After a tense round of fixtures, very little changed in the Bundesliga, this weekend.
Borussia Dortmund faced off against Schalke 04 in another Revierderby. Despite putting-out a half-strength side, the Black and Yellow were still able to earn themselves a creditable 2-2 draw in Gelsenkirchen.
Credit should also go to Schalke, a club that had not shown any interest for over a month, who looked to get a draw out of their derby encounter. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar equalizer in the 66th showed the kind of backbone that has been not only missing but the reason why some thought the Miners could make a run in the Europa League. Dortmund, with an eye towards their Europa League second leg will be thinking that its all for Europe.
Eintracht Frankfurt found that their relegation fight is far from done as Hoffenheim came away from the Commerzbank Arena with the three points and pulled themselves clear of the relegation tussle 2-0.
Hoffenheim benefited from a supreme lack of attacking sharpness from Frankfurt as their own net was not on their best and gave the southern German club the opportunity to take and hold the lead. Substitute Nadiem Amiri had a ball played past the Eintracht defense and the ball was slotted past keeper Lucas Hradecky for the winner.
Hertha Berlin got more than they reckoned with playing hosts to all but relegated Hannover. The Lower Saxony club wasn’t going meekly into the sun and produced their first multi goal match since their last win in late February. In the end it was Salomon Kalou who scored the equalizer to make the match 2-2.
Hannover is all but relegated but hiring under 19 coach Daniel Stendel in preparation for the second division can be seen as a move that will mean that the club might not be staying in the zweite liga very long. For Berlin this is a missed opportunity. The likes of Bayer Leverkusen are a point behind and three clubs four points behind so slip ups could make qualification to the Champions League go to the final match.
Borussia Monchengladbach missed an opportunity to push for the Champions League again as they fell near stoppage time to stubborn Ingolstadt.
The Foals were unable to break down Ingolstadt. An attacking team has not had the best of success and the fact that Ingolstadt has earned enough points for survival shows that they are ready for another year in the Bundesliga.
Darmstadt visiting Hamburg was a game of two looking to avoid the relegation tussle. The Bundesliga newcomers, the Lilies, have been stubborn and again proved so as they came away with a vital 2-1 victory over the Dinosaurs.
Hamburg has still yet to really fully eliminate themselves from the relegation fight, two consecutive seasons of learning from their relegation playoff escapes have gotten them only to 34 points. Darmstadt will be overjoyed for a bit but their long slog for Bundesliga survival is far from over.
Bayern didn’t need to leave second gear as they put away Stuttgart at a sold out Mercedes Benz Arena. The hosts put the ball in their own net in the 31st minute and the Bavarian’s didn’t look back winning 3-1.
Champions League will be on their minds but Bayern was in fine form. David Alaba scored the winner in the 52nd and from there didn’t look threatened. Even after conceding a goal to Daniel Didavi in the 63rd the reigning champions looked strong. Benfica and the second leg of the quarterfinals beckon.
Werder Bremen were delt a mortal blow to their Bundesliga survival hopes Saturday. The northern club was dispatched cruelly after leading at the half to Augsburg, 2-1 the final score.
A super late goal by Jeong-Ho Hong in the 86th minute meant that the Green and White replaced Augsburg in 16th place, the Bundesliga playoff position. The end of the season is at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, fans will hope that it doesn’t come down that that final match.
Wolfsburg was coming off a real record height as they defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League. There wasn’t much of a let down against European challengers Mainz as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Mainz has been the surprise package of the Bundesliga this season. Despite being considered a smaller club all season they have played above their own expectations. For Wolfsburg the return of Bas Dost is welcome indeed as they have missed their leading scorer in the Bundesliga during the ruckrunde.
FC Koln played hosts to rival Leverkusen during derby double header Sunday but were unable to compose themselves and lost 2-0 with a man receiving a straight red.
Leonardo Bittencourt’s from behind tackle on Admir Mehmedi in the sixth minute of second half stoppage time was a truely ugly foul and if an additional suspension is handed out he cannot protest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd5u2BYomQ8&nohtml5=False
Bundesliga/German Verbage
Abstieg- relegation
Something a few clubs are trying to avoid and two will experience with a possible third via a playoff with the third best second division side
European Preview
Wolfsburg shocked the world with their display against Real Madrid. Funny considering the Spanish side was very good in dispatching Barcelona and Eibar in the bookend games to the first leg. Now a trip to Madrid and we will see if the Volkswagen funded team has the gumption to play on the biggest stage. They always say 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline.
Real Madrid win 3-1, Wolfsburg nicks an away goal though to ensure they progress to the semifinals and the furthest in any European competition in club history.
Bayern Munich has never lost to Benifca in the knockout stage. This is probably the only foregone conclusion of a Champions League tie as players were rested by Pep Guardiola and Benfica will be without their best player in Jonas.
Bayern 2-1 and easily through to yet another semifinal.
Borussia Dortmund didn’t get the win they wanted from the first leg. But Liverpool has been rather inconsistent despite having a good coach. All the best Dortmund players were rested and when they click all will fall. The only question is will Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be the day’s hero.
1-1 ending in penalties. Dortmund via experience will go through and break English hopes.
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