Bundesliga Round-up: Matchday 28

It’s a busy time in the Bundesliga at the moment, and there were more great games to enjoy in midweek, with Matchday 28.

Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich

Bayern took a massive step towards the Budesliga title thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s second half strike at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday. The Reds go into their weekend clash with struggling Fortuna Dusseldorf seven points clear of Lucien Favre’s team. For Dortmund, their hopes of the title now look doomed, and they will be looking over their shoulders at RB Leipzig who are coming up fast in third place.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-4 VfL Wolfsburg

Marin Pongracic scored his first Bundesliga goals in this emphatic win by the Wolves on Tuesday evening. The Croat bagged a brace, scoring his team’s first and fourth goals in this impressive victory  that ended Levekusen’s 12-match unbeaten run in pretty emphatic style. Maximilian Arnold was also a key man, with his free kicks providing the assists for Pongracic’s goals. He also scored from free kick. Renato Steffen was the Wolves’ other scorer, with Julian Baumgartlinger getting Leverkusen’s consolation goal.

Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 SC Freiburg

Eintracht Frankfurt produced two comebacks in one game to end up all square against Freiburg on Tuesday at the Commerzbank-Arena. After Vincenzo Grifo put the visitors 1-0 up in the first half, Andre Silva equalised. After the interval, Freiburg went into a 3-1 lead, thanks to goals from Nils Petersen and Lucas Holer. Daichi Kamada and Timothy Chandler weighed in with two late strikes that sealed a point for the home team, though.

Werder Bremen 0-0 Borussia Monchengladbach

These two sides played out one of Matchday 28’s two goalless draws, a result that did not suit struggling Werder. The men from Bremen are still stuck firmly in the relegation mire, while Monchengladbach will be relieved that Leverkusen suffered a shock heavy defeat so that they were able to climb into fourth place on goal difference. It was an opportunity lost for Gladbach, though, who could have taken real advantage of Leverkusen’s loss.

RB Leipzig 2-2 Hertha Berlin

Another high-scoring draw was played out at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday evening, as third-placed Leipzig just couldn’t hang on to beat a spirited Hertha. It was the visitors who went into the lead in just the ninth minute, thanks to Marko Grujic, but Lukas Klosterman equalised 15 minutes later. Patrik Schick put the Red Bulls into the lead in the 68th minute, only for the visitors to secure a point with an 82nd minute Krzysztof Piatek strike.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 3-1 FC Cologne

Alfred Schreuder’s Hoffenheim climbed up to seventh in the table thanks to this convincing victory over Cologne. Christoph Baumgartner was the star of the show, with the 20-year-old midfielder netting twice, in the 11th and 46th minutes to help secure his team all three points. Florian Kainz hit a consolation goal for the Billy Goats, who now look set for a mediocre finish in the lower-middle reaches of the league table.

Fortuna Dusseldorf 2-1 Schalke 04

Uwe Rosler’s Dusseldorf team picked up what could be a vital three points in their battle against relegation with this fine home win over Schalke on Wednesday evening. Winston McKennie had put the visitors into the lead with a fine diving header in the 53rd minute. But goals from Rouwen Hennings and Kenan Karaman meant that Rosler’s men are generating some real momentum in the fight against the drop. Who would bet against them staying up now if they can maintain this sort of form?

FC Augsburg 0-0 SC Paderborn

Bottom of the table Paderborn will have been encouraged by the clean sheet they kept, as they avoided defeat for the third consecutive game since the league resumed. Paderborn have been hard to beat since the resumption, and have conceded just one goal in their last three games, which have all been draws. They’ll need that kind of defensive spirit against Borussia Dortmund this weekend.

FC Union Berlin 1-1 FSV Mainz 05

Mainz did little to fight off the mounting challenge of Fortuna Dusseldorf in the relegation battle, after being unable to hang onto the lead in Berlin. Ridle Baku had put the visitors into the lead in the 13th minute, only for Marcus Ingvartsen to equalise 20 minutes later. Union will have been pleased to take a point, after Robert Andrich was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 41st minute.