Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller (L) vies with Duesseldorf's Niko Giesselmann during a German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Fortuna Duesseldorf in Munich, Germany on Nov. 24, 2018. The match ended 3-3. (Xinhua/Philippe Ruiz)
BERLIN, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf rallied to tie Bayern Munich 3-3 while front runners Borussia Dortmund edged resilient Mainz 2-1 in the 12th round of the German Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dusseldorf stunned Bayern as Dodi Lukebakio's hatrick secured the underdogs one point on the road.
The visitors ensured a bright start into the game as Lukebakio tested goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with an effort towards the bottom left corner.
It was yet the hosts that opened the scoring with 16 minutes played as Dusseldorf failed to clear a corner kick, allowing Niklas Suele to slot home a lead from inside the box.
Bayern doubled the lead four minutes later when Thomas Mueller took a long pass from Jerome Boateng to beat onrushing Dusseldorf goalkeeper Michael Rensing.
The German record champions had the chance to extend the lead but Robert Lewandowski squandered a promising chance from inside the penalty area at the half-hour mark.
Dusseldorf were able to reduce the arrears out of the blue as Lukebakio hammered home a square pass into the roof of the net one minute before the half-time whistle.
Bayern restored their two-goal lead in the 58th minute after Lewandowski set up for Mueller, who curled the ball from the edge of the box into the far post corner.
Newly promoted Dusseldorf remained unimpressed and responded well as Niko Geisselmann's pass into path allowed Lukebakio to overcome Neuer to make it 3-2 on the scoreboards.
Lukebakio wasn't done with the scoring and shocked the hosts in the stoppage time when he broke away from Bayern's defence to beat custodian Neuer for the three-all draw.
With the result, Bayern stay on the 5th place with a nine-point gap to the top spot whereas Dusseldorf remain on the 17th position.
Front runners Borussia Dortmund march on atop the standings after reaping their third straight win with a hard-earned 2-1 away victory over Mainz.
The "BVB" took the reins from the kickoff and controlled possession but the visitors failed to open the scoring in the first half as Axel Witsel and Marco Reus lacked in accuracy in front of the target.
As the match progressed, Mainz gained a foothold into the game as Jean-Phillipe Mateta forced Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki into action.
After the restart, Paco Alcacer came in as substitute in the 66th minute and the Spain international took Reus' square pass to make his eighth goal this season.
Mainz recovered just four minutes later when Robin Quaison slotted home a through ball to make it 1-1.
Lucien Favre's men grabbed the lead again as Lukasz Piszczek had both time and space to drill the ball from inside the box into the top right corner in the 76th minute.
With the win, Bundesliga leaders Dortmund move seven points ahead of runner-ups Eintracht Frankfurt whereas Mainz slipped to the 10th place.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim squandered a three-goal lead as Hertha Berlin fought back to secure one point on home soil.
Eintracht Frankfurt eased 3-1 past Augsburg with goals from Jonathan de Guzman, Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic.
Wolfsburg wrapped up a narrow 1-0 lead over uninspired Leipzig and Schalke crushed ten-men Nuremberg 5-2.
The following fixtures conclude the 12th round on Sunday: Freiburg host Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach encounter Hannover.
