BERLIN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen secured their second win in as many games after three first-half goals were enough to ease 3-1 past Fortuna Dusseldorf in the second round of Bundesliga on Saturday.
The "Werkself" staged a dominant first half and sealed the deal ahead of time as Dusseldorf were only able to score their consolation late in the second half.
Leverkusen took the reins from the kick off and needed only six minutes to open the scoring as Dusseldorf's Lewis Barker cleared Kevin Volland's square pass into the wrong goal.
The visitors' continued powerful and remained in full control of the proceedings on the pitch as Sven Bender's header got cleared off the goal line by Markus Suttner in the 21st minute before Kerem Demirbay missed just wide from inside the box four minutes later.
Dusseldorf showed their first vital sign with 27 minutes played when Rouwen Hennings tested Leverkusen's goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky with a long-range effort.
However, Leverkusen remained unimpressed and doubled their advantage at the half-hour mark as Charles Aranguiz chested the ball to volley the ball from sharp angle into the roof of the net. The referee disallowed the goal at first, due to a supposed hand ball, but the video referee overruled after reviewing the replay.
Despite their 2-0 lead Leverkusen kept pressing forward to double the lead in the 39th minute after Volland's square pass found Karim Bellarabi, who tapped home from central position.
After the restart, Leverkusen marched relentlessly, as Bellarabi was a steady threat for Dusseldorf's defence. The German international hit the side netting from the edge of the box before Dusseldorf goalkeeper Zackary Steffen was on guard to defuse a hammer on target moments later.
As the match progressed, Dusseldorf came back to life whereas Leverkusen retracted with their three-goal lead behind. Hence, Alfredo Morales was able to score the 3-1 consolation for the hosts after poking home a rebound from close range in the closing period.
"We deservedly lost today. Leverkusen played dominantly in the first half. We saw the difference, Leverkusen plays Champions League while we play for our survival in the Bundesliga," Dusseldorf head coach Friedhelm Funkel said.
Elsewhere, Borussia Monchengladbach came from behind to beat wasteful Mainz 3-1.
Pavel Kaderabek's last-grasp goal helped Hoffenheim to overcome resilient 10-man Werder Bremen 3-2.
Newly promoted Union Berlin secured their first point in Germany's top flight after sharing the spoils with Augsburg following a 1-1 on the road.
Freiburg bounced back and wrapped up their second straight victory after beating newly promoted Paderborn 3-1.
