw with a 4-0 rout of Freiburg to overtake Leipzig and move to fourth, the last place for Champions League qualification. It’s Stuttgart’s third successive win to start the year, including Wednesday’s defeat of ...

Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz scored a brace as the German Bundesliga champions beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday ... frustrated Leipzig coach Marco Rose told Sky Germany. Stuttgart took advantage of Leipzig's slip, thumping derby ...

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt consolidated their 3rd place ahead of Leipzig and Stuttgart. Eintracht Frankfurt - Borussia Dortmund 2:0 (1:0). - 58,000 spectators. - Goals: 18 Ekitiké 1:0.

Stuttgart soaring Stuttgart capitalized on Leipzig's draw with a 4-0 rout of Freiburg to overtake Leipzig and move to fourth, the last place for Champions League qualification. It's Stuttgart's ...