Dortmund coach Kovac debuts with defeat, Leverkusen held at Wolfsburg

Coach Niko Kovac made his debut for Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 defeat at home against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday in the Bundesliga, while champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a goalless draw at VfL Wolfsburg.

Stuttgart will be thankful to their former defender Waldemar Anton after he scored an own goal to give them the opener in the 50th minute. Jeff Chabot in the 62nd added a second for the guests with his maiden Bundesliga goal.

Julian Brandt pulled one back for Dortmund in the 81st but their hopes of grabbing at least a point were dashed when Julian Ryerson saw a second yellow and was sent off in the 89th.

Elsewhere, Union Berlin thrashed Hoffenheim 4-0, Mainz and Augsburg played out a goalless draw and Freiburg prevailed 1-0 against Heidenheim. Leaders Bayern Munich defeated Werder Bremen 3-0 on Friday.

Kovac off to bad start at new job

Dortmund have won only one of their six league games so far this year in a run that includes four defeats. They are 11th in the standings and now six points from Stuttgart, who currently occupy the last spot for Champions League qualification.

Kovac was brought to replace Nuri Sahin and turn things around but started his term on a negative note.

Stuttgart broke the deadlock after a fast counterattack concluded by an own-goal from their former player Anton. The defender tried to clear the ball away when Chris Führich aimed for the goal, but ended up firing against his own target.

Dortmund again failed to clear the ball, this time after a corner, and allowed Jamie Leweling's cross get to Chabot, who volleyed in his first-ever league goal in the 61st.

The hosts were pressing for a goal and were rewarded in the 81st as Brandt's fired a low curler through a sea of legs and into the net.

There was enough time to find a late leveller, but their plans were held once Ryerson was sent off. He was pulled by Angelo Stiller, who received a yellow card for the foul, but lost his temper and was also penalized.

Kovac, however, didn't seem very disappointed after his first game in charge.

"The boys really gave everything, 100% until the last minute. Even those who came off the bench. The result is the only thing that wasn't good, the rest was perfectly fine," he told broadcasters Sky.

"The team implemented some things really well, we shouldn't have left the pitch as losers," he added, but admitted that his players didn't always make the right decisions when in the opponent's box: "I know how much work is ahead of us."

Leverkusen now eight points behind Bayern

Reigning champions Leverkusen scored a last-gasp goal on Wednesday that helped them defeat Cologne 3-2 in the German Cup. But they couldn't do it again at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Despite the point, they now sit eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich ahead of their blockbuster clash next weekend.

"Wolfsburg defended well. We couldn't find the gaps," goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky told Sky.

Asked whether the result was decisive for the title race, he said: "It doesn't makes things easier for next week. We need a win."

Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt didn't take advantage of Leverkusen's setback in a 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Hugo Ekitike's goal in the 31st cancelled out Tim Kleindienst's opener for Gladbach. With 39 points, Frankfurt are seven behind Leverkusen, while Gladbach dropped to eighth.

Union deepen Hoffenheim's crisis

In a duel directly linked to the relegation battle, Union managed to take a breather while at the same time sinking Hoffenheim closer to the danger zone in a 4-0 win.

Benedict Hollerbach scored a brace, Marin Ljubicic was on target on his Bundesliga debut and Andrej Ilić also added one to his name.

Union are now 10 points from the drop zone, while Hoffenheim have four points separating them from the relegation play-off spot.