Uberprufung der Bundesliga: BVB give away lead, Bayern close the gap, Wolfsburg claim late draw

BVB needed something positive to come out of this week’s round of fixtures. Ideally, a win combined with another falter from a resurgent Bayern Munich would have gone a long way to easing the ills of the past week. Frankfurt seemed a like a good place to put the past two results behind us and Peter Bosz was under no illusions as to how important 3 points were not just to his sides season, but to his squad’s morale.

Schalke 2-0 Mainz

Both these sides came into this game having picked up 3 points each last week – Schalke beat Hertha 2-0 in Berlin, while Mainz overcame Hamburg 3-2 at home. However, it was the home side who would claim all the spoils here. Leon Goretzka put Schalke ahead on 13 minutes. It took Guido Burgstaller until the 74th minute to put the game beyond Mainz and send them home pointless.

Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-5 Bayer Leverkusen

Gladbach will have been hoping to build upon their 2-0 defeat of lowly Werder Bremen last week while Bayer Leverkusen, who drew 2-2 with Wolfsburg at the BayArena, were looking to go one better here. It didn’t start off too well for Heiko Herrlich’s side when Fabien Johnson put the home side ahead on 7 minutes. The game was looking tight but exploded into life early in the second half when Sven Bender scored his first Leverkusen goal, equalising in the process. On 59 minutes Leon Bailly put the away side ahead and Julian Brandt extended their lead 2 minutes later. Kevin Volland scored Leverkusen’s third in 10 minutes to put them 4-1 up. Gladbach’s capitulation was complete in the 81st minute when Joel Pohjanpalo rounded off the scoring and completed an emphatic win for Bayer Leverkusen.

Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

Eintracht Frankfurt were flying going into this one having scored an 89th-minute winner in Hannover last week to win 2-1. Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, were looking to salvage something positive from a nightmare week, which saw their hopes of Champions League progression falter in Cyprus after losing their 41 game unbeaten home run thanks to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Red Bull Leipzig. It looked like Peter Bosz’s men would be on track to do just that when Nuri Sahin put them ahead on 18 minutes. The game stayed that way until Max Phillipp looked to have put the game beyond Eintracht on 57 minutes. Roman Burki gave away a penalty on 64 minutes which Sebastien Haller scored to give Eintracht hope. It didn’t take them long to equalise and Marius Wolf was the man to do it 4 minutes later, rounding off a bad week for Dortmund.

Augsburg 1-2 Hannover 96

Both these sides performed below par last time out. Augsburg were unfortunate to draw 2-2 in Hoffenheim while Hannover were beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt thanks to an 89th-minute winner by Ante Rebic. It was Augsburg who initially looked like they were going to recover from last week’s result when Michael Gregoritsch put them ahead on 33 minutes. It stayed 1-0 until the 76th minute when Niclas Fullkrug equalised. It looked like the game was heading for a draw but Fullkrug had other ideas and scored the winner on 89 minutes, consigning Augsburg to the fate Hannover had suffered a week earlier.

Red Bull Leipzig 1-0 VfB Stuttgart

Red Bull Leipzig will have been in buoyant mood ahead of this one after putting a holt to Borussia Dortmund’s 41 game unbeaten home run, winning 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park. VfB Stuttgart also collected 3 points at the expense of bottom side Cologne after beating them 2-1 at home. Both teams will have been hoping they could keep their good form going. But it would ultimately be Leipzig who take all the points here thanks to a solitary goal from Marcel Sabitzer on 23 minutes.

Hamburg 0-1 Bayern Munich

These sides had contrasting fortunes last week. Hamburg were beaten 3-2 away at Mainz while Bayern got their first win under Jupp Heynckes, beating Freiburg 5-0 at the Allianz Arena. Things didn’t start well for Hamburg in their quest for consistency here thought when Gideon Jung was sent off on 39 minutes. Corentin Tolisso scored the inevitable winner for Bayern on 52 minutes, a goal which turned out to be the only one of the game.

Cologne 0 – 0 Werder Bremen

This game turned out to be the battle of the bottom two and both were hoping to turn their luck around here. Cologne were 2-1 last week in Stuttgart while Bremen were beaten 2-0 at home by Gladbach. Ultimately though neither side was able to make a breakthrough here, doing neither any good in their separate bids to turn their season’s around.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Hertha Berlin

Both these teams suffered defeat last week – Freiburg at the hands of Bayern 5-0 and Hertha were beaten 2-0 at home by Schalke. It was Freiburg who broke the deadlock in this game, taking the lead in the 52nd minute through Julian Haberer penalty after Niklas Stark barged into the back of Christian Gunter. However, Julian Schuster fouled Arne Meier 13 minutes from time to give Salomon Kalou a chance to level things from the spot. However, he could only blaze his effort over the bar. On 80 minutes though he was given a reprieve when Nicolas Hofler upended Davie Selke in the area. Kalou stepped up again to put things right and ensure the points were shared.

Wolfsburg 1 – 1 Hoffenheim

Both these sides drew 2-2 last week – Hoffenheim at home to Augsburg and Wolfsburg away to Bayer Leverkusen. It took until the 76th minute for the game’s first goal to come and it was Hoffenheim who go it. Marcel Tisserand brought down Benjamin Hubner in the box and Kerim Demirbay coolly slotted to give Julian Nagelsmann’s side the lead. However, they were denied a win in the first minute of stoppage time when Felix Uduokhai nodded in Daniel Didavi’s corner, sparing the home sides blushes in the process.

Game Week 10 Fixtures

Friday 27th October

Mainz vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (19.30)

Saturday 28th October

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Cologne (14.30)

Schalke vs. Wolfsburg

Hannover 96 vs. Borussia Dortmund

Hertha Berlin vs. Hamburg

Hoffenheim vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach

Bayern Munich vs. Red Bull Leipzig (17.30)

Sunday 29th October

Werder Bremen vs. Augsburg (14.30)

VfB Stuttgart vs. Freiburg (17.00)