Heidenheim hold Stuttgart to 3-3 draw in hectic Bundesliga match

Bottom side Heidenheim held fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart to a 3-3 draw in a hectic Bundesliga match on Sunday.

Chris Führich gave Stuttgart the early lead in the fifth minute, but the hosts were level in the 20th after Sirloid Conteh's pass was deflected into Eren Dinkçi's path and he fired it into the top corner.

Heidenheim then took the lead after some chaotic scenes.

Ermedin Demirović appeared to have retaken the lead for Stuttgart, but his goal was ruled out because Maximilian Mittelstädt fouled Dinkçi in the box at the other end in the build up.

After video review, the referee not only disallowed Stuttgart's goal, but gave Heidenheim a penalty, converted by Arijon Ibrahimovic in the 34th.

Stuttgart, however, got a penalty themselves after Conteh brought down Bilal El Khannouss in the area and Mittelstädt had the ball into the net in the 44th to make up for his previous mistake.

Mittelstädt almost got a brace but hit the post in the 53rd, while Demirovic had another goal ruled out in the 75th.

Heidenheim then thought they had the win when Alexander Nübel denied Ibrahimovic, but Conteh scored on the rebound in the 82nd.

But Stuttgart were level again thanks to Deniz Undav's effort in the 88th.

Both sides had enough chances to find a winner in stoppage-time, but were forced to share the points in the end.

"It was an intense game with many chances on both sides, we had one or two more. We could have made more today," Mittelstädt told broadcaster DAZN.

Demirovic said "it hurts a lot" to have two goals ruled out.

"Unbelievable, I don't know what to say, it hurts a lot. It's a joke that so many things have been trusted to a computer, and one cannot make decisions themselves anymore," he added.

On Heidenheim's side, Dinkçi said that the team can be inspired by the performance for the upcoming matches.

"We can work with that, we scored three goals. Of course, we also conceded three but it gives us courage for the next weeks," he said.

Ginter scores against ex-club to help Freiburg to 2-1 win

Matthias Ginter scored against his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach to help his current team Freiburg claim a 2-1 win.

Ginter didn't celebrate after he broke the deadlock in the 38th, volleying it home after Gladbach's Kevin Diks inadvertently flicked a long throw to him.

They doubled their lead in the 74th, after Gladbach lost the ball in midfield. Maximilian Eggestein's low cross was palmed by goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas into the path of Igor Matanovic, who tapped the ball into the empty net.

Gladbach had a goal ruled out in the 83rd and still pulled one back two minutes later through Haris Tabarovic, but despite late pressure couldn't find an equalizer.

"The defeat really hurts. In the closing stages, we tried everything to force an equalizer – and we did that pretty well. But overall it wasn’t enough," Tabarovic said.

Freiburg are seventh, six points from the European spots, while Gladbach are 14th, just two points from the relegation zone.

Goalkeeper blunder helps St Pauli beat Bremen

St Pauli Hamburg prevailed 2-1 against Werder Bremen as both teams battle against relegation.

Hauke Wahl's header slipped through the hands of keeper Mio Backhaus and rolled into the net to give St Pauli the lead in the 55th.

Substitute Jovan Milosevic needed only two minutes on the pitch to hit back for Bremen in the 62nd, but Joel Chima Fujita scored his first goal for St Pauli to secure the win.

St Pauli are the first team in the relegation zone on 20 points, with Bremen one point behind.

On Saturday, Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga table with a 3-2 win against Eintracht Frankfurt and thanks to Borussia Dortmund's 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig.

Bayern now have an eight-point advantage over Dortmund ahead of their clash next weekend.