The Bundesliga now goes into winterbreak until end of January…
Bremen got a huge relegation battle win over Dortmund. Werder was the underdog , and played for counterattack. The Neons once again dominated play (70% of possession), created more chances, but wasted them. And they were horrible on defense when it counted, and deservedly lose the match and will be relegated unless something dramatic happens to wake them up. In fact, the only reason they are not *dead last* is that Freiburg gave up two goals against Hannover in the dying minutes and threw away a victory!!
Mainz put up a great fight against Bayern München, even taking a rare lead. (Of course, Bayern has only conceded four goals anyway.) In the end it was a somewhat lucky win for the champions, as Arjen Robben executed the hosts at the end. Mainz is now nine games without a win, and in danger of sliding into relegation.
Wolfsburg had a hard time against Köln in a pretty equal match. They were able to pull out a win thanks to a header by veteran Naldo. This gives them a solid cushion in 2nd place.
Leverkusen dicked around and had to concede a draw to Frankfurt. The Aspirins can’t really complain though, since Eintracht had a fair share of the play, and perhaps the better chances.
Schalke was slightly better, and hit the post twice, but didn’t do enough to really threaten Hamburg, especially since they were sleeping in the first period. HSV is happy to get a point and barely keep their head above water.
Another great fighting effort, and Augsburg was rewarded with a win over Gladbach.
Paderborn got a valuable point at Stuttgart. The Westfalen were somewhat better in the 1st period, but VfB assumed control after the restart and pressed hard for a win. SCP held on for a critical point, and a very satisfying first half of a campaign.
Hoffenheim ended the year with a bang was they routed Hertha in Berlin. It wasn’t really a gala performance, but rather a case of the Hoppers watching Hertha play Keystone-Kops and completely self-destruct. All Hoffenheim had to do is wait patiently and take advantage.
Total attendance 343,921 (avg 38,213), sellouts in Mainz, Schalke, Leverkusen, Augsburg and Bremen
1. FSV Mainz 05 - Bayern München 1:2 (1:1) 34,000 *
1:0 Soto (21., Okazaki)
1:1 Schweinsteiger (24., direct freekick)
1:2 Robben (90., T. Müller)
FC Schalke 04 - Hamburger SV 0:0 (0:0) 61,973 *
Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Eintracht Frankfurt 1:1 (0:1) 30,210 *
0:1 Meier (37., penalty, Inui)
1:1 Bellarabi (83., L. Bender)
FC Augsburg - Bor. Mönchengladbach 2:1 (1:1) 30,660 *
0:1 M. Kruse (3., Hand penalty)
1:1 Feulner (20., Halil Altintop)
2:1 Bobadilla (51., Esswein)
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund 2:1 (1:0) 42,100 *
1:0 Selke (3., Garcia)
2:0 Bartels (62., Selke)
2:1 Hummels (69., Gündogan)
VfB Stuttgart - SC Paderborn 07 0:0 (0:0) 55,000
VfL Wolfsburg - 1. FC Köln 2:1 (1:1) 26,824
0:1 Maroh (11., D. Halfar)
1:1 Dost (16., S. Jung)
2:1 Naldo (78., De Bruyne)
Hertha BSC - TSG Hoffenheim 0:5 (0:3) 39,604
0:1 Brooks (23., own goal, Volland)
0:2 Salihovic (26., penalty, Schipplock)
0:3 Salihovic (39., penalty, Beck)
0:4 Schipplock (74., Roberto Firmino)
0:5 Rudy (84., Roberto Firmino)
SC Freiburg - Hannover 96 2:2 (1:0) 23,550
1:0 Frantz (45., Linksschuss, C. Günter)
2:0 Kempf (81., Kopfball, Schmid)
2:1 Bittencourt (83., Linksschuss, Stindl)
2:2 Joselu (90. + 3, Linksschuss)
1 Bayern München (M, P) 17 14 3 0 41:4 +37 45
2 VfL Wolfsburg 17 10 4 3 33:17 +16 34
3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 17 7 7 3 28:20 +8 28
4 Bor. Mönchengladbach 17 7 6 4 25:16 +9 27
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5 FC Schalke 04 17 8 3 6 28:21 +7 27
6 FC Augsburg 17 9 0 8 22:21 +1 27
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7 TSG Hoffenheim 17 7 5 5 29:25 +4 26
8 Hannover 96 17 7 3 7 21:26 -5 24
9 Eintracht Frankfurt 17 6 5 6 34:34 0 23
10 SC Paderborn 07 (N) 17 4 7 6 21:26 -5 19
11 1. FC Köln (N) 17 5 4 8 17:23 -6 19
12 1. FSV Mainz 05 17 3 9 5 19:23 -4 18
13 Hertha BSC Berlin 17 5 3 9 24:35 -11 18
14 Hamburger SV 17 4 5 8 9:19 -10 17
15 VfB Stuttgart 17 4 5 8 20:32 -12 17
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16 Werder Bremen 17 4 5 8 26:39 -13 17
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17 Borussia Dortmund 17 4 3 10 18:26 -8 15
18 SC Freiburg 17 2 9 6 17:25 -8 15
1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga
M = Meister, defending Champion
P = Pokalsieger, Cup winner
N = Neuling, just promoted