Dortmund coach Kovac debuts with defeat, Leverkusen held at Wolfsburg
Coach Niko Kovac made his debut for Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 defeat at home against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday in the Bundesliga.
Stuttgart will be thankful to their former defender Waldemar Anton after he scored an own goal to give them the opener in the 50th minute. Jeff Chabot in the 62nd added a second for the guests with his maiden Bundesliga goal.
Julian Brandt pulled one back for Dortmund in the 81st but their hopes of grabbing at least a point were dashed when Julian Ryerson saw a second yellow and was sent off in the 89th.
Dortmund have won only one of their six games so far this year in a run that includes four defeats. They are 11th in the standings and now six points from Stuttgart, who currently occupy the last spot for Champions League qualification.
Champions Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw at VfL Wolfsburg and will end the matchday eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich
Union Berlin are now 10 points from the drop zone after thrashing Hoffenheim 4-0. Benedict Hollerbach scored a brace, Marin Ljubicic was on target on his Bundesliga debut and Andrej Ilić also added one to his name.
Elsewhere, Mainz and Augsburg played out a goalless draw and Freiburg prevailed 1-0 against Heidenheim. Bayern defeated Werder Bremen 3-0 on Friday.
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