German Bundesliga Results

It was a long 27 minutes until the first goal fell in the Bundesliga on Saturday, but a flurry of late goals rewarded the patience of those watching the third matchday.

Bayern Munich vs. Stuttgart: 2-0

That first goal 27 minutes in belonged to Germany's World Cup hero, Mario Götze, who started off a fairly routine day at the Allianz Arena that saw Bayern comfortably dispatch Stuttgart 2-0.

The highlight for Bayern fans was easily the season debut of Franck Ribery, who was subbed on after 68 minutes. Five minutes before the end, the Frenchman took a pass from teammate Robert Lewandowski and slotted nicely past Sven Ulreich.

Thanks to Leverkusen's draw the night before, Bayern's win puts them level on points (seven) at the top of the table. Hannover and Frankfurt, who both play on Sunday, could also climb to the top on seven points with a win.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Freiburg: 3-1

Shinji Kagawa was given a very enthusiastic welcome by Dortmund fans thrilled to see their former playmaker, who left two seasons ago for Manchester United, back in yellow and black.

On home turf against Freiburg, the Japanese international was involved in Dortmund's first goal, scored by Adrian Ramos in the 34th minute, before Kagawa added one of his own seven minutes later.

Kagawa didn't play the full 90 however, as he was subbed off because of cramps shortly after the hour mark.

Later, substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came on for Ramos in the 75th minute and needed just two minutes and 55 seconds to put Dortmund 3-0 up. Freiburg's consolation goal came in stoppage time from Oliver Sorg.

Mönchengladbach vs. Schalke: 4-1

In keeping with the theme of returning players making a difference in front of an appreciative home crowd, Max Kruse certainly endeared himself to the Gladbach fans in Saturday's late game against Schalke.

The Foals beat Schalke 4-1, and Kruse assisted two goals (both scored by an excellent Andre Hahn, 17th and 50th minutes) before scoring one himself in the 56th minute.

Gladbach's final goal came from Raffael in the 79th minute.

Schalke's goal came from an Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting penalty following a hand ball from Martin Stranzl in the 52nd minute.

Hoffenheim vs. Wolfsburg: 1-1

Wolfsburg have gotten off to a slow start so far this season and were very lucky to take home a point against hosts Hoffenheim.

The two sides went into halftime at 0-0, but Hoffenheim scored ten minutes after the break thanks to a goal from Anthony Modeste. That lead looked like it would hold but in the 89th minute Wolfsburg's Ivica Olic – a day before his 35th birthday – scored to even things up at 1-1.

Hoffenheim had a brief one-man advantage in the closing minutes as Josuha Guilavogui was shown his second yellow of the match and sent off.

Despite the help from Olic, Wolfsburg are still in need of a break-out performance, having earned just two points from three Bundesliga matches so far.

Hertha Berlin vs. Mainz: 1-3

After only three games, Hertha Berlin find themselves in familiar territory: near the bottom of the table and worried about a very long season ahead.

Shinji Okazaki put the guests from Mainz 1-0 up in the 36th minute. Former Hertha man Sami Allagui doubled Mainz's lead 20 minutes from time, but a hand ball by Mainz's Niko Bungart late in the game gave Hertha a glimmer of hope. Ronny converted the penalty in the 86th minute, cutting Mainz's lead in half.

Instead of using the five minutes to come up with equalizer, Hertha let Okazaki strike again in the 90th minute, putting the game out of reach and giving Mainz a well-earned 3-1 win.

Paderborn vs. Cologne: 0-0

The only remarkable thing about this scoreless draw between the Bundesliga's two freshly-promoted sides was the fact that the clean sheet meant Cologne remain the only team in the league and the second division yet to have conceded a goal.

The result, however, means that both teams were able to maintain their early season positions in the middle of the table.

Bundesliga matchday 3 as it happened: