Werder leave it late to down Hoffenheim as Schalke keep pace

Werder Bremen scored two goals in injury time to earn a 3-1 win at Hoffenheim while Schalke 04 shook off an early missed penalty to down Mainz 05 2-1 in Bundesliga action on Sunday.

Austria international Zlatko Junuzovic had given Werder the lead in the last minute of the first half before scoring the clinching third three minutes into injury time at the end of the game.

Second-half substitute Eduardo Vargas had equalised for Hoffenheim on 49 minutes but Nigerian forward Anthony Ujah put the visitors back in front two minutes into time added on, converting a pass from 37-year-old Claudio Pizzaro.

At the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Dutch international Klaas Jan Huntelaar missed his fourth straight penalty for Schalke after just four minutes against Mainz before the home side took control with a 37th minute opener from German-born Cameroonian Joel Matip.

Midfieler Yunus Malli levelled the match just before half-time for the visitors before Huntelaar made up for his earlier miscue with a 61st minute winner.

The win for Schalke lifts them up to fifth place in the table on seven points and just ahead of Bremen on goal difference, five points off the lead, while Mainz are tenth, while Hoffenheim are fourth from bottom with just one point from four outings.

Borussia Dortmund are top on goal difference after beating Hanover 4-2 on Saturday.
Champions Bayern Munich are level on points with Dortmund -- both have won all four matches so far -- after a controversial late penalty from Thomas Mueller helped them beat Augsburg 2-1 in the Bavarian derby.

Borussia Moenchengladbach's disastrous start to the season -- just a few months after securing third place last season and a spot in the Champions League group stages for this campaign -- continued with a 3-0 defeat at home to Hamburg on Friday night.
Source: AFP