Dortmund hit back

EUROPEAN ROUND-UP

The reigning German champions, Borussia Dortmund, produced the best possible response to their midweek Champions' League loss to Juventus by overwhelming VfB Stuttgart 6-3 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Dortmund prevailed despite having Knut Reinhardt sent off in the 16th- minute. The victory took them into third place but still left them seven points behind Bayern Munich. Bayer Leverkusen, 2-0 winners over Eintracht Frankfurt, are second.

Ajax, the European champions, recaptured the lead in the Dutch First Division by thrashing Go Ahead Eagles Deventer 4-0 yesterday. All the goals came in the second half, from Nordin Wooter, Nwankwo Kanu with two and Edgar Davids.

Montpellier's 1-0 win handed Paris St Germain their first defeat of the season thanks to an own goal from Bruno N'Gotty but PSG remain at the top of the French league. Tony Cascarino scored a hat-trick in Marseille's 5-0 Second Division win over Laval on Saturday.

Real Madrid, Spain's defending champions, lost 3-2 to Oviedo, their second defeat in succession, despite a goal in the first minute by Ivan Zamorano.