Hamburg upset runners-up Dortmund 3-1 in Bundesliga

Hamburg stopped Dortmund's winning run with a surprising but deserved 3-1 victory at home in the opener of the 13th round German Bundesliga on Friday. 

   Dortmund's seven-game winning streak came to an end as 11th placed Hamburg grinded out the victory. Hamburg's Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Lewis Holtby established the two-goal lead before the break.

   Dortmund's Mats Hummels scored an own goal to make it 3-0 before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the consolation for the visitors.

   Thomas Tuchel's men controlled the ball from the kickoff yet they were unable to dictate the pace as the "HSV" always set the ball carrier immediately under pressure. Thus, Dortmund were incapable to implement their passing game.

   Hamburg took over step by step and came close as Ivo Ilicevic pulled over the bar from inside the box at the 16th minute. The midfielder was again in the thick of things moments later as Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki floored Ilicevic inside the box allowing Lasogga to break the deadlock with a well placed shot from the penalty spot.  

   The visitors tried to respond through Marco Reus but Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler was on guard to deny the equalizer with a parry at the 23rd minute. The hosts staged a better figure in front of Dortmund's goal area as Nicolai Mueller's solo run and lay-off gave Holtby the chance to double the lead from sharp angle four minutes before the break. 

   Dortmund increased their efforts after the restart but nonetheless things went from bad to worse for the league runners-up. "BVB" captain Hummels headed the 3-0 lead following the corner kick by Holtby at the 55th minute.

   However, Dortmund pressed frenetically in the closing period meanwhile Hamburg's force decreased. As a consequence, Dortmund were able to score their consolation through top scorer Aubameyang, who marked his 15th goal of the season.

   The visitors continued to produce a number of promising opportunities in the closing period but Hamburg custodian Adler secured the surprising 3-1 victory.

   With the result, Dortmund failed to close the gap to two points on front-runners Bayern Munich, who step into contest Saturday, meanwhile Hamburg climb from 11th to the 8 place, for now, after recording their 5th win of the season.

   The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Bayern Munich visit Schalke, third-placed Wolfsburg face Bremen, Monchengladbach host Hannover, Stuttgart meet Augsburg, Frankfurt see Leverkusen and Cologne encounter Mainz.  Endi