Bayern reap win, Dortmund tie in German Bundesliga

Robert Lewandowski's brace secured Bayern a 3-1 victory over Augsburg and Dortmund were held to a goalless draw by Schalke at the 9th round in the German Bundesliga on Saturday.

Lewandowski's five-game goal drought came to an end after he provided two goals to edge Augsburg for the second time in three days following the German Cup victory on Wednesday.

The German giants assumed the control of the game from the kick off, yet it was the hosts who worked out the first chance of the encounter when Paul Verhaegh tested Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with five minutes into the game.

As the match progressed, Bayern pressed Augsburg into defence to break the deadlock with 19 minutes as Arjen Robben set up for Lewandowski, who slotted home from central position at the edge of the box.

Both Bayern players remained in the thick of things after Lewandowski assisted Robben to double the lead following a rebound moments after the opener.

Carlo Ancelloti's men continued their powerful performance with the start of the second half as Robben utilized a turnover to tee up for Lewandowski, who rounded custodian Marwin Hitz to poke home his seventh goal of the season into open goal in the 48th minute.

Bayern retracted with the three-goal lead and allowed the "Fuggerstaedter" to pull one back when Ja-Cheol Koo benefited on a black out by Bayern's defence to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards.

With the result, Bayern remain atop the Bundesliga standings after securing the seventh win of the season while Augsburg suffered the fifth loss of the season to slip to 13th.

Schalke and Dortmund shared the spoils after 90 goalless minutes in the 171st "Revierderby".

Both sides staged a fast-paced first half yet goal-scoring opportunities remained a great rarity, especially Dortmund lacked in penetration.

After the interval, Dortmund took the reins but were unable to overcome Schalke's well positioned bulwark. Ousamen Dembele rattled the woodwork from close range in the 53rd minute before Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann denied Mario Goetze following a solo run through the box with 73 minutes played.

Dortmund dominated to press frenetically for the winner but Schalke's defence gave the hosts a hard time as Sejad Kolasinac made a last-grasp tackle to deny Christian Pulisic a shot on the empty goal in the closing period.

With the goalless draw, Dortmund climb on the 5th place, still waiting for their first win since four games, whereas Schalke jumped to the 12th place after securing the fifth draw of the season.

Elsewhere, Bundesliga runner-up and newcomers Leipzig continue their unbeaten run in Germany's top flight after moving 2-0 past Darmstadt by courtesy of Marcel Sabitzer's brace.

Bayer Leverkusen bounced back to down Wolfsburg 2-1 as Tin Jedvaj scored the winner in the dying minutes of the game.

Mainz cruised to a 2-0 win over ten-men Ingolstadt and Freiburg overcame Werder Bremen 3-1.

The following fixtures complete the 9th round of Bundesliga on Sunday: Hoffenheim host third placed Hertha Berlin and Cologne face last placed Hamburg. Endit