(More info after Sunday matches)
Gladbach pulled a big upset and knocked off leaders Dortmund. The Neons actually dominated the whole match, but wasted their chances, otherwise it could have been wrapped up at half-time. In teh 2nd period, Gladbach was better,but Dortmund still in control. But they continued to waste, and were duly punished. Hummels got red carded, and Kruse put home the penalty. The Neons attacked furiously despite being down a man, but Gladbach countered and finished off the match.
Bayern München is back on top after a draw at Leverkusen. The champions dominated but were lax up front, and Aspirin GK Bernd Leno was very sharp. Still, after kicking Manchester City’s butt in midweek Champions League and regaining the top, I suppose Bayern is satisfied. Obviously Leverkusen has to be happy with a point. They were out shot 27-5, and Bayern was dominating, so they couldn’t have expected much. They held on grimly, but their guests waste was decisive in saving the point.
Augsburg has done quite wwll so far, and started brightly at Schalke. But they soon ruined it as Klavan pulled down Szalai and got red carded. Schalke quickly seized control and dominated the match. Adam Szalai had his best match since coming over from Mainz. It ends as an easy win for the Blues, who aren’t used to that.
Stuttgart dominated against Bremen, but allowed Werder to steal a point. The Bremers were pretty much bottled up the whole match, but VfB lacked imagination to carve them up. A good point for Werder, but Stuttgart must be unhappy with this result.
Brazilian midfielder was perhaps Hertha’s best player in the 2.Liga promotion campaign, but he has been marginal in the Bundesliga, unable to hold a starting role. But he showed his value in seconds after coming on as a sub, knocking in a direct free kick to salvage a point for Berlin. Host Hannover has been dominant at home, but showed very little, basically trying to phone it i and get the points.
Hoffeheim is one of the more improved teams this season. They looked liek certain relegation last seaosn, but interim coach Markus Gisdol pulled them out of the tailspin. Now entrenched as head coach, Gisdol shook up the lineup and has the Hoppers playing enthusiastic attacking football. They looked like certain winners at Mainz, but the hosts are also capable of attack when they finally wake up. A furious end spurt allowed them to salvage a point they probably didn’t deserve.
Braunschweig stunned Wolfsburg in a northern derby – hence the rare sold out stadium in Kraft-durch-Freude-Stadt (hehehe), and it wasn’t undeserved. Despite the VWs having more talent and ball possession, the Braunschweigers showed discipline and drive when it counted and get their first win.
Nürnberg was absolutely horrible and got torn to shreds by visiting Hamburg. Der Club gave some indication that they knew how to play football – albeit poorly – in the first half, but they were totally blank after the restart and when down “sang und klanglos”. This has to be one of most embarassing performances in years. Meanwhile, HSV might have straightened out the ship, Van Maarwijk is already paying major dividends. Key were Van der Vaart with a goal and two assists, and Lasogga with the hat-trick. Did I say that Nürnberg stunk?
Frankfurt and Freiburg battled a draw, overall a fair result.
Total attendance was 359,020(avg 39,891). Sellouts in Schalke, Gladbach, Wolfsburg and Leverkusen.
Hannover 96 - Hertha BSC 1:1 (1:0) 46,500
1:0 C. Schulz (23.)
1:1 Ronny (81., direct freekick)
FC Schalke 04 - FC Augsburg 4:1 (2:1) 60,731 *
0:1 Mölders (10., Ostrzolek)
1:1 K.-P. Boateng (16., penalty, Szalai)
2:1 Szalai (28., Uchida)
3:1 Szalai (78., Aogo)
4:1 M. Meyer (86., Uchida)
Bor. Mönchengladbach - Borussia Dortmund 2:0 (0:0) 54,010 *
1:0 M. Kruse (82., penalty, Nordtveit)
2:0 Raffael (86., Arango)
VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen 1:1 (1:1) 50,410
1:0 Harnik (6., Schwaab)
1:1 Petersen (37., Junuzovic)
VfL Wolfsburg - Eintracht Braunschweig 0:2 (0:1) 30,000 *
0:1 Bellarabi (31.)
0:2 Kumbela (86., M. Caligiuri)
1. FSV Mainz 05 - 1899 Hoffenheim 2:2 (0:2) 25,817
0:1 Volland (14.)
0:2 Roberto Firmino (22., Schipplock)
1:2 Choupo-Moting (82., Geis)
2:2 Malli (90. + 2)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Bayern München 1:1 (1:1) 30,210 *
0:1 T. Kroos (29., Ribery)
1:1 Sam (31., Boenisch)
Sunday:
1. FC Nürnberg - Hamburger SV 0:5 (0:1) 38,042
0:1 van der Vaart (17., Westermann)
0:2 Lasogga (59., van der Vaart)
0:3 Lasogga (63., van der Vaart)
0:4 Lasogga (67.)
0:5 Arslan (74.)
SC Freiburg - Eintracht Frankfurt 1:1 (0:0) 23,300
0:1 C. Günter (64., own goal)
1:1 Höfler (85., Schmid)
1 Bayern München (M, P) 8 6 2 0 15:3 +12 20
2 Borussia Dortmund 8 6 1 1 21:7 +14 19
3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 8 6 1 1 18:8 +10 19
4 Bor. Mönchengladbach 8 4 1 3 19:13 +6 13
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5 Hannover 96 8 4 1 3 11:11 0 13
6 Hertha BSC Berlin (N) 8 3 3 2 14:9 +5 12
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7 VfB Stuttgart 8 3 2 3 16:10 +6 11
8 FC Schalke 04 8 3 2 3 14:17 -3 11
9 Werder Bremen 8 3 2 3 9:12 -3 11
10 1899 Hoffenheim 8 2 4 2 20:20 0 10
11 1. FSV Mainz 05 8 3 1 4 12:17 -5 10
12 FC Augsburg 8 3 1 4 9:15 -6 10
13 Eintracht Frankfurt 8 2 3 3 11:13 -2 9
14 VfL Wolfsburg 8 3 0 5 9:11 -2 9
15 Hamburger SV 8 2 2 4 17:19 -2 8
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16 1. FC Nürnberg 8 0 5 3 9:17 -8 5
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17 SC Freiburg 8 0 4 4 9:18 -9 4
18 Eintracht Braunschweig (N) 8 1 1 6 5:18 -13 4
M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokal, defending Cup winner
N = Neuling, newly promoted
1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga