A much-expected raucous atmosphere inside MHPArena set the stage, however, Stuttgart endured a nightmare start. Just six minutes in, Bradley Barcola capitalised on a flicked overhead pass from Desire

After the Champions League excitement, it's back to business in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, while Borussia Dortmund hopes incoming coach Niko Kovač can help spur a stop to its slide.

Of his seven strikes so far, four have given Stuttgart a 1-0 lead, while the other three have come as a substitute – the latter a joint-league-high this term – showing how decisive he's been in key moments of games.

German Bundesliga results on Friday: Stuttgart v Freiburg, Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg, Heidenheim v St Pauli, Bochum v RB Leipzig, Holstein Kiel v Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1730)

German Bundesliga result on Friday: Mainz v Stuttgart, RB Leipzig v Bayer Leverkusen, Augsburg v Heidenheim, Freiburg v Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Bochum (1730)