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Mainz maintain fairytale start to go second

BERLIN - Mainz maintained their 100 percent record in the Bundesliga on Sunday when they came from behind to beat Kaiserslautern 2-1 and go second behind leaders Hoffenheim.

A well-taken goal by Croatian striker Srdjan Lakic on 20 minutes handed Kaiserslautern the lead, but two goals in two second-half minutes was enough to give Mainz their third straight win of the season and give them nine points.

The fightback began when Mainz defender Niko Bungert scored after 71 minutes before teenage striker Andre Schuerrle’s shot took a deflection and flew past the diving Kaiserslautern goalkeeper.

Mainz will have their perfect record tested next weekend when they travel to Champions League contenders Werder Bremen.

Cologne picked up their first win of the season on Sunday evening with a 1-0 win over St Pauli as midfielder’s Taner Yalcin netted to give his side their first points of the season over the Bundesliga’s newcomers.

On Saturday, defending champions Bayern Munich were held to a dull goalless draw by Bremen as both sides prepared for next week’s Champions League opening games with mediocre performances.

Bremen host Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday while Bayern take on AS Roma on Wednesday, but neither side were impressive at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

The result leaves both sides in mid-table on four points.

Germany captain Michael Ballack suffered a further setback on his return from injury when he suffered a left knee cap fracture and was forced to limp out of Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw at 10-man Hanover.

The 33-year-old came off after just 30 minutes following a heavy tackle on and is set to miss the next six weeks, ruling him out of Germany’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan next month.

Ballack missed the World Cup after tearing a ligament in his right ankle, and an MRI scan on Sunday revealed the fracture.

The result leaves Leverkusen in mid-table and Hanover fourth behind leaders Hoffenheim.

Hamburg drew 1-1 at home to Nuremberg which leaves them third in the table.

In the day’s other matches, Stuttgart lost 2-1 at Freiburg to suffer their third defeat of the season while Eintracht Frankfurt routed ‘Gladbach 4-0.

Ex-England manager Steve McClaren is still looking for his first win of the season as his Wolfsburg side lost 2-0 at Dortmund whose Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa scored his first Bundesliga goal.

On Friday, Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer conceded a late own goal as Hoffenheim kept up their dream start to the season to claim their third-straight victory with a 2-0 win over Schalke.

This was Schalke’s third defeat in three games and their Germany defender Christoph Metzelder face a race against time to be fit for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Lyon after picking up a groin strain.