Winners and Losers from Bundesliga Week 6
The Bundesliga heads off into the international break with Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich four points clear at the top.
The defending German champions stretched their lead at the top of the table with an emphatic 4-0 thumping of hapless Hanover.
Meanwhile, Germany's other Champions League participants—and supposedly Bayern's biggest challengers—Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen all dropped vital points.
Find out the winners and losers from Week 6, including another dismal defeat for Jurgen Klopp's men.
Winner: Robert Lewandowski
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Robert Lewandowski is finding his feet in Munich, scoring for the second game in a row at the Allianz Arena for the league leaders.
A goal in each half from the Polish striker put the Bavarians well on the way to an easy 4-0 win against hapless Hanover. Lewandowski has fired four goals in seven games in the league since joining on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund.
As you can see by the picture, Bayern and Lewandowski celebrated the win during their annual trip to Oktoberfest.
Losers: Borussia Dortmund
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Borussia Dortmund, so impressive in the Champions League, are struggling domestically.
Saturday's shock loss at home to then-bottom-of-the-table Hamburg was a fourth game without a win for Jürgen Klopp's charges.
Dortmund have languished behind Bayern Munich by huge margins of 25 and 19 points in the previous two seasons.
And the dismal 1-0 defeat already leaves BVB 10 points adrift of the Bavarians after just seven games.
Winner: Salomon Kalou
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Bayern Munich possess a star-studded squad with Champions League winners aplenty.
But lesser-lights Hertha Berlin can also boast their own winner of Europe's elite club competition.
Salomon Kalou started the 2012 Champions League Final for Chelsea against Bayern in their own backyard.
Kalou has made a tremendous start since joining the capital city club from French side Lille late in the transfer window.
On Friday, he fired a goal in each half as Hertha came from behind to beat struggling Stuttgart 3-2.
The Ivory Coast international has three goals in three starts in a cracking commencement to his Bundesliga career.
Loser: Bernd Leno
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Bernd Leno, Leverkusen's last line of defence, is normally as reliable a goalkeeper as they come in the Bundesliga.
Not so on Saturday in the 2-2 draw against promoted Paderborn. The 22-year-old German goalkeeper gifted the East Westphalia side the lead.
Watch this.
"This is what happens when you try to imitate Neuer. #Leno #Fail https://t.co/jQNhjCsymO
— Manu (@ManuelNeuerFanC) October 4, 2014"
Winner: Arjen Robben
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Arjen Robben is arguably in the form of his life with another breathtaking display in Munich on Saturday.
A rampant Robben fired 10 shots at goal, adding a goal in each half against Hanover.
The Dutch winger has three goals in just four starts for the table-toppers after missing just over a month with an ankle injury.
Losers: Werder Bremen & SC Freiburg
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Werder Bremen and SC Freiburg both went into Saturday's match without a win in the Bundesliga all season.
Inevitably, the somewhat tense affair ended in stalemate in Northern Germany.
The 1-1 draw leaves former Champions Bremen rooted to the bottom of the table, while Freiburg are 15th after a fifth draw in seven matches.
Winners: Adam Szalai Hoffenheim
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Adam Szalai scored a second goal of the season in the 2-1 win against former employers Schalke 04.
The Hungarian striker spent an unproductive season at Schalke in 2013 before joining Hoffenheim for €6 million this summer.
Hoffenheim remain unbeaten and proudly sit in second behind Bayern in the table.
Winner: Karim Bellarabi
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Karim Bellarabi grabbed a late equaliser for Bayer Leverkusen in the 2-2 home draw against plucky Paderborn.
Bellarabi's third goal of the season in the final minute sealed a point for Leverkusen, who lie in fourth place.
It crowned a good week's work for the 24-year-old Berlin-born attacker, who also scored the fastest goal in Bundesliga history after just nine seconds on the opening day.
"Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi took all of nine seconds to score against Dortmund, a new Bundesliga record: https://t.co/Obd17LoVQ0
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) August 23, 2014"
Bellarabi is the only new face in the Germany squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifying matches against Poland and Ireland.
Loser: Kevin Grosskreutz
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Kevin Grosskreutz has enjoyed better weeks in the game.
The 26-year-old is an integral part of a Borussia Dortmund side who have failed to win in four Bundesliga games, including Saturday's shock reverse to Hamburg.
And to cap a bad week for Grosskreutz, a member of Germany's World Cup-winning squad, he has also been unceremoniously dumped by coach Joachim Löw for the important forthcoming EURO qualifiers against the Poles and the Irish.
Winner: Max Kruse
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Borussia Monchengladbach forward Max Kruse crowned a decent week by scoring a memorable third goal of the season in the 1-1 draw with Mainz.
"GOOL! Max Kruse Gladbach 1-0 Mainz https://t.co/YWdveCeP7P
— Turkish Great Goals (@turkishgoals) October 5, 2014"
Kruse has also reclaimed a spot in Joachim Löw's Germany squad after missing the World Cup and spending his summer downtime playing poker.
Winners: Hamburg
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Hamburg moved off the bottom of the table with a surprise win at Champions League group-toppers Borussia Dortmund.
Few would have predicted a win for HSV, who only broke their Bundesliga scoring duck last weekend after going a record 508 minutes without scoring.
However, Pierre-Michel Lasogga's priceless first goal of the season sealed a first win of the season for the improving "Red Shorts."
Loser: Jens Keller
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Schalke 04 hierarchy fired Jens Keller on Tuesday after 22 months in charge.
A third league defeat of the season at the weekend—2-1 against Hoffenheim—was the final straw.
The "Royal Blues" languish in 11th spot with just eight points from seven games.
Keller’s final league win in charge came in the recent Derby against fellow strugglers Borussia Dortmund.
Impressive displays (and draws) against Bayern Munich in the league and at Premier League leaders Chelsea in the Champions League could not save the 43-year-old Keller from the sack.
Former Chelsea boss and Champions League winner Roberto Di Matteo will take over in Gelsenkirchen.
Follow Mark Lovell @LovellLowdown
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