Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund edge Werder Bremen
Robert Lewandowski scored his second goal in three games as Borussia
Dortmund maintained their perfect start to the season by beating Werder
Bremen.
The Polish striker tapped home from Marco Reus's cross in the second half.
Dortmund had chances to extend their lead as Nuri Sahin
volleyed over before substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was denied
from close range.
Former Wigan striker Franco Di Santo came closest for the visitors, but his powerful drive was kept out late on.
The victory means Dortmund have won their opening three
games of the season for the first time since 2001-02, when they went on
to win the title.
Did you know?
Borussia Dortmund were playing Werder Bremen 49 years and 364 days since they met in the first-ever Bundesliga match back in 1963. In the 91 meetings since then only three have ended in draws.
Bayern Munich were the runaway
title winners last season but Dortmund's early season showing suggests
the battle for the championship could be a closely-fought affair this
season.
They dominated from the beginning of this encounter, but failed to make the most of a host of chances.
Jakub Blaszcyzkowski came closest to breaking the
deadlock as he smashed a shot against the crossbar, with Bremen sitting
deep inside their own half.
Dortmund found the breakthrough 10 minutes into the
second half when Reus's square ball found Lewandowski yards in front of
goal and the Poland international was left with a simple finish.
Sahin volleyed over following a scramble in the box and
Aubameyang, who scored a hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut earlier this
month, saw a low shot denied by Bremen goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz
after racing towards goal.
For all their dominance, Dortmund were almost denied
victory late on when Di Santo had sight of goal, but his powerful drive
was denied by keeper Roman Weidenfeller.
"In a way it was good that we didn't score earlier,
because it would have taken some of the fire out of the players," said
Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.
"This way, they had their feet on the gas for the whole
90 minutes. Having nine points after only three games and talking about
how we can improve is almost a luxury problem.
Klopp added: "I am happy that Lewandowski scored. He was rewarded for having worked as hard as a bull tonight."