Dortmund blow four-goal lead; Bayern suffer first defeat under Heynckes

Under-fire Borussia Dortmund coach Peter Bosz admitted Saturday's 4-4 draw at home to Schalke "hurt", after his side surrendered a four-goal lead to their derby rivals in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund were on course for a thumping win after racing into a 4-0 lead with only 25 minutes gone, but the hosts collapsed in the second half after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent off for a second yellow card.

After Aubameyang opened the scoring, an own goal by Schalke midfielder Benjamin Stambouli, plus a Mario Goetze header and volley from Raphael Guerreiro gave Dortmund a commanding lead to leave Schalke stunned.

But the second half was a totally different story.

Guido Burgstaller and Amine Harit clawed goals back for Schalke before the hosts had Aubameyang sent off in the 72nd minute for a second yellow card.

Borussia's collapse was completed when Daniel Caligiuri blasted home to make it 4-3 late on before Naldo's late header delighted travelling fans and stunned the hosts as Schalke came back from the dead.

"It's hard because you can only feel disappointment in your body," Bosz told Sky, as the draw left Dortmund winless in their last six league games.

"That shouldn't have happened when you play so well and put in a convincing display with a strong performance.

"In the second half we should have scored a fifth goal through Aubameyang, but it shouldn't happen that you are pulled back to 4-4, even with the red card.

"We stopped playing football and didn't use our room."

Bosz said Aubameyang deserved his red card after barging goal-scorer Harit off the ball.

"That shouldn't have happened, he wanted to help, but that was too aggressive, especially as he already had a yellow," fumed Bosz.

Dortmund finished the game with no forwards after Bosz took off winger Andriy Yarmolenko, Goetze came off injured and Aubameyang was dismissed.

Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and director of sport Michael Zorc have backed Bosz, but each passing week without a win further undermines his position.

- Dortmund booed off -

Dortmund's 2-1 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday ended their hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, but the team are backing their boss, despite being booed off by their own fans.

"The fact is we stand behind the coach, it is clear that there will be discussions out of this and everything will be criticised," said midfielder Nuri Sahin.

"The fact that the fans whistled us, which is completely understandable.

"However, if we had won the game, all the talk would be about the tactical genius of our coach. We took Schalke apart in the first half."

The result leaves Schalke third in the table, three points ahead of fifth-placed Dortmund, and protects the Royal Blues' unbeaten run, having now gone eight games without defeat.

"It was a very difficult phase at the start for us, in which Dortmund overran us and they seemed to score from every shot at goal," said Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco.

In a bid to avert a debacle, Tedesco brought on midfielders Leon Goretzka and 20-year-old Harit on 34 minutes, which turned the tide.

"We had our backs to the wall and we needed a lot of changes," said the Schalke coach.

"Our goal was just to win the second half, realistically you don't play for a 4-4 draw, but after we got back to 4-3, we all believed in it.

"Schalke has proven that they have the mentality and the character to be able to offer a spectacle.

"That was a big step in the right direction and is the reason why we're happy."

Bayern suffer first defeat under Heynckes

- Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat since Jupp Heynckes returned as head coach when they fell to a 2-1 loss at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund blew a four-goal lead to draw the Ruhr derby with Schalke.

Before losing at Gladbach, Bayern had won all nine games since Heynckes, 72, took over for his fourth stint at the club in October in the wake of Carlo Ancelotti's dismissal.

It was an unhappy return for Heynckes to Moenchengladbach, where he spent most of his playing career and where his family home is.

"We didn't invest enough in the first half," admitted Heynckes.

"We played too slowly and didn't find our rhythm, so we have to put the defeat down to the first half.

"We were better after the break, but Gladbach were clever in defence."

Gladbach suffered an early setback when Germany midfielder Christoph Kramer was stretchered off following a nasty clash of heads with team-mate Jannik Vestergaard.

A first-half penalty converted by Thorgan Hazard, after a Niklas Suele handball, put Gladbach ahead.

They went into the break 2-0 up at Borussia Park when Lars Stindl's pass was converted by Matthias Ginter to the delight of the home fans.

Heynckes responded by bringing on Austrian midfielder Marco Friedl, 19, for his Bundesliga debut.

He came on for the second period in place of James Rodriguez, who suffered a suspected concussion in a clash of heads with Kramer's replacement Tony Jantschke.

"He (Rodriguez) didn't know what the score was at half-time, so I assume it was a concussion, but we have to wait for a proper diagnosis," said Heynckes.

Bayern managed to pull a goal back when Chile international Arturo Vidal fired in a long-range shot on 74 minutes which Yann Sommer got a glove to, but couldn't prevent from rolling into the net.

With time almost up, late replacement striker Josip Drmic fired wide as Gladbach held on for the win.

It is only Bayern's second league defeat this season, having also lost 2-0 at Hoffenheim in September, but they still hold a three-point lead at the top of the table.

Gladbach move up to fourth, level on 24 points with third-placed Schalke, who came from four-goals down to draw at ten-man Dortmund as a dramatic Ruhr derby finished 4-4.

- Dortmund collapse in derby -

Centre-back Naldo completed Schalke's stunning four-goal fightback with a 94th-minute header.

The hosts were shell-shocked as Dortmund had raced into a 4-0 lead with 25 minutes gone after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring.

An own goal by Schalke midfielder Benjamin Stambouli, a Mario Goetze header and a Raphael Guerreiro volley followed to give Dortmund a commanding lead.

However, after Guido Burgstaller and Amine Harit clawed goals back for Schalke, the hosts had Aubameyang sent off in the 72nd minute for a second yellow card.

Borussia's collapse was completed when Daniel Caligiuri blasted home to make it 4-3 late on before Naldo's late header delighted the travelling fans and stunned the hosts.

Dortmund coach Peter Bosz is under increasing pressure as his fifth-placed side are now winless in their last six league games dating back to late September.

"It's hard, you only feel disappointment," said the Dutchman, clearly stunned by his team's collapse.

"When you lead 4-0, that shouldn't have happened.

"After the red card, we didn't play any more football, lost the ball too quickly and didn't use our room, but I don't want to look for excuses."

Elswehere, RB Leipzig remained second after their 2-0 win at home to second-from-bottom Werder Bremen with goals from Liverpool-bound midfielder Naby Keita and Brazilian defender Bernardo.

Bayer Leverkusen moved up to sixth with a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt with Germany forward Kevin Volland scoring the winner.

Michael Gregoritsch and Alfred Finnbogason scored for mid-table Augsburg as they came from behind to seal a 2-1 win over ten-man Wolfsburg, who had Maximilian Arnold sent off after only 11 minutes.

That was Wolfsburg's first defeat under new coach Martin Schmidt since losing to Stuttgart in September.