Bayern Munich, Dortmund reap first wins after Bundesliga restart

Bayern Munich earned their first win in 2015 by beating Stuttgart 2-0 meanwhile Dortmund relieved their relegation worries with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg at the 20th round of the German Bundesliga on Saturday.

Front-runners Bayern Munich celebrated their first win at the third match in 2015 as they overcame relegation threatened Stuttgart thanks to the goals by Arjen Robben and David Alaba.

The "Bavarians" controlled the ball but were unable to pose any threat whereas Stuttgart lurked for counter attacks. Yet, both sides were unable to create goal-scoring opportunities in the opening period.

Stuttgart worked out the first noteworthy chance of the game at the 28th minute when Gotoku Sakai rattled the outside of the right post from 15 meters. However, it were the hosts who broke the deadlock against the run of the game when Robben hammered home his 12th goal of the season at the 41st minute.

The visitors from Stuttgart started aggressive into the second half but it were again the hosts who destroyed all hopes of a comeback as Alaba doubled the lead with a free kick goal from 25 meters with 50 minutes into the match. The second goal by the "FCB" took the wind out of Stuttgart's sails.

With the result, Bayern maintain their eight-point advantage atop the standings while Stuttgart slumped to the last place of the table.

Relegation threatened Dortmund showed a vital sign as they defeated Freiburg 3-0 by courtesy of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's brace to climb off the last position of the Bundesliga standings.

From the kick-off, Dortmund took over to press Freiburg into the defense. The "BVB" capitalized on the moment of madness by Freiburg's Mike Frantz, whose misplaced pass allowed Aubameyang to pass into path of Maro Reus, who slotted home into the open goal, only nine minutes after the kick-off.

Freiburg tried to respond at the second half but clinical Dortmund focused on fast breaks to double the lead through Aubameyang who made use of Ilkay Guendogan's through-ball to beat Freiburg's goalkeeper Roman Buerki one-on-one at the 56th minute.

Dortmund were not done with the scoring as Aubameyang tripled the lead at the 72nd minute to seal his brace and the deal against the hosts.

With the victory, Juergen Klopp's men jumped on the 16th position, a relegation play-off spot, whereas Freiburg slipped to the 17th place.

Wolfsburg remain Bayern chasers as they downed Hoffenheim 3-0 thanks to the brace by Kevin De Bruyne. The "Wolves" caught a bright start on home soil as Bas Dost opened the scoring with just three minutes played. The Dutchman made use of a pinpoint cross into the box by new arrival Andre Schuerrle.

Schuerrle was again in the thick of things when his 16-meter long-range shot rattled the bar, allowing De Bruyne to head home the rebound from close range for the 2-0 lead at the 28th minute.

Hoffenheim pressed frenetically after the restart but their poor chance conversion, despite many promising opportunities, denied them a goal. Instead, Wolfsburg added another goal to their lead when De Bruyne wrapped up his brace in the closing period.

Runners-up Wolfsburg sit eight points adrift of Bayern Munich while Hoffenheim stay on the 7th place.

Elsewhere, Berlin stopped their four game winless streak as they secured a 2-0 triumph against 10-men Mainz. Jens Hegler and Roy Beerens were on target for Hertha Berlin.

Newly promoted Cologne and Paderborn shared the spoils following a goalless draw and Hamburg craved out a 2-1 home victory against Hannover. However, the visitors from Lower Saxony squandered a foul play to wait for their first win in 2015.

The following fixtures will close the 20th round on Sunday: Bremen host Leverkusen and Augsburg encounter Frankfurt. Endi