OK, hardly that dramatic. But Bayern really got owned for the first time in about 2 years, as they crashed at home against Dortmund. It was a typical Bayern match, with them dominating possession, but the Neons weren’t impressed. They played patient defense and launched quick counter strikes. The visitors were confident, even to the point of not starting Robert Lewandowski, who of course is going to Bayern next season. They really didn’t miss him, as they executed their plan perfectly and played to their capabilities, winning in impressive form.
Stuttgart was the only bottom club that helped themselves out, but it should have been more. VfB was the better team at Gladbach, but wasted some good chances to finish off the match. Instead Gladbach got a late goal to salvage a point that they probably didn’t deserve.
Hannover dominated Hamburg in a tense Nordderby. The 96ers should have put the match away early, but instead found themselves faced with a draw. A late surge finally put them over the top and gives them some breathing space. HSV did squat, although young star Calhanoglu did knock in a direct free kick that almost got them a point.
Wolfsburg fell behind at the start against Nürnberg, but really didn’t seem bothered. The VWs stuck to their plan and gradually overran the visitors, who were shaky in defense and no-shows on offense. So it was only a matter of time until the Wolfs kicked their ass all over the field for an easy win.
Freiburg did enough to get a win in a critical relegation matchup against Braunschweig. However they almost turned off the gas too early. They were coasting along but switched to “off” mode after an hour. Eintracht then dominated the remaining time, but didn’t utilize their chances which might have got them a point. But with the win Freiburg looks almost secure from trouble, Braunschweig is still in it, but time is running out.
Bremen self-destructed early at Mainz and it was over. Luckily for Werder, mainz was a gracious host and didn’t press on in the 2nd half, otherwise it would have been an embarrassing rout.
Leverkusen did enough to get the win against Berlin, although it was hardly impressive. Hertha has been dicking around for about 8 matches (without a win), so it wasn’t a huge challenge. But the Aspirins are trying to hold off Wolfsburg, so every point counts.
Hoffenheim put an end to any Euro hopes for Augsburg. The Fuggers “run,run,run” strategy didn’t impress the Hoppers too much, as they used superior technique to control the match and essentially put it away in the first half.
Total attendance 377,387 (avg 41,932), sellouts in Gelsenkirchen (Schalke), Gladbach, Hannover, Freiburg and München
FC Schalke 04 - Eintracht Frankfurt 2:0 (0:0) 61,973 *
1:0 M. Meyer (59., Huntelaar)
2:0 Farfan (90. + 1, direct freekick)
Bor. Mönchengladbach - VfB Stuttgart 1:1 (0:1) 53,560 *
0:1 Didavi (12., Werner)
1:1 Arango (89., M. Kruse)
Hannover 96 - Hamburger SV 2:1 (1:0) 49,000 *
1:0 Stindl (9., Prib)
1:1 Calhanoglu (48., direct freekick)
2:1 Ya Konan (86., Rudnevs)
VfL Wolfsburg - 1. FC Nürnberg 4:1 (2:1) 28,431
0:1 Feulner (8., Kiyotake)
1:1 Olic (19., de Bruyne)
2:1 Perisic (22., de Bruyne)
3:1 Junior Malanda (69., Arnold)
4:1 Perisic (82., Olic)
SC Freiburg - Eintr. Braunschweig 2:0 (1:0) 24,000 *
1:0 Vrancic (8., own goal, Sorg)
2:0 Schuster (48.)
1. FSV Mainz 05 - Werder Bremen 3:0 (3:0) 33,597
1:0 Petersen (5., own goal, Geis)
2:0 Moritz (16.)
3:0 Malli (39., Pospech)
Bayern München - Borussia Dortmund 0:3 (0:1) 71,000 *
0:1 H. Mkhitaryan (20., Reus)
0:2 Reus (49., Aubameyang)
0:3 Hofmann (56., Sokratis)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Hertha BSC 2:1 (2:1) 29,377
1:0 Kießling (1., Donati)
2:0 Brandt (24., Son)
2:1 Wagner (38., Cigerci)
1899 Hoffenheim - FC Augsburg 2:0 (2:0) 26,449
1:0 Salihovic (19., direct freekick)
2:0 Vestergaard (41.)
1 Bayern München (M, P) 30 25 3 2 82:20 +62 78
2 Borussia Dortmund 30 19 4 7 67:32 +35 61
3 FC Schalke 04 30 17 7 6 56:38 +18 58
4 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 30 16 3 11 50:37 +13 51
--------------------------------------------------------------------
5 VfL Wolfsburg 30 15 5 10 53:45 +8 50
6 Bor. Mönchengladbach 30 14 7 9 52:35 +17 49
--------------------------------------------------------------------
7 1. FSV Mainz 05 30 14 5 11 44:45 -1 47
8 FC Augsburg 30 12 6 12 41:45 -4 42
9 1899 Hoffenheim 30 10 10 10 66:63 +3 40
10 Hertha BSC Berlin (N) 30 10 7 13 38:42 -4 37
11 Eintracht Frankfurt 30 9 8 13 37:50 -13 35
12 Werder Bremen 30 8 9 13 34:58 -24 33
13 Hannover 96 30 9 5 16 38:55 -17 32
14 SC Freiburg 30 8 8 14 35:52 -17 32
15 VfB Stuttgart 30 7 7 16 45:58 -13 28
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16 Hamburger SV 30 7 6 17 46:62 -16 27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17 1. FC Nürnberg 30 5 11 14 35:58 -23 26
18 Eintracht Braunschweig (N) 30 6 7 17 28:52 -24 25
1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga