Borussia Dortmund stretched their lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at home to Hamburg.
Leaders maintain storming form as Hamburg falter
Borussia Dortmund stretched their lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at home to Hamburg on Friday.
Shinji Kagawa and Lucas Barrios were on target for the hosts to help them move seven points clear of second-placed Mainz, who host Hanover on Saturday.
Japanese midfielder Kagawa and Paraguayan forward Barrios have now netted 13 league goals between them in the German club's remarkable start to the season.
Both sides were slow to hit their stride in the first half, with the only notable chance coming five minutes before half-time when Marcel Schmelzer set up Mario Gotze with a solid cross, only for the midfielder to poke wide of the left-hand post.
Dortmund came out with all guns blazing in the second half, however, and a quick break down the right flank allowed them to break the deadlock.
Lukasz Piszczek fed the on-running Kagawa, whose shot took a deflection as it found the back of the net in the 49th minute.
Threatening
The home side suddenly looked much more threatening as they began to win headers in and around the area, but did not find a way to trouble goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny.
Barrios finally doubled the score after 70 minutes as Borussia executed a swift counter-attack.
Kagawa was at the heart of matters again, with his throughball allowing Gotze to race free.
He attempted to dink the ball over Drobny and although his effort was well wide, the onrushing Kevin Grobkreutz managed to knock it back to give Barrios a tap in.
Mladen Petric went close to pulling one back for Hamburg four minutes later, but headed over the bar when well-placed, leaving Dortmund to comfortably play out the final minutes.
