Freiburg (Germany), Oct 27 (IANS): Freiburg defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1, preventing the visitors from moving into a tie with Borussia Dortmund for first place in the Bundesliga.

The hosts grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 1st minute as Nils Petersen converted a penalty after Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer fouled Luca Waldschmidt on Friday night.

Coming off big wins over Mainz and Bayern Munich, the visitors battled back to equalize in the 20th minute, when Thorgan Hazard connected from the penalty spot, reports Efe news.

Mönchengladbach dominated for the rest of the first half, but failed to translate that edge into more goals.

Freiburg punished their opponents lapses in the second half, with goals by Waldschmidt - in the 57th minute - and Lucas Holer, who scored into an empty net in stoppage time to make the final score 3-1.

Mönchengladbach, who last won at Freiburg's Schwarzwald Stadion in 2002, remain second in the Bundesliga with 17 points, 3 behind Dortmund, who have a game in hand.

Freiburg are 8th, with 12 points from nine matches.