Bayern München has seized control of the Bundesliga again. Not only did they set a new record, with their 37th straight unbeaten match, but Dortmund went down in Kraftdurchfreudestadt, giving the champs a cushion at the top. Bayern really had an easy time against Augsburg, who were mainly concerned with keeping the score respectable. I suppose in that sense both sides got what they wanted in this Bavarian clash.
Disaster for Dortmund in Wolfsburg. The Neons still had a hangover over not beating Arsenal midweek, and they seem to have carried that constipation in front of goal forward. The VWS were overmatched in the 1st half, but came back furiously and went for the throat, as they realized that Dortmund was vulnerable. Overall, a good win for the home side, who continue their improvement. This means that Dortmund will have to beat Bayern when they meet, if they are to have any traction for the title.
Wild shootout in Leverkusen, as the Aspirins withstood a furious Hamburg comeback. Ironically, it was ex-HSV man Heung-Min Son who did the damage, with a hat-trick and an assist. To their credit, HSV didn’t give up and pegged the match back, so it wasn’t until the closing seconds that Leverkusen could finally assure the points.
Schalke has been struggling, getting shown their limits by Chelski in the Champions League. And the Blues once again looked shaky, despite facing Bremen, who generally screw up. This time Werder looked confident, and the home side soon found themselves behind. Bremen had a couple of chances to really add to the hole, but they sucked when iit counted. As a result, Schalke was able to get their act together and win in a powerful end spurt.
The first Niedersacshenderby with Braunschweig in Hannover since 1976, and the 96ers could not score, despite having control for most of the match. Intensely fought, the home side could not breakdown Braunscweig’s disciplined defense and missed an opportunity to move up. This was the 1,000th scoreless draw in the Bundesliga.
Hertha exhobited cleverness in winning on the road at Hoffenheim. They jumped out to a lead and defended well. Hoffenheim attacked furiously, and to their credit, they came all the way back. But perhaps they had expended too much energy in the chase, and at the end Berlin counter attacked and grabbed the win. Good result for Hertha, Hoffenheim will be put out that they end up with nothing.
Nürnberg is probably getting relegated, as they are without luck. Der Club played well at Gladbach, scoring and then defending well. The homeside desperately pressureed and tried to get back, leaving themselves vulnerable at the back. Nürnberg had sufficient opportunities to increase their lead and essentially deleiver the knockout. Instead, Gladbach broke through and in a furious stretch run, blasted FCN to yet another loss.
A hard fought derby in Mainz gave the home side a late win, and furthers Frankfurt coach Armin Veh’s crisis, as Eintracht continues to slip. They’re barely hanging on, and it could be another “we’re too good to get relegated – but here we are” type season. Mainz needed the win to stabilize the ship.
Stuttgart also got straight with a win at desperate Freiburg. VfB immediately jumped on the Breisgauer, and totally dominated the first period. They let up in the 2nd half, and SCF threw everything up front. They managed to get back in the match, but Stuttgart was merely waiting, and pounced and finished off their hosts.
Total attendance 376,193 (avg 41,799), sellouts in Hannover, Glesenkirchen (Schalke), München, Wolfsburg and Mainz.
Hannover 96 - Eintr Braunschweig 0:0 (0:0) 47,200 *
Bayern München - FC Augsburg 3:0 (2:0) 71,000 *
1:0 J. Boateng (4., Dante)
2:0 Ribery (42., direct freekick)
3:0 T. Müller (90. + 5)
FC Schalke 04 - Werder Bremen 3:1 (0:1) 61,973 *
0:1 F. Kroos (22.)
1:1 K.-P. Boateng (64., Draxler)
2:1 K.-P. Boateng (85., Fuchs)
3:1 Farfan (90. + 1, Draxler)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Hamburger SV 5:3 (2:1) 30,007
1:0 Son (9., Castro)
2:0 Son (16., Sam)
2:1 Beister (23., Calhanoglu)
2:2 Lasogga (49.)
3:2 Son (55., Kießling)
4:2 Kießling (72., Son)
4:3 Lasogga (74., van der Vaart)
5:3 Castro (89., Boenisch)
VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia Dortmund 2:1 (0:1) 30,000 *
0:1 Reus (45. + 2, direct freekick)
1:1 Rodriguez (56., direct freekick)
2:1 Olic (69., D. Caligiuri)
1899 Hoffenheim - Hertha BSC 2:3 (0:1) 25,078
0:1 Ben-Hatira (13., Ramos)
0:2 Ramos (53., penalty, Ramos)
1:2 Salihovic (70., penalty, Schipplock)
2:2 Salihovic (81., direct freekick)
2:3 Ramos (84., Pekarik)
Bor. Mönchengladbach - 1. FC Nürnberg 3:1 (0:1) 53,235
0:1 Drmic (21., Kiyotake)
1:1 Arango (72., Raffael)
2:1 Stark (75., own goal, Arango)
3:1 Herrmann (87., Kramer)
1. FSV Mainz 05 - Eintracht Frankfurt 1:0 (0:0) 34,000 *
1:0 Choupo-Moting (88., Pospech)
SC Freiburg - VfB Stuttgart 1:3 (0:2) 23,700
0:1 Ibisevic (9., Gentner)
0:2 Ti. Werner (10.)
1:2 Hanke (78., Höfler)
1:3 Ti. Werner (82.)
1 Bayern München (M, P) 12 10 2 0 27:7 +20 32
2 Borussia Dortmund 12 9 1 2 32:11 +21 28
3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 12 9 1 2 27:14 +13 28
4 Bor. Mönchengladbach 12 7 1 4 28:16 +12 22
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5 VfL Wolfsburg 12 7 0 5 18:14 +4 21
6 FC Schalke 04 12 6 2 4 23:23 0 20
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7 Hertha BSC Berlin (N) 12 5 3 4 20:16 +4 18
8 VfB Stuttgart 12 4 4 4 24:21 +3 16
9 1. FSV Mainz 05 12 5 1 6 17:23 -6 16
10 Werder Bremen 12 4 3 5 13:20 -7 15
11 Hannover 96 12 4 2 6 14:19 -5 14
12 1899 Hoffenheim 12 3 4 5 28:28 0 13
13 FC Augsburg 12 4 1 7 13:23 -10 13
14 Hamburger SV 12 3 3 6 26:29 -3 12
15 Eintracht Frankfurt 12 2 4 6 14:21 -7 10
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16 SC Freiburg 12 1 5 6 13:24 -11 8
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17 Eintracht Braunschweig (N) 12 2 2 8 8:23 -15 8
18 1. FC Nürnberg 12 0 7 5 12:25 -13 7
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