Away at arch rivals, Dortmund could very easily have dropped points. Winning despite playing well below their best is a great sign for their title hopes, writes DW's Mark Hallam.
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
Derbies are easy to lose at the best of times. Yet Dortmund salvaged all three points away from home, despite a contentious penalty decision against them and despite a pretty lackluster performance. Captain Marco Reus even touched on this after the match.
"We hadn't won here for a long time, so a victory was our target. We earned it, because we dominated for 90 minutes. [But] we let Schalke put us to sleep. Schalke were playing strange football," Reus said on Sky.
With practically every attacking option in the squad injured, and Domenico Tedesco's side barely managing to notch a goal a game when fit, perhaps it's not such a shock that the hosts were playing unusually defensive football.
Lucien Favre's crew only came anywhere near their incisive best at the beginning and end of the game, looking purposeless and lethargic for much of the match, especially when defending a 1-0 lead. Many of their better attacks and opportunities were due to Schalke's errors, not their own creativity. And at the back, Roman Bürki was forced into action more than once.
When Amine Harit won a controversial penalty after a VAR intervention, and Daniel Caligiuri calmly wrongfooted Bürki, the script seemed poised for Dortmund's first domestic setback of the season.
No fewer than eight starters in Dortmund's new-look XI were playing in their first-ever Revierderby, with five of them aged 23 or under — cheered on only by the vocal block of traveling fans in the away section.
Schalke supporters must have been thinking it was time for Dortmund's inexperienced side to finally crack under the pressure of such a stellar start to the Bundesliga season.
And yet Dortmund rallied, led by their next generation. Jadon Sancho, just back from England after a bereavement in the family, and the youngest player on the pitch, finished his big second-half chance with the calm maturity of a player twice his age. Sancho has played far better than this in recent weeks, and seemed a real candidate for a second half substitution, but the 18-year-old was clinical when the moment came.
Five minutes later, with an almost identical chance laid on by Sancho, the much more experienced Marco Reus couldn't find a way past Ralf Fährmann to seal the deal.
But if Favre's side can beat bogey team Schalke while themselves playing sub-par, you have to wonder who in Germany can stop them.
Bundesliga: Matchday 14 roundup
While Dortmund keep up the pace at the stop, Bayern Munich look to be slipping back in to gear. Elsewhere, Freiburg emphatically dispatched RB Leipzig and a new American announced his arrival in style.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Bayern Munich 3-0 Nuremberg
The Robert Lewandowski goal conveyor belt continues to run around the clock. He scored the first and the second goals against Nuremberg, with Franck Ribery getting in on the act later in the game. Bayern didn't get their wish in the Revierderby, but at least keep pace with Dortmund with three points of their own.
Image: Reuters/M. Rehle
Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 Stuttgart
Borussia Mönchengladbach turned on the style in the second half against Stuttgart to stay within touching distance of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund. Gladbach broke the deadlock in the 69th minute through Raffael's header, with Florian Neuhaus doubling the hosts lead. The unfortunate Benjamin Pavard steered the ball into his own net moments after Stuttgart had seen Erik Thommy sent off.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gambarini
Mainz 1 - 1 Hannover
This ill-tempered, entertaining draw is likely to be remembered more for the time the players were off the pitch than on. Pyrotechnics from the away end filled the stadium with smoke at the start of the second half, forcing the players back to the dressing rooms for a few minutes. When they returned, Daniel Brosinski's controversial penalty cancelled out Hendrik Weydandt's first half opener.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/S. Hofmann
Schalke 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
The big stage doesn't appear to rattle Jadon Sancho. Playing his first ever Revierderby, he scored the decisive second-half goal to preserve Dortmund's unbeaten record and seal the local bragging rights on top. Thomas Delaney had opened the scoring, also netting his first for BVB. Sancho is now the youngest player in Dortmund history to reach six goals for the club.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Baron
Freiburg 3-0 RB Leipzig
Leipzig drop further adrift of the leaders with a clear defeat on their long, long road trip to Germany's southwest. Freiburg, meanwhile, are turning into serious giant killers. They've also beaten Borussia Mönchengladbach and drawn with Bayern in recent weeks. Nils Petersen, Luca Waldschmidt (pictured celebrating here) and Mike Frantz all found the net.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Kaspar-Bartke
Werder Bremen 3-1 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Friday was a night for firsts in Bremen. On his first Bundesliga start for Bremen, Kevin Möhwald opened the scoring with a fierce right-footed drive. Late in the second half, US international Josh Sargent came on for his debut with Bremen's senior side. The 18-year-old scored with his second touch, around 90 seconds after coming on, helping Werder end a run of three home defeats.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Augsburg
Levekusen left it late but did just enough at home on Saturday afternoon. Lucas Alario came on in the 73rd minute and scored in the 75th to secure three points. Recovering from their woeful start to the season, the pharmaceuticals have dragged themselves up to 11th, while Augsburg are sliding towards the relegation zone after five games without a win.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/J. Schwarz
Wolfsburg 2-2 Hoffenheim
The visitors got off to a flying start when Ishak Belfodil netted in the fourth minute, only for the Wolves to bite back twice. Ermin Bikakcic put one past his own keeper Oliver Baumann, before Daniel Ginczek put Wolfsburg in front. Andrej Kramaric, who had created the opener, tied the game up again with 20 minutes to play. The dropped points offer Hertha a chance to reach the top six.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. I. Guengoer
Hertha Berlin 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
A set piece ultimately decided Saturday evening's fixture in the capital. Liverpool loanee Marko Grujic rose highest to meet a corner and head past Kevin Trapp just before the break. Frankfurt fought on in the second half but couldn't strike back, They miss the chance to leapfrog Leipzig in the table. Hertha, meanwhile, climb to sixth.
