Bundesliga: Schalke beats Leverkusen for season's first win

BERLIN - Schalke 04 beat fellow Champions League contenders Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 on Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) to notch their first win of the season and end their opponents' three-game winning streak.

Schalke, with this week's new signings Kevin-Prince Boateng and Dennis Aogo in the line-up, took the lead on the half-hour with Marco Hoeger's glancing header from a Jefferson Farfan free kick.

Buoyed by their midweek qualification for the Champions League group stage, Schalke were more aggressive and Boateng could have grabbed a goal on his debut but Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno saved his header from point-blank range.

"I am very proud of the team because we had two very busy weeks," said Schalke coach Jens Keller, who will feel some of the pressure lifted after a bad start to the season.

"Kevin-Prince Boateng was very good today but I also want to mention Aogo, who shut out Sidney Sam."

Despite controlling the game against a surprisingly toothless Leverkusen, who had won eight straight league games stretching back to last season, Schalke had to wait until the 83rd minute to seal victory.

Peru international Farfan converted a penalty after he was brought down by Emir Spahic to end any Leverkusen hopes of an equalizer.

The win lifted Schalke into 13th place on four points, with Leverkusen third on nine.

"I am very happy to have won today," Boateng told reporters. "We were solid at the back and scored the goals we needed. I could have had one goal myself but Leno made a great save."

Hanover 96 came from a goal down to crush Mainz 05 4-1, while Hamburg SV demolished promoted Eintracht Braunschweig 4-0 for their first win of the campaign.

Mainz's Nicolai Mueller scored his fifth goal in four games but hosts Hanover struck twice late in the first and second halves to climb up to fourth place on nine points, ahead of the visitors on goal difference.

Hamburg SV celebrated their first victory of the season by beating Braunschweig with two early goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Jacques Zoua.

Hakan Calhanoglou, who came on in the 79th minute, still had time to grab two goals for himself and lift Hamburg to 12th place on four points, easing some of the pressure on coach Thorsten Fink.

Borussia Moenchengladbach scored five times, including a Havard Nordtveidt own goal, to ease past Werder Bremen 4-1 and move up to seventh.

Bayern Munich top the table with 10 points after their 1-1 draw at Freiburg on Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time).

Last season's runners-up, Borussia Dortmund, on nine points, travel to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday and will go top if they win their fourth successive league game. - Reuters