The action in the Bundesliga was exciting once again, as the league rediscovers its momentum since starting up again. We’ll take a look at the weekend’s highlights here, and let you know who was in form and who needs to go away and work on a few things in training.
Hertha Berlin 4-0 FC Union Berlin
It was the Berlin derby between Hertha and Union that got the weekend action kicked off on Friday night. Our tipster predicted a 2-1 win for the home side in this game, so was not too far off. Clearly, this game would have been perfect for anyone who likes to bet on both teams scoring, as there were plenty of goals.
Vedad Ibisevic, Dodi Lukebakio, Matheus Cunha and Dedryck Boyata were all on the scoresheet for Hertha, who celebrated their second successive Bundesliga win since the competition resumed action. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain this momentum as the season goes on, but playing behind closed doors seems to suit Bruno Labbadia’s team.
Bayern Munich 5-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayern maintained their grip on the top of the table with this emphatic win in Frankfurt. Our tipster recommended backing Bayern to win with Lewnandowski scoring first. As it was, the Polish hitman scored his side’s third goal – his 27th of the season. Leon Garetzka, Thomas Muller, Alphonso Davies and a Martin Hinteregger own goal completed their scoring. Hinteregger had an interesting evening, as he also scored both of Frankfurt’s goals, bringing his team back to 3-2 early in the second half before they eventually folded.
This was an important result for Bayern, given that they travel to face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening in what could be a key game for determining the ultimate destination of the Bundesliga title.
VfL Wolfsburg 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
This was a triumph for our tipster, who recommended that punters back the away team to win 2-0. Dortmund duly obliged, meaning that anyone who followed our tipster’s advice would have benefitted from odds of 9.00. They triumphed in convincing fashion, thanks to goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi.
England international Jadon Sancho came off the bench in the 65th minute and played a key role in Hakimi’s goal, providing the assist. Punters should keep a close eye on the Englishman in the coming weeks, as he now has 16 assists, second only to Bayern’s Muller in the Bundesliga this season.
SC Paderborn 07 1-1 Hoffenheim
Mid-table Hoffenheim will have been disappointed to come away from the Bundesliga’s bottom side with just a point. The result does little for Paderborn’s chances of staying up either, though a point will probably at least boost the morale of Markus Gellhaus’s team.
Both goals were scored early in the contest, with Robert Skov opening the scoring for the away team in the fourth minute. Dennis Srbeny struck the equaliser from outside the box in the game’s ninth minute. It was the player’s fifth Bundesliga goal of the season.
SC Freiburg 0-1 Werder Bremen
Florian Kohfeldt’s Werder side picked up useful three points in their battle to avoid relegation, thanks to a single goal from Leonardo Bittencourt, who netted in the 19th minute. Philipp Bargfrede’s dismissal for a second yellow card in the 88th minute did not affect the outcome of the game. For seventh-placed Freiburg, this result has given their chances of a top-six finish a bit of a knock, and they will be looking to get back to winning ways when they travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday night. They currently sit two points behind Wolfsburg, who are in sixth place in the table.
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Marco Rose’s Monchengladbach suffered a defeat at the hands of another top-four side when they were beaten at home by Bayer Leverkusen. Kai Havertz opened the scoring for the visitors in the seventh minute, and he doubled his tally from the penalty spot in the 58th to restore Leverkusen’s lead. Marcus Thuram had equalised in the 52nd minute. Havertz’s second goal gave the visitors more momentum, though, and Sven Bender added a third goal in the 81st minute. Monchengladbach are now a point behind fourth-placed Leverkusen in the Bundesliga table.
FC Cologne 2-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf
Uwe Rosler’s Dusseldorf team picked up what could be a useful point in their relegation battle on Sunday, when they held Cologne to a 2-2 draw. They came very close to snapping up all three points, though, and will be tearing their hair out at the way they conceded two late goals to allow the home side to level matters up.
Kenan Karaman had put Fortuna into the lead in the 41st minute, with Erik Thommy adding a second in the 61st minute. Anthony Modeste’s header in the 81st minute pulled one back for the home side, before Jhon Córdoba struck an injury time equaliser to spare Cologne’s blushes somewhat. Our tipster had predicted a one-goal win for Cologne for this game, so he was not happy with Markus Gisdol’s men.
Mainz 0-5 RB Leipzig
Third-placed Leipzig gave lowly Mainz a real hammering on Sunday. Timo Werner took his tally of league goals for the season to 24 after hitting a hat-trick. He is now second only to Robert Lewandowski in the Bundesliga scoring charts in 2019/20. Captain Yussuf Poulsen marked his 250th appearance for his club with a headed second-half goal. Marcel Sabitzer was the other scorer for the away team, who are now three points behind second-placed Dortmund.
FC Schalke 0-3 FC Augsburg
Schalke’s dreadful run of form continued with his convincing home defeat at the hands of Augsburg. The visitors ended a run of six games without a win, thanks to goals from Eduard Lowen, Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee and Sergio Cordova. It was Heiko Herrlich’s first win as coach of Augsburg, so getting that particular monkey off his back will have come as a relief. Lowen’s goal came from a stunning free kick, showing that all the practice he has spoken about recently has worked.
