Winning start for Hoffenheim
17 Aug 2008 - 12:38:48
Hoffenheim marked their first ever appearance in the German top-flight by moving to the top of the Bundesliga table following an opening 3-0 win over Energie Cottbus.
Ralf Rangnick's side won promotion from 2.Bundesliga last season but finished the first weekend joint top with Schalke after goals from Vedad Ibisevic (2) and Demba Ba at a shell-shocked Stadion der Freundschaft.
Schalke, under new coach Fred Rutten for the first time, were 3-0 winners over Hannover with Kevin Kuranyi claiming an opening-day brace.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund opened their campaign with a 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Nelson Valdez, Florian Kringe and Neven Subotic were all the mark for the visitors at the BayArena.
Last year's runners-up Werder Bremen were held to a 2-2 draw at Arminia Bielefeld.
Markus Rosenberg found the net twice for Werder, but two goals from Artur Wichniarek earned Bielefeld a battling point.
Meanwhile, Wolfsburg were 2-1 winners over Koln, while Karlsruhe claimed the points after a 1-0 success at home to Bochum.