SV Darmstadt 98 0-1 Bayern Munich Bundesliga Match Results and Highlights (Costa stunner takes Bayern back to summit)

Douglas Costa's winner was his third Bundesliga goal of the season

Douglas Costa's spectacular winner took Bayern Munich top of the Bundesliga on goal difference before Wednesday's meeting with title rivals RB Leipzig.

The Brazilian's 25-yard left-foot shot swerved in off the underside of the bar to send bottom club Darmstadt to a seventh straight defeat.

Bayern laboured for much of the game against spirited opponents.

Peter Niemeyer should have equalised, heading straight at Manuel Neuer, who had parried Jerome Gondorf's free-kick.

Carlo Ancelotti's side regained first place from Leipzig, who had moved three points clear by beating Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Saturday.

Match Highlights

One eye on Wednesday?

Leipzig have supplanted Borussia Dortmund as Bayern's biggest Bundesliga title rivals this season, and Wednesday's meeting between the two side in Munich is keenly anticipated.

There was a sense that Ancelotti and his players may have had one eye on that fixture, as they were far from at their best against Darmstadt.

Bayern captain Philipp Lahm, who was listed on the team sheet, suffered a problem during the warm-up and was not risked - perhaps with Wednesday in mind - as Rafinha was drafted in to replace him.

There was little fluency about Bayern's play, and Robert Lewandowski - who signed a contract extension lasting until 2021 on Tuesday - did not look like continuing the run that had brought him five goals in his previous three matches.

The closest that the Poland striker came to a goal was a free-kick floated just over the bar towards the end of the first half, on a day when Bayern rarely threatened other than from set-pieces.

There was a degree of encouragement in defeat for Darmstadt, who have struggled to recover from the departure of coach Dirk Schuster for Augsburg during the summer.

Norbert Meier, Schuster's replacement, was sacked on 5 December, but interim coach Ramon Berndroth coaxed an energetic performance from his players, and they would have gained a valuable point but for Costa's unstoppable shot.

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayern Munich Highlight (Early Aubameyang goal sees RB Leipzig take three-point lead in title race).

Aubameyang drew level with Cologne's Anthony Modeste at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with 12 goals

➤Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Borussia Dortmund the lead after 11 minutes after fine Mario Gotze pass

➤Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery saw his back-heeled second-half goal ruled out after he strayed offside

➤Aubameyang and Andre Schurrle both missed one-on-one chances vs Manuel Neuer in the second-half

➤Xabi Alonso saw a spectacular long-range effort cannon back off the crossbar as Bayern succumb to defeat

➤RB Leipzip now three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund moving up to third

See The Full Bundesliga Table Here.

MATCH HIGHLIGHT 

Bundesliga newcomers RB Leipzig will enjoy being at the summit of German football for a little while longer after Bayern Munich succumbed to a narrow defeat against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday night.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang combined with former Bayern star Mario Gotze in the 11th minute to give Thomas Tuchel's side a lead that they would cling on to for the rest of the game.

Franck Ribery would see a second-half effort ruled out for offside while Xabi Alonso also smashed the crossbar with a spectacular but ultimately off-target effort. Manuel Neuer made two fine saves from Andre Schurrle and Aubameyang to keep the score down to one but Dortmund would eventually seal an important win to move back into the title race.

Borussia Dortmund 0 - 0 Schalke 04 Match Highlight (Aubameyang struggled to make an impact as both sides failed to find cutting edge).

BORUSSIA DORTMUND have dropped more points in the Bundesliga as they continue to find their domestic form falling further behind leaders Bayern Munich as they go four league games without a win.

The coach racked up his fourth straight Bundesliga clash without victory as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's return failed to inspire the hosts

Bundesliga Table As It Stands

See The Full Bundesliga Table Here.

Thomas Tuchel equalled his longest winless streak in the Bundesliga as Borussia Dortmund coach thanks to a 0-0 Revierderby draw against Schalke at Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund went into the clash with their arch-rivals having failed to triumph in their past three top-flight outings, a run they have only twice experienced since Tuchel took over at the start of the 2015-16 season.

MATCH HIGHLIGHT

Despite the return of star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed the midweek penalty shoot-out victory over Union Berlin in the DFB-Pokal with a calf injury, they were unable to avoid a fourth match without maximum points.

Schalke applied early pressure on Dortmund and stifled their usually positive forward line, the first half ending without the hosts registering a shot on target.

A knee ligament injury ruled Klaas-Jan Huntelaar out for Markus Weinzierl's first Revierderby at the Schalke helm, and wing-back Sead Kolasinac was unable to convert their best chance in the second half.

Dortmund made a late push for a winner but Mario Gotze was denied by Ralf Fahrmann and a brilliant clearance from Kolasinac stopped Christian Pulisic converting at point-blank range, Tuchel's side slipping eight points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich.

Schalke started with high intensity, Max Meyer having a shot blocked by Sokratis Papastathopoulos within three minutes.

The visitors were playing a physical game but referee Felix Brych showed the first yellow cards to Dortmund duo Shinji Kagawa and Julian Weigl.

Franco Di Santo regularly looked to run in behind and stretch the hosts' defence, but it developed into an even match with few goalscoring opportunities.

FC Cologne 1-1 Bayern Munich (Bayern Munich held by Cologne after Anthony Modeste equaliser) #FCBKOE.

Cologne became the first team to deny Bayern Munich victory in the Bundesliga this season as they picked up a deserved 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.

Joshua Kimmich gave Bayern the lead five minutes before the end of a first half which the hosts dominated.

It was a different story in the second half, though, with Anthony Modeste bringing Cologne level, and they had the record champions on the ropes but failed to land a winning punch despite going close late on.
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Bundesliga Table

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Match Highlights: