BERLIN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart spoiled Niko Kovac's debut in charge of Dortmund as the Swabians ran out 2-1 winners, while defending champion Bayer Leverkusen was held to a goalless draw by Wolfsburg at the 21st round on Saturday.
From the start, Stuttgart concentrated on its defense, while BVB controlled possession without doing any damage to the visitor's bulwark.
Ramy Bensebaini had two half-chances in quick succession from a corner kick, while Jamie Gittens and Karim Adeyemi tried their luck with long-range efforts.
Stuttgart's best chance of the first half came when Waldemar Anton's misplaced pass left Deniz Undav one-on-one with goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, but defender Emre Can neutralized Undav's hesitant shot.
Dortmund piled on the pressure after the restart, but Adeyemi couldn't beat goalkeeper Alexander Nubel from a tight angle, while at the other end of the pitch, former Stuttgart man Anton deflected Chris Fuhrich's cross into the wrong net to give the host a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute.
Things went from bad to worse for the host when Julian Chabot doubled Stuttgart's advantage on the hour mark, volleying home Jamie Leweling's pinpoint corner.
Dortmund tried to respond, but Nubel was alert to tip Gitten's promising shot over the bar eight minutes later.
In the closing stages, Stuttgart handed control to Borussia, who lacked penetration and ideas in attack. Julian Brandt reduced the deficit to 2-1, but that was as close as Kovac's side could get, and it finished the game with ten men as Ryerson was sent off in the dying minutes.
The result sees Stuttgart move into the Bundesliga's top four, while BVB remains in 11th place after suffering its eighth defeat of the season.
"I thought the boys gave it their all today, and we shouldn't have gone off the pitch as losers. The team did some good things, but we ended up robbing ourselves of what we worked so hard for," said Kovac.
In Saturday's other matches, second-placed Bayer Leverkusen is now nine points adrift of leader Bayern Munich after Xabi Alonso's side was held to a goalless stalemate by the Wolves. Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt drew for the third time in succession following a 1-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach. Union Berlin returned to winning ways and picked up vital points with a 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Hoffenheim. Freiburg made it two wins on the bounce as Vincenzo Grifo's lone goal secured a narrow 1-0 win over Heidenheim and Mainz held Augsburg to a goalless draw. ■
