Top-flight clubs victorious in German Bundesliga

Berlin: Bayern Munich set the pace at the league as Ribery and Alaba wrapped up their 2-0 win over Frankfurt while chasers Schalke came from behind to astonish Bremen 2-1 at the 11th round of German Bundesliga football.

Newly-promoted stunner side Frankfurt staged a courageous performance Saturday night against the league leaders that needed some time to gain a foothold into the match. The Bavarians approached Frankfurt`s goals with nine minutes into the match when Arjen Robben pulled just wide from inside the box. Unexpectedly Frankfurt gave the hosts a hard fight as Stefan Aigner and Sebastian Rode responded with scoring opportunities. The German record champions struggled for goals until the 44th minute when Franck Ribery utilized a selfless assist by Javi Martinez to open the scoring After the interval fearless Frankfurt started where they left off when they remained dangerous on fast breaks. However, Bayern Munich doubled their lead as David Alaba converted a foul play penalty from the spot as Frankfurt`s Vadim Demidov had brought down Bastian Schweinsteiger. Bayern`s 2-0 lead took the wind out of Frankfurt`s sails to seal the deal ahead of time. Thus Bayern Munich stays atop the standings with a seven-point lead whilst third positioned Frankfurt suffered their third loss. "It was a hard earned victory. We have not appeared as resolute as usual," Bayern coach Juppy Heynckes said. Schalke came from behind to stun Bremen 2-1 at outsold Veltins Arena. Bremen broke the deadlock at the 16th minute when Aaron Hunt slotted home into bottom right an assist by Zlatko Junuzovic. The host were incapable to overcome Bremen`s well-positioned defence until the break. After the interval Bremen carried on to produce goal-scoring chances but it was Schalke that equalized the score through Roman Nuestaedter who headed home a cross into the far post corner. The Royal Blues were not done with the scoring as Julia Draxler scored the winner ten minutes later. Bremen nearly levelled the score in the dying minutes of the game but Schalke`s Lewis Holtby scratched Theodor Gebre Selassies effort from the goal line by header. "It’s difficult to turn around a deficit against a team like Bremen but my team showed great character," Schalke coach Huub Stevens said. Defending champion Borussia Dortmund defeated struggling Augsburg 3-1. One goal by Marco Reus and a brace by Robert Lewandowski was enough to seal the three points, as home side Augsburg was only able to score the consolation through Sascha Moelders. "It was a very tough game. In the first half, it was a very close game. In the second half we looked much better," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. Elsewhere, Freiburg and Hamburg staged a goalless draw while Dusseldorf shared points with Hoffenheim after a 1-1 draw. IANS