Three in a row

For a coach, winning isn't just expected at Bayern Munich - it's practically a job requirement. So for Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, Saturday's third win in a row takes just a bit of the pressure off after two draws and a loss to start the season. The 2-1 win over Nuremberg puts Bayern in third place behind Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, who both play on Sunday. It also sets up a key match between Bayern and Hamburg next week in Hamburg.

If Bayern hope to win that game, they'll have to play a bit better than they did against Nuremberg. The first goal didn't come until the 55th minute, when Thomas Mueller split the defense with a pass towards Ivica Olic, who finished the job with a goal. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored the equalizer for Nuremberg in the 73rd minute, and it wasn't until the 82nd minute that Bayern took the lead for good thanks to a cross by Arjen Robben that set up Daniel van Buyten for a header into the goal.

"We didn't play that well against a defensive-minded team," said van Gaal. "But we created chances and finally scored."

Cologne end losing streak

The agony of a zero in the wins column finally ended for FC Cologne fans with the team's 2-0 away win over VfB Stuttgart. Sebastian Freis put Cologne up by one with a header in the 25th minute, and Wilfried Sanou added an extra goal for good measure in the 89th minute thanks to a blatant mistake by Stuttgart keeper Jens Lehmann.

The win moves Cologne out of the bottom of the table and into 15th place. Until now, their season had consisted of four losses and a 0-0 draw. Hertha Berlin - who haven't won since the first week of the season - move to last place in the Bundesliga. They take on promoted Freiburg on Sunday and could move out of last with a win.

Late comeback pushes Hoffenheim past Moenchengladbach

The goals in Moenchengladbach came in quick succession at two points in the game. Moenchengladbach's Juan Arango opened the scoring in the tenth minute. Roberto Colautti doubled the host team's lead seven minutes later, but Hoffenheim's Sejad Salihovic got lucky with a keeper's mistake on a free-kick to get one back in the 21st minute and make the score 2-1.

The scoreboard didn't change until the final five minutes of the game, when a late surge by Hoffenheim completely turned the tables. Maicosuel tied the game at 2-2 in the 86th minute, and three minutes later Chinedu Obasi put the visiting team in the lead. Demba Ba capped off the comeback with a final goal in injury time to give Hoffenheim the 4-2 victory. The win moves Hoffenheim up the table to fourth place, while Moenchengladbach drop to tenth.

Big day for Schuerrle

In the rest of Saturday's matches, teenager Andre Schuerrle scored 2 goals for Mainz, who bested VfL Bochum 3-2, and Hanover drew against Borussia Dortmund 1-1. On Friday, defending Bundesliga champs Wolfsburg beat Schalke 04 2-1.

In addition to Hertha Berlin's match against Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen play Werder Bremen on Sunday and Hamburg take on Eintracht Frankfurt.

mz/dpa/sid

Editor: Vanessa Johnston