The status quo remains for the title race in the Bundesliga, but there’s still the European spots and the relegation scrap to keep an eye on here. Here’s the recap of this weekend’s action.
BUNDESLIGA WINNERS
Vfl Bochum
Thirty minutes into their match against Bayern Munich, it seemed like a routine win for the league leaders, with Raphael Guerreiro scoring two goals and having a third denied when Serge Gnabry’s penalty rebounded off the post. But then Jakov Medić scored off a corner and João Palhinha drew a red card for planting his studs on the leg of Georgios Masouras, and the Blues went on to score two more for a famous victory at the Allianz Arena, aided by some fabulous saves by Timo Horn. This will be a huge morale booster for their match next week against a falling Eintracht Frankfurt (see the losers section).
Mainz
Their road win over Borussia Mönchengladbach was their fourth straight, and it leapfrogged the Palatinate club over Freiburg and Eintracht and into third place. For a team of modest means, they are breathing rarefied air.
Budu Zivzivadze
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia isn’t the only Georgian who can play this sport. The Heidenheim striker scored a brilliant goal that dipped under the crossbar to nick the corner of Hoffenheim’s far post. That goal resulted in a draw that keeps Heidenheim’s hopes of staying in the top tier alive.
South Koreans
Jeong Woo-yeong scored the match-winner for Union Berlin, Lee Jae-sung recorded two assists in Mainz’ win, and Kim Min-jae was rested for Bayern’s loss, during which his team’s defense fell apart. In the country where Cha Bum-kun became the sport’s first Asian star, these players proudly flew the taegukgi this weekend.
The offside flag
It was the best defensive player in the Borussia Dortmund-FC Augsburg match, negating Julian Brandt’s goal for the home side, Salih Özcan’s own goal for the visitors, and Samuel Essende’s goal which would have put the game away for Augsburg. The result was a 1-0 win for Augsburg that deepened the gloom in the Ruhr Valley.
BUNDESLIGA LOSERS
Bayer Leverkusen
The final score from Bayern’s loss came down in the second half of their game against Werder Bremen, so Leverkusen knew that they had a chance to bite into Bayern’s lead in the standings. Instead, they went down to a 2-0 loss at home. This title race is no fun.
Eintracht Frankfurt
The team known as the Slipper Kickers slipped up with a third loss to Union Berlin, with Frederik Ronnow saving Hugo Ekitiké’s penalty deep into stoppage time to preserve the win for the visitors. It was Eintracht’s third straight defeat, and it has everybody in the table’s top half thinking they might catch the Frankfurters and get some European matches.
VfL Wolfsburg
The goalless draw between Freiburg and RB Leipzig gave the Wolves a chance to make headway in the race for the European places, but the home team could only manage a draw against St. Pauli, who had lost four straight and are scrambling to keep clear of relegation. With so many teams fighting over the top places, simply avoiding losses won’t do for the Lower Saxony club.
Holstein Kiel
A draw at home against Stuttgart is a fine result in isolation, but the team above them in the relegation fight won, so they’re five points away from safety and three points below the relegation playoff spot.