Leipzig, Schalke win in German Bundesliga

Leipzig continued their unbeaten run with a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen while FC Schalke 04 eased 3-0 past hapless FC Mainz in the German Bundesliga.

Bundesliga newcomers Leipzig remain unbeaten in their eighth game in Germany's top flight as Naby Keita scored twice to secure their fifth win of the season on Sunday, reports Xinhua.

Werder Bremen staged a well-positioned defence against Leipzig, who lurked for chances to implement their dangerous fast breaks.

It took the hosts 42 minutes before they overcame Bremen's bulwark as Naby Keita danced through the penalty box and rounded goalkeeper Felix Wiewald to score the opener into the empty goal.

After the restart, Bremen turned up but neither Serge Gnarby nor Theodor Gebre Selassie was able to level the scores from promising positions. Hence, a goal was scored at the other end of the pitch as Keita nodded home his second goal thanks to the cross from substitute Davie Selke in the 75th minute.

Bremen showed a vital sign and responded out of the blue only moments later as Serge Gnarby poked home Fin Bartel's low cross at the far post to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards.

The visitors pressed frantically for the equaliser but their efforts remained fruitless as substitute, and former Bremen player, Davie Selke completed a fast break into the open goal to round off the 3-1 win on home soil.

With the result, Leipzig jump from the 3rd to the 2nd place to sit two points adrift of front runners Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Werder Bremen suffered their fifth loss of the season to slip to the 15th position.

Elsewhere, Schalke reaped their second win of the season after edging Mainz 3-0 thanks to the brace from Nabil Bentaleb.

The Algerian international broke the deadlock with 23 minutes played, when he hammered home Franco Di Santos' chest assist inside the box.

The "Royal Blues" were not done with the scoring at the second half as Max Mayer and Betaleb's second goal of the day sealed the deal with 61 minutes into the game.

Schalke have now climbed to the 14th place, which is still below their expectations, whereas Mainz slumped to the ninth position in the standings.

--IANS

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