体坛英语新闻：Bayern drop points, Leipzig lose in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Front-runners Bayern Munich played out a 1-1 stalemate with Schalke while Dortmund overcame runner-up Leipzig on the goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 19th round action in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Schalke secured one point on the road as Naldo's free kick goal cancelled out Robert Lewandowski's opener for Bayern Munich, whose seven-game winning streak came to an end.

The hosts caught a perfect start on home soil as Lewandowski broke the deadlock with just nine minutes into the game. The Polish international capitalized on a through ball from Arturo Vidal to slot home from inside the box.

Markus Weinzierl's men remained unimpressed and responded just four minutes later when Naldo hammered home a low free kick into the bottom left corner to restore parity.

Both teams exchanged offensive actions before the interval as Sead Kolasinac tested Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer while Juan Bernat forced Schalke custodian Ralf Faehrmann to make a safe.

Guido Burgstaller had the chance to turn the tides but the striker rattled only the woodwork. Lewandowski should have added the second goal at the other end of the pitch but the bar denied his brace before the break.

After the restart, both sides staged an evenly balanced encounter. Bayern remained uninspired whereas Schalke's well-positioned defence secured a 1-1 draw on the road.

With the result, Bayern stay atop the standings with a four-point advantage meanwhile Schalke remain on the 11th place.

Borussia Dortmund sealed Leipzig's third loss of the season as Aubameyang's first-half goal was enough to wrap up the ninth victory.

The "BVB" assumed control from the kick-off against injury-hit visitors from Leipzig. However, the runner-up's defence gave the hosts a hard time, as Dortmund had to wait until the 35th minute to open the scoring.

Ousmane Dembele sprinted down the right wing and shrugged off two defenders to cross into the path of Aubameyang, who headed home from close range at the far post.

Dortmund remained in control of the proceedings after the halftime but the hosts remained wasteful at the finish, as Marco Reus pulled wide from the edge of the box.

Aubameyang came close as well moments later but his effort landed in the arms of Leipzig goalie Peter Gulacsi. The goalkeeper remained in the thick of things in the closing as he defused another two promising chances from Reus.

With the win, third placed Dortmund reduced the arrears to the top two meanwhile Leipzig remain on the second place of the standings.

Elsewhere, Monchengladbach moved 3-0 past Freiburg thanks to three second-half goals. Hoffenheim crushed Mainz 4-0 by courtesy of Adam Szalai's late brace. Berlin edged relegation-threatened Ingolstadt 1-0 and Wolfsburg lost 1-0 to Cologne.

The following fixtures conclude the 19th round on Sunday: Augsburg encounter Werder Bremen and Frankfurt host bottom dwelling Darmstadt.