Dortmund held by Nurnberg

Two-time reigning champions Borussia Dortmund had to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Nurnberg.

Two-time reigning champions Borussia Dortmund had to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Nurnberg on Saturday afternoon. Tomas Pekhart gave Nurnberg the lead after 31 minutes before Jakub Blaszczykowski equalised for Dortmund in the 40th minute as both sides improved to four points in the Bundesliga having won their opening matches. Dortmund, who this week were handed a daunting Champions League group that includes Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax, created the first chance of the match when captain Sebastian Kehl unleashed a well-struck 25-yard effort which Nurnberg keeper Raphael Schafer dove to block away in the 18th minute. It was Nurnberg who grabbed the lead, though, as Hiroshi Kiyotake's corner from the right side went to the far post where Pekhart rose over Dortmund defender Mats Hummels to head in. Dortmund replied with the equaliser five minutes before the break when Ivan Perisic's shot came back off the crossbar into the path of Blaszczykowski, who blasted home into the empty net. The visitors then came close to snatching a half-time lead but Ilkay Gundogan's volley went just wide in the 45th minute. Nurnberg remained in the game as defender Javier Pinola kept out Hummels' header on the line in the 63rd minute before Schafer made a great save to prevent Julian Schieber netting with a low shot with 10 minutes to play. Having survived those chances, the hosts nearly netted a late winner themselves but, with four minutes to play, Robert Mak saw his shot strike the near right post from a tight angle as the spoils were shared.