BUNDESLIGA, Round 31: Stuttgart makes their move

VfB Stuttgart took a huge step in avoiding relegation with a solid win over Schalke. vfB jumped all over the Schalkers, and basically had an unbeatable lead. The visitors did try a comeback, and pressed hard, but didn’t have the necessary luck it would have taken. Stuttgart’s chances of surviving just went up immensely, and Schalke looks like they can’t catch Dortmund for 2nd.

Hamburg is a deep crisis. HSV was totally outplayed by a hungry Wolfsburg side and went down hard. The VWs struck quickly and ruthlessly ripped HSV’s ass. The famous Bundesliga clock in the stadium may be getting stopped, as the original Bundesligist is on the verge of going down. At this point, HSV needs to be concerned about holding the playoff spot, as they have only a precarious hold there (Luckily their rivals suck also). I think that they could perhaps defeat Paderborn, who look to be the likely playoff opponent.

Dortmund and Mainz fought an exciting battle. In general, the Neons had the advantage and controlled the ball for most of the game, but Mainz launched blitz counterattacks that the Dortmunders couldn’t deal with. In the end, a hand ball and red card decided the game as Dortmund finished off the match and strengthened their control on 2nd.

Hannover got a critical win at Frankfurt, who were too disorganized early to come back. This basically ensures that the 96ers are safe.

Bremen also grabbed the needed points to end their worries. Their win over Hoffenheim means that only some unusual occurence could see them could see them going down. (They’d have to lose all three remaining, HSV win all)

Nürnberg is likely going down, and perhaps it’s partially bad luck, but it’s definitely lack of recovery ability. Der Club fell behind early against Leverkusen, but battled back and seized the initiative. But they repeated the pattern in the 2nd half and then collapsed down the stretch. Another loss, and relegation is staring them in the face. Well played by the Aspirins, who basically waited for FCN to fall apart.

Bayern had no problem at Braunschweig, but left it late to break down Eintracht’s stubborn resistance. A good effort by the homeside, but they really had no chance. Still, of all the relegation threatened sides, they at least exhibit 100% fight.

Eintracht Frankfurt   -   Hannover 96	        2:3 (1:3)   48,100

                     0:1  Andreasen (2., Pander)
                     1:1  Lanig (13., Barnetta)
                     1:2  Stindl (20., Pander)
                     1:3  Ya Konan (29., Andreasen)
                     2:3  Meier (68., Aigner)

Borussia Dortmund     -   1. FSV Mainz 05	4:2 (2:1)   80,500 *

                     1:0  Jojic (6.)
                     1:1  Okazaki (14., Malli)
                     2:1  Lewandowski (18., H. Mkhitaryan)
                     2:2  Okazaki (53.)
                     3:2  Piszczek (56., Reus)
                     4:2  Reus (79., Handpenalty)

Werder Bremen	      -   1899 Hoffenheim	3:1 (1:1)   40,100

                     0:1  Volland (3., Roberto Firmino)
                     1:1  Bargfrede (18.)
                     2:1  Garcia (78., Hunt)
                     3:1  Petersen (90. + 2, di Santo)

SC Freiburg	      -   Bor. Mönchengladbach	4:2 (0:1)   24,000 *

                     0:1  Herrmann (9., Arango)
                     1:1  Mehmedi (51., Schmid)
                     2:1  Sorg (71., Darida)
                     3:1  Darida (72., Klaus)
                     4:1  Mehmedi (87.)
                     4:2  Nordtveit (89., direct freekick)

FC Augsburg	      -   Hertha BSC	        0:0 (0:0)   30,059

Eintr. Braunschweig   -   Bayern München	0:2 (0:0)   23,325 *

                     0:1  Pizarro (75., M. Götze)
                     0:2  Mandzukic (86., Raeder)

Hamburger SV	      -   VfL Wolfsburg	        1:3 (0:2)   56,279

                     0:1  Perisic (2., Luiz Gustavo)
                     0:2  de Bruyne (42., Olic)
                     0:3  Olic (49., Naldo)
                     1:3  Ilicevic (58., Tesche)


Sunday:
1. FC Nürnberg	      -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	1:4 (1:1)   40,514

                     0:1  Spahic (16., Boenisch)
                     1:1  Plattenhardt (26., direct freekick)
                     1:2  Boenisch (48., Toprak)
                     1:3  Spahic (80., Son)
                     1:4  Hilbert (87.)

VfB Stuttgart	      -   FC Schalke 04	        3:1 (1:0)   60,000 *

                     1:0  Harnik (23., Didavi)
                     2:0  Cacau (54., Traoré)
                     3:0  Harnik (59., G. Sakai)
                     3:1  Szalai (69., Goretzka)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	31   26  3  2 	  84:20  +64 	  81 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	31   20  4  7 	  71:34  +37 	  64 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	31   17  7  7 	  57:41  +16 	  58
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	31   17  3  11 	  54:38  +16 	  54 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	31   16  5  10 	  56:46  +10 	  53
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	31   14  7  10 	  54:39  +15 	  49
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	31   14  5  12 	  46:49  -3 	  47
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        31   12  7  12 	  41:45  -4 	  43 
 9  1899 Hoffenheim	  	31   10  10 11 	  67:66  +1 	  40 
10  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	31   10  8  13 	  38:42  -4 	  38 
11  Werder Bremen	  	31    9  9  13 	  37:59  -22 	  36 
12  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	31    9  8  14 	  39:53  -14 	  35 
13  SC Freiburg	  	        31    9  8  14 	  39:54  -15 	  35 
14  Hannover 96	  	        31   10  5  16 	  41:57  -16 	  35 
15  VfB Stuttgart	  	31    8  7  16 	  48:59  -11 	  31
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV	  	31    7  6  18 	  47:65  -18 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	31    5  11 15 	  36:62  -26 	  26 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	31    6  7  18 	  28:54  -26 	  25


1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

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