OK, let’s get the outrage of of the way first. Bayer Leverkusen got what is sure to be remembered as “a phantom goal” which for all intents and purposes decided the match against Hoffenheim. Leading 1-0, the Aspirins served up a corner kick to the near post that Stefan Kiessling headed into the outside netting. However it managed to slip through a hole in the net and went in!! And even after examining the hole, referee Dr. Felix Brych allowed the goal to stand. The Hoppers had already had an equalizing goal ruled null due to a non-existant offside, so this was like getting kicked in the balls twice. Apparently the good Doktor decided he had to try and even things out a bit, so a few minutes later he awarded Hoffenheim a dubious penalty, which they duly missed. So Leverkusen got the win that shouldn’t have been. You might argue it was a poor display of sportsmanship by the Aspirins, knowing it wasn’t a goal. But on the other hand, I don’t suppose anybody else would have done much different. Hoffenheim will apparently lodge an official protest. Now that should be interesting, since the DFB has been known to reverse decisions. I remember one a few years back when Nürnberg hosted Bayern München, and Bayern scored a non-goal. I think the game ended in a draw or perhaps Bayern won 2-1. In any case, the DFB examined the evidence and ordered a replay – which Nürnberg promptly lost 0-5, so I guess they should have shut up. So let’s see what happens here…
Bayern München was on break for a half, but then got down to business. Visitors Mainz hoped to catenaccio their way to a result, and indeed took the lead into the half and hoped for the best. No dice, as Bayern just turned up the heat a notch after the restart and quickly seized control of the match en route to a clear win.
Crap match in Dortmund as the Neons got an early penalty against Hannover and then phoned it in for the rest of the match. The 96ers were clearly better in the 2nd half, but were worthless up front, so Dortmund continued to sip their beers and wait for the whistle.
Horrible match in Bremen, as both Werder and Freiburg apparently were on strike. Neither side could do anything and it looked like the players wanted to just go watch Bundesliga highlights at the pub. Ultimately the disappointed fans (a sellout no less) probably just agreed with them. BTW, this match does have some claim to fame, as I believe this is the first scoreless match of the season, which goes to show that in general offense rules in the Bundesliga.
Schalke got a lucky win at Braunschweig, the promoted side deserving a point. The Blues struck in injury time to get the win, after having come back twice from the fighting Lions. I suppose philosophically it’s OK, since Braunschweig is going down anyway, so they don’t need the points 
Plus Schalke could use some good news, because apparently it sounds like injured star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar needs an operation after all and will miss the whole season.
Hertha BSC played decently, Gladbach was lame. So the Berlin victory goes in order, and Hertha finds themselves in A Euro spot, which certainly nobody expected.
Decent performance by Nürnberg at Frankfurt, but they’re still without a win. They fired coach Michael Wiesinger last week, although polls show that only around 16% of the fans think it’s the coach. (56% “players”, 30% “management”). Frankfurt was happy that injured Alex Meier was back, and dominated the early part, and seemed well in control when they took the lead. However der Club woke up and fought their way back, probably deserving a point.
On Sunday games, HSV showed tat they’re a different team under Van Maarwijk. Against Stuttgart, they were a bit like coackroaches, they kept coming back despite getting stomped on by VfB. The fans were treated to an entertaining HSV, which was down three times, but came back each time to equalize. Overall a good match from two teams that seem to finally be stabilized.
Wolfsburg was more clever, Augsburg a bit naive. Thus a win for teh VWs. The Fuggers attacked and controlled most of the match, especially at the start. They grabbed the lead, but Wolfsburg struck a double and gained the advantage that they then rigorously defended. FCA tried hard, but the VWs were solid and get important away points.
Total attendace was pretty good, 431,453 (avg 47,939), sellouts in Dortmund, München and Bremen.
1899 Hoffenheim - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1:2 (0:1) 25,213
0:1 Sam (26., Castro)
0:2 Kießling (70., Castro)
1:2 Schipplock (88.)
Borussia Dortmund - Hannover 96 1:0 (1:0) 80,645 *
1:0 Reus (4., penalty, Durm)
Bayern München - 1. FSV Mainz 05 4:1 (0:1) 71,000 *
0:1 S. Parker (44., Baumgartlinger)
1:1 Robben (50., M. Götze)
2:1 T. Müller (52., Robben)
3:1 Mandzukic (69., M. Götze)
4:1 T. Müller (82., penalty, Schweinsteiger)
Werder Bremen - SC Freiburg 0:0 (0:0) 40,423 *
Eintracht Braunschweig - FC Schalke 04 2:3 (1:1) 23,251
1:0 Ademi (20., Henn)
1:1 M. Meyer (29., Szalai)
2:1 Bellarabi (59., Boland)
2:2 Goretzka (65.)
2:3 Neustädter (90. + 1, Fuchs)
Eintracht Frankfurt - 1. FC Nürnberg 1:1 (0:0) 50,200
1:0 Kadlec (50., Meier)
1:1 Drmic (86., Mak)
Hertha BSC Berlin - Bor. Mönchengladbach 1:0 (1:0) 60,000
1:0 Ramos (36., Skjelbred)
Sunday:
Hamburger SV - VfB Stuttgart 3:3 (1:2) 53,167
0:1 Maxim (3., Ibisevic)
1:1 Lasogga (22., Arslan)
1:2 Gentner (37., Maxim)
2:2 Beister (55., Jansen)
2:3 Djourou (64., own goal, Traoré)
3:3 van der Vaart (67., Beister)
FC Augsburg - VfL Wolfsburg 1:2 (1:2) 27,554
1:0 To. Werner (10., Ostrzolek)
1:1 Arnold (35., Diego)
1:2 Luiz Gustavo (42., Rodriguez)
1 Bayern München (M, P) 9 7 2 0 19:4 +15 23
2 Borussia Dortmund 9 7 1 1 22:7 +15 22
3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 9 7 1 1 20:9 +11 22
4 Hertha BSC Berlin (N) 9 4 3 2 15:9 +6 15
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5 FC Schalke 04 9 4 2 3 17:19 -2 14
6 Bor. Mönchengladbach 9 4 1 4 19:14 +5 13
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7 Hannover 96 9 4 1 4 11:12 -1 13
8 VfB Stuttgart 9 3 3 3 19:13 +6 12
9 VfL Wolfsburg 9 4 0 5 11:12 -1 12
10 Werder Bremen 9 3 3 3 9:12 -3 12
11 1899 Hoffenheim 9 2 4 3 21:22 -1 10
12 Eintracht Frankfurt 9 2 4 3 12:14 -2 10
13 FC Augsburg 9 3 1 5 10:17 -7 10
14 1. FSV Mainz 05 9 3 1 5 13:21 -8 10
15 Hamburger SV 9 2 3 4 20:22 -2 9
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16 1. FC Nürnberg 9 0 6 3 10:18 -8 6
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17 SC Freiburg 9 0 5 4 9:18 -9 5
18 Eintracht Braunschweig (N) 9 1 1 7 7:21 -14 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