Ritsu Doan's Freiburg moved to the top of the German Bundesliga table Saturday after the Japan attacker helped clinch a thrilling 3-2 win away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Doan broke a 2-2 deadlock with 18 minutes left to play at Leverkusen's BayArena, sneaking in at the back post and tucking home Nicolas Hoefler's header from a corner for his second league goal this season and third across all competitions.
"It was not my typical goal, (coming) from a corner kick," said Doan, who came off the bench to start the second half. "I was thinking that if someone touched it, the ball was coming to the (back) post."
The win moved Freiburg ahead of second-place Borussia Dortmund on goal difference after five rounds, with reigning champions and perennial title favorites Bayern Munich a point behind following their 1-1 draw with Union Berlin.
Elsewhere in the German top flight, Daichi Kamada continued his scoring streak to lead Eintracht Frankfurt to an emphatic 4-0 win over Red Bull Leipzig.
Kamada had an early goal wiped off for offside but could not be denied on Frankfurt's 16th-minute opener, heading home his third goal in four games after Kolo Muani rerouted Mario Goetze's ball into the box.
The victory was the second on the trot for Europa League champions Frankfurt following a slow start to the campaign.
Wataru Endo and Hiroki Ito's Stuttgart drew 1-1 at home to Japan captain Maya Yoshida's Schalke, with all three Samurai Blue members playing the full 90 minutes.
Stuttgart were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of defender Josha Vagnoman in the 67th minute at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
At Berlin's Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Genki Haraguchi came off the bench in the 85th minute for Union, who held heavyweights Bayern to their second successive draw.
In the Dutch top flight, 21-year-old Japanese forward Koki Saito registered two assists to help Sparta Rotterdam thrash FC Volendam 4-0.
In the Scottish Premiership, Kyogo Furuhashi exited after just five minutes of Celtic's 4-0 Old Firm Derby win over Rangers with a shoulder injury.
Samurai Blue teammate Reo Hatate started for the Scottish champions, while Daizen Maeda came on as a 73rd-minute substitute at Celtic Park.
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