Champions Borussia Dortmund opened a three-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga after a 2-0 win at Nuremberg on Friday stretched their unbeaten run to 14 consecutive league games.

On a freezing Bavarian evening, with temperatures hovering around -15 Celsius, captain Sebastian Kehl gave his team a deserved lead in the 48th minute when he slotted the ball in with his left foot following a Lukasz Piszczek layoff.

Paraguay international Lucas Barrios, who turned down several offers of a move earlier this week, snatched his first goal of the season 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute, tapping in from two metres in the 82nd.

Dortmund, on a four-match winning streak, have 43 points from 20 matches. They are three points ahead of Bayern Munich, who travel to Hamburg on Saturday, and Schalke, who host Mainz the same day.

Schalke came from behind to rejoin Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga with a big win over Cologne.

Lukas Podolski gave the home side the lead in the fourth minute, but Schalke turned the game on its head in the last half an hour with Ciprian Marica on target twice and Klaas Jan Huntelaar scoring from the penalty spot.

Marc Hoger made it four as Schalke also did themselves a favour in terms of improving their goal difference.

Miso Brecko was shown a red card to compound the defeat for Stale Solbakken’s side, who fall to within just three points of the relegation zone.

Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben scored as Bayern Munich preserved their place at the top of the Bundesliga with a hard-fought win over Wolfsburg.

Bayern had to wait an hour before Gomez made the breakthrough against a well-organised Wolfsburg side at the Allianz Arena.

Wolfsburg responded well after going behind, but were unable to find an equaliser as Bayern held on before adding the second in stoppage time through Robben.

Bayern were looking to bounce back from their defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend, while Wolfsburg were intent on making life difficult for them.

Schalke moved level on points with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga thanks to a home win over Stuttgart at the Arena AufSchalke.

Joel Matip gave the Royal Blues a perfect start with a goal in the third minute while the home team also had a goal from Klaas Jan Huntelaar wrongly disallowed .

Kyriakos Papadopoulos then doubled the lead in the 57th minute with Julian Draxler adding the third 10 minutes from time.

Shinji Okazaki pulled a goal back in the 87th minute for Stuttgart but it was too little too late to worry the hosts as they made the most of Bayern’s defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach last night.

Sebastian Polter gave Wolfsburg a winning start to 2012 with a late goal earning Felix Magath’s new-look side all three points against Cologne.

Five of Magath’s winter signings played a part in the proceedings, but it was a home-grown talent who made the difference with the winning goal 12 minutes from the end.

The hosts enjoyed the better of the game, although Cologne wasted numerous good chances, indicating that perhaps the Wolves’ fortunes may well have turned in the new year.

Magath awarded debuts to four of his 10 new signings this winter with Petr Jiracek, Vieirinha, Felipe Lopes and Ricardo Rodriguez all in his starting XI.

Yohandry Orozco and Giovanni Sio were on the bench as a new-look Wolfsburg side attempted to start 2012 with a win.

Borussia Moenchengladbach floored leaders Bayern Munich 3-1 with two goals by Patrick Herrmann and one from Marco Reus to move within a point of top spot as the Bundesliga resumed after a one-month winter break.

Gladbach, who terrorised lacklustre Bayern with a string of lightning-quick breaks, went up to second with 36 points from 18 games after clinching a league double over the visitors.

Bayern, beaten 1-0 by the same team on the opening day of the season, could not find much creative spark in the absence of suspended winger Franck Ribery.

Chelsea opened their Champions League Group E account with a 2-0 win against a determined Bayer Leverkusen side at Stamford Bridge.

Andre Villas-Boas’s side were made to work hard for the spoils, and it took a superb finish from defender David Luiz to break the deadlock on 67 minutes.

Juan Mata added some gloss to the scoreline with the last kick of the game, and ensure Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack went home unhappy on his return to his former club.

Fernando Torres assisted both goals, but failed to add to his single goal for Chelsea, who were some way below their fluent best.

Check it out.

szólj hozzá: Ch2-0Ba[Matchhighlight.com]

Arsenal conceded a late equaliser as they were pegged back to a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund in their opening Champions League Group F clash at the Westfalenstadion.

The German champions dominated the possession in the first half but Robin van Persie rounded off a 42nd-minute move that he started to give Arsenal the lead against the run of play.

For so long it looked as though the Gunners would hold on to secure a vital away win, but substitute Ivan Perisic levelled on 88 minutes with a stunning volley to mark the Bundesliga club’s return to the competition after a nine-year absence.

Check out the goal.

szólj hozzá: Dortmund Equaliser

Eljero George Rinaldo Elia or simply known as Eljero Elia is a Dutch footballer of Surinamese descent who currently plays for German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV and the Dutch national team. The talented winger was born on the 13th of February 1987 in Voorburg.

A product of the AFC Ajax academy, Elia played for ADO Den Haag and FC Twente before joining Hamburg in 2009. He made his debut for the Dutch national team in September 2009, scoring on his debut, and participated at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

In 2009, Elia was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award for “Young Player of the Year” in the Netherlands.

Elia was included in the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. On 27 May 2010, the Netherlands’ manager Bert van Marwijk announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the competition.

Full name : Eljero George Rinaldo Elia
Date of birth : 13 February 1987
Place of birth : Voorburg, Netherlands
Height : 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position : Winger, Striker
Current club : Hamburg
Number : 11

Franck Ribery was born on the 7th of April 1983 and is a French international football player who currently plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Ribery primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and is known for “pace, energy, skill and precise passing.”

Ribery is a two-time winner of the French Player of the Year award and has also been named to the UEFA Team of the Year once.

Ribery has so far made a total of 72 appearances for Bayern Munich and scored a total of 24 goals along the way.