Borussia Dortmund moved to the top of the Bundesliga table after Maximilian Beier’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 victory over Stuttgart on Saturday.
Beier struck in the 70th minute, converting Jobe Bellingham’s low cross to hand Dortmund their fourth consecutive league win of the season.
The result took Dortmund to the summit for the first time since May 2023, when they surrendered the Bundesliga title after drawing with Mainz on the final day of the campaign.
Beier had an early opportunity to open the scoring but headed wide from close range, while Stuttgart’s Bilal El Khannouss went close before the interval with a shot that narrowly missed the post.
Dortmund introduced Konstantinos Karetsas shortly after the hour mark, with the Greek teenager returning to action after being stretchered off during a Champions League match earlier in September due to a cardiovascular issue.
Karetsas played a key role in the decisive goal, finding Bellingham with a clever pass before the midfielder delivered a low ball across the box for Beier to finish.
The victory was also Dortmund’s first in their opening four Bundesliga matches of a season in a decade.
Coach Niko Kovac praised Beier for responding positively after being left out of Jurgen Klopp’s latest Germany squad.
Elsewhere, Freiburg dropped points for the first time this season after being held to a 2-2 draw by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern Munich had moved ahead of them with a 7-0 win over Union Berlin on Friday.
Werder Bremen also staged a late comeback to defeat Augsburg 3-2, with West Ham loanee Niclas Fuellkrug scoring his third consecutive Bundesliga goal before Mitchell Weiser struck the stoppage-time winner.
Hamburg recorded their first win and points of the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Cologne, while Borussia Moenchengladbach remained bottom after suffering a fourth straight defeat, losing 4-3 at home to Mainz.
