Bundesliga Daily Report - 2026-09-12

Borussia Dortmund made it three Bundesliga wins from three by beating newly promoted Paderborn 3-0 at home on Saturday. Fabio Silva opened the scoring in the fifth minute after Serhou Guirassy released him behind the defence, allowing the forward to round goalkeeper Nahuel Noll and finish into the bottom corner. Guirassy twice found the net during the first half, but both efforts were ruled out for offside. Dortmund eventually secured the points through Felix Nmecha, who came off the bench in the 65th minute and scored twice late in the second half.

The victory continued Dortmund’s strong opening to the campaign after their midweek Champions League win over Villarreal. Silva’s early goal and his growing partnership with Guirassy offered another indication that Niko Kovač’s side can threaten with two forwards, while Nmecha supplied decisive quality from the substitutes’ bench. Nico Schlotterbeck also returned to the team after his ankle injury, adding further encouragement for a side balancing domestic and European demands. Paderborn were competitive before the late collapse, but Dortmund’s depth and attacking options ultimately proved too much at Signal Iduna Park.

Schalke recorded their first Bundesliga victory since returning to the top flight with a 3-1 win at Union Berlin. Robin Gosens put the visitors ahead after 24 minutes, reacting fastest to a poor clearance before striking a half-volley against the inside of the post and into the net. Adil Aouchiche doubled Schalke’s advantage immediately after half-time, combining with Junior Adamu before finishing past Frederik Rønnow. Union reduced the deficit, but Schalke restored their two-goal lead in the closing stages to complete an important away victory.

The result lifted Schalke into the top half and ended a wait for a league win that had stretched back to their previous Bundesliga spell. Hwang Hee-chan made his debut from the bench after joining from Wolverhampton in a late transfer-window move, entering in the 80th minute and providing the assist for the stoppage-time clincher with a low cross from the right. Union’s defeat left them with one point from three matches and ten goals conceded, increasing pressure on Mauro Lustrinelli’s defence after earlier draws and a heavy loss at Bayer Leverkusen.

SC Freiburg moved top of the Bundesliga after beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-0 in Breisgau and winning their opening three matches for the first time. Freiburg’s attacking performance completed a perfect start to the season, with the club having already seen 11 different players score across six competitive fixtures. Matthias Ginter also created history, becoming the first centre-back since records began to register three assists during the opening three matchdays of a Bundesliga campaign, according to Opta.

Gladbach’s afternoon deteriorated further when captain Tim Kleindienst was sent off seven minutes into the second half after receiving a second yellow card. The dismissal followed an earlier booking for pulling Ginter’s shirt and left his side to play the final 38 minutes plus stoppage time with ten men. Kleindienst had recently criticised his team-mates’ focus after another defeat, making the red card particularly damaging as Gladbach suffered a third successive setback. Freiburg, by contrast, have established early momentum and sit above the division’s bigger clubs on a flawless record.

Bayer Leverkusen recovered a point in a 2-2 draw at unbeaten Augsburg after Patrik Schick scored in the 89th minute. Leverkusen took the lead in the 18th minute when Christian Kofane brought down Edmond Tapsoba’s long pass and finished after wrong-footing the defence. Augsburg responded through Michael Gregoritsch, who scored twice within five minutes of the restart to turn the match around. His first goal came in the 50th minute and his second followed in the 55th, putting Augsburg within sight of a third straight victory.

Schick’s late finish, assisted by Malik Tillman, denied Augsburg a result that would have sent them into the next round of fixtures with a perfect record. Manuel Baum’s side had won their opening two matches and entered the contest at the top of the Bundesliga for the first time in the club’s history. Leverkusen therefore avoided a second defeat in three matches, while Moussa Diaby made his first start for the club since May 2023 following his return on deadline day. The draw preserved Augsburg’s unbeaten run but underlined Leverkusen’s capacity to respond under pressure.

Eintracht Frankfurt beat Mainz 3-1 in the Rhine-Main derby, with Can Uzun and Jonathan Burkardt among the scorers. Uzun opened the match in the ninth minute after a quick counter-attack, and Burkardt later doubled Frankfurt’s advantage against his former club. Mainz missed a major opportunity to respond before half-time when Nadiem Amiri’s penalty was saved by Noah Atubolu after Sheraldo Becker had been brought down in the area. The hosts eventually scored, but Frankfurt restored their advantage and secured a convincing away win.

Atubolu’s penalty save extended his Bundesliga record to six consecutive spot-kicks stopped, nearly a year after he became the first goalkeeper in the competition to save five in a row. He had already made a decisive contribution to Frankfurt’s early-season results, and his latest intervention prevented Mainz from changing the match’s direction while the score remained close. Mainz had won 5-0 at Hamburger SV six days earlier, but defensive mistakes and the missed penalty turned a promising start into a third-round defeat. Frankfurt’s victory instead gave their developing campaign another significant boost.