(More details after Sunday’s games)
Dortmund dominated against HSV, and looked to have things well in grip with a two goal lead. But HSV shocked the Neons with two comeback goals (despite having about two shots in the whole game) and then had the home side very nervous. However Dortmund got back in the groove and overpowered the Hamburgers, turning it into a rout afterall. The Dortmund new signings Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan have definitely made an impact, and perhaps even Lewandowski leaving could be handled. But meanwhile the Polish striker is in top form, despite Dortmund’s refusal to let him go to Bayern. For HSV the big news was the next day they fired coach Thorsten Fink’s ass…
Bayern München came out breathing fire and attacking, but somehow Hannover managed to whether the storm. The hosts began to get bored and lazy, and the 96ers even had huge chances to grab a lead. After a half-time “Pep” talk from Guardiola, the champions evidently refocused, and came out and grabbed the lead, and were in total control for the remainder.
Leverkusen got the win against Wolfsburg, but it was a struggle. The VWs showed that they were fair opponents, and things looked like they could go either way. A double by Stefan Kiessling decided the match, perhaps deserved, as the Aspirins made it count at the crucial moments.
The story in Mainz is Schalke’s debut of Kevin-Prince Boateng. He won the match with the only goal, and gave Schalke the steel that they’ve been lacking. (Jermaine Jones often gives steel, but often he stabs himself with lunatic lunges. KP has a similar reputation, so we’ll see how it goes. Nevertheless, with the pair, Schalke has some needed backbone in what is a wishy-washy side).
Mainz had a slight edge, but never really mounted anything worthwhile.
Stuttgart has recovered from their cold start, firing Labbadia certainly had something to do with that. New boss Thomas Scheider has VfB back on course. For promoted Hertha, it was a bit of a disappointment, as they really pdeserved a draw, throwing everything forward after falling behind. This was coach Jos Luhukay’s first loss in Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Frankfurt surprised with a solid performance in kicking Bremen’s ass. Werder hardly helped themselves, as after an early deficit, Santos also got his ass tossed. However the Frankfurters looked confident and dangerous throughout the match, and when Bremen had a chance to get back in the match, GK Kevin Trapp stopped Aaron Hunt’s penalty, and it was clear that it would be Eintracht’s day.
A gritty Augsburg got a late goal against Freiburg to get the win and set a record: 3 straight wins in the Bundesliga, the Fuggers best ever. And it wasn’t undeserved, as FCA had an edge and pressure throughout the match. They have a realistic chance of surviving yet another campaign, which I’m sure nobody can beleive. Meanwhile, Freiburg is falling apart. They play attarctive football, but the talent level isn’t there. This is a common theme for the Breisgauers, where their best players leave, and the system isn’t just good enough. Then they get bounced out of the Bundesliga and have to rebound. That scenario looks to be repeating itself, unless coach Christian Streich comes up with some clever ideas.
Hoffenheim showed good organization and counterattack against Gladbach to get the win. The Hoppers gave up some control to Gladbach, but defended well and made their chances count. Gladbach simply didn’t do enough to warrant any points.
Braunschweig got their first point, but it should have been more against a lame Nürnberg. Der Club basically did nothing the whole game, rather insulting to the Braunschweigers when you think about it. The home side started timidly and ended up taking it in the shorts when one of the rare Club attacks resulted in a goal. It took a while, but Braunschweig seized control of the match and assulated the visitors goal. It was only the top form of GK Raphael Schäfer that kept FCN on top. (Well, I’m sure Braunschweig “Ladehemmung” – let’s just call it “constipation”, hehehe – had something to do with it.) Braunschweig eventually got the deserved goal, but they must realize they should have won this. No wins yet for FCN either, and if they keep playing like this, that may take a while too.
Total attendance this weekend 380,448 (avg 42,272), sellouts in München, Bremen, Mainz and Dortmund
Hertha BSC - VfB Stuttgart 0:1 (0:0) 46,624
0:1 Gentner (49., Maxim)
Bayern München - Hannover 96 2:0 (0:0) 71,000 *
1:0 Mandzukic (51., T. Kroos)
2:0 Ribery (64., Robben)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - VfL Wolfsburg 3:1 (1:1) 27,649
1:0 Sam (24., Rolfes)
1:1 Olic (39., Rodriguez)
2:1 Kießling (65., Castro)
3:1 Kießling (90. + 2, Can)
Werder Bremen - Eintracht Frankfurt 0:3 (0:2) 40,060 *
0:1 Kadlec (14., Oczipka)
0:2 Kadlec (34., S. Jung)
0:3 Prödl (77., own goal, S. Jung)
1. FSV Mainz 05 - FC Schalke 04 0:1 (0:1) 34,000 *
0:1 K.-P. Boateng (34.)
FC Augsburg - SC Freiburg 2:1 (0:0) 28,453
0:1 Mehmedi (46., Freis)
1:1 Halil Altintop (62., Ostrzolek)
2:1 To. Werner (89., Moravek)
Borussia Dortmund - Hamburger SV 6:2 (2:1) 80,645 *
1:0 Aubameyang (19., Schmelzer)
2:0 H. Mkhitaryan (22., Lewandowski)
2:1 Lam (26., Zoua)
2:2 Westermann (49., van der Vaart)
3:2 Aubameyang (65., H. Mkhitaryan)
4:2 Lewandowski (73., Aubameyang)
5:2 Reus (74., Aubameyang)
6:2 Lewandowski (81., Sahin)
Sunday:
1899 Hoffenheim - Bor. Mönchengladbach 2:1 (1:0) 29,447
1:0 Modeste (45., Elyounoussi)
2:0 Volland (54., Modeste)
2:1 Hrgota (75.)
Eintr. Braunschweig - 1. FC Nürnberg 1:1 (0:1) 22,570
0:1 Hlousek (28., Chandler)
1:1 Elabdellaoui (70., Bellarabi)
1 Borussia Dortmund 5 5 0 0 15:4 +11 15
2 Bayern München (M, P) 5 4 1 0 9:2 +7 13
3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5 4 0 1 11:6 +5 12
4 Hannover 96 5 3 0 2 8:7 +1 9
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5 1. FSV Mainz 05 5 3 0 2 8:8 0 9
6 FC Augsburg 5 3 0 2 5:7 -2 9
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7 1899 Hoffenheim 5 2 2 1 14:13 +1 8
8 Hertha BSC Berlin (N) 5 2 1 2 9:6 +3 7
9 FC Schalke 04 5 2 1 2 7:9 -2 7
10 VfB Stuttgart 5 2 0 3 10:8 +2 6
11 Bor. Mönchengladbach 5 2 0 3 11:10 +1 6
12 VfL Wolfsburg 5 2 0 3 7:7 0 6
13 Eintracht Frankfurt 5 2 0 3 7:9 -2 6
14 Werder Bremen 5 2 0 3 3:8 -5 6
15 Hamburger SV 5 1 1 3 10:15 -5 4
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16 1. FC Nürnberg 5 0 3 2 5:8 -3 3
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17 SC Freiburg 5 0 2 3 7:11 -4 2
18 Eintracht Braunschweig (N) 5 0 1 4 2:10 -8 1
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