FC Augsburg – Borussia Dortmund 1:1 (1:1), Goals: 1:0 Ermedin Demirovic (23rd), 1:1 Donyell Malen (35th)
The game plan sometimes has its own humor and BVB’s said: First the Champions League home game against Paris and Kylian Mbappé – and then off to Augsburg. There was still pressure on the table, BVB needed the points to stay ahead of the surprisingly strong top quartet in the Bundesliga.
Things got off to a very bad start for Dortmund coach Edin Terzic. After a long ball, Nico Schlotterbeck and Ermedin Demirovic dueled at the legal limit, referee Matthias Jöllenbeck checked the scene on the screen for minutes and narrowly decided that Demirovic was not fouled and the goal was scored. BVB only allowed themselves to doubt themselves for twelve minutes, after a one-two that Niclas Füllkrug executed with his heel, Donyell Malen equalized.
In particular, BVB had a bad start to the second half and Augsburg were close to taking the lead. Only then did Dortmund find their way back into the game, Füllkrug had the best chances. Once, after a mistake by Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, he failed to hit the empty goal with a header; a few minutes before the end, Dahmen parried a sideways kick from the national striker.
Borussia played for the winning goal with substitute Samuel Bamba (19), but at the same time they were lucky that Ruben Vargas shot past the far corner in a wild final phase. The bottom line is that it is the next disappointment for BVB in their elusive season. Group winners in the Champions League, but out of the cup and in the league they are at the top.
VfL Bochum – 1. FC Union Berlin 3:0 (1:0), Goals: 1:0 Takuma Asano (45th + 5th), 2:0 Goncalo Paciencia (54th), 3:0 Kevin Stöger (78th)
It wasn’t there yet: Takuma Asano tries an overhead kick.
(Photo: IMAGO/Gladys Chai von der Laage/IMAGO/Chai vd Laage)
First half player? Definitely Bochum’s Takuma Asano. When the fans protested against the entry of an investor into the DFL by throwing chocolate coins, the Japanese took one of the cocoa-containing currency and ate it on the pitch. With the energy of the coin, he first attempted an overhead kick (photo) and then gave VfL the lead against Union because he was first to the ball after a free kick from Kevin Stöger.
Asano, who scored the 1:2 for Japan against the DFB team at the World Cup in Qatar that still has an impact today, was also involved in Bochum’s second goal. Goalkeeper Manuel Riemann played cleverly and quickly to Asano, who passed it on to Christopher Antwi-Adjei, whose pass was sunk by Goncalo Paciencia to make it 2-0. Kevin Stöger then rewarded himself for his strong performance again with a penalty goal to make it 3-0. It is an important home win for VfL, with 16 points after 15 games the club is fully on target. For Union (which performed too weakly overall) this was a manifestation of the relegation battle. But they knew that in Köpenick for a long time.
SV Darmstadt 98 – VfL Wolfsburg 0:1 (0:0), Goal: 0:1 Lovro Majer (63.)
One thing is clear: Maxence Lacroix’s emergency brake was clear, and the result was his sending off.
(Photo: Florian Ulrich/Jan Huebner/Imago)
The two teams with the weakest form in the league in a duel, that didn’t mean we could expect any football treats. The silence of the fan protest was followed by a wall of pyrotechnics from the Wolfsburg corner and when the smoke cleared, VfL defender Maxence Lacroix seemed so dazed during the build-up to the game that he missed the ball. His duel against Darmstadt’s Luca Pfeiffer came to an emergency stop. The result was red and a fun fact from the sinners’ index: Lacroix is the league’s expulsion king; no active professional was thrown off the field as often as him (five times).
And the SVD? Couldn’t use the advantage because there weren’t enough players without a few injured regulars. Actually it would have been a terrible 0-0 if it hadn’t been for Wolfsburg’s bright moment when Jonas Wind passed to Lovro Majer – and the Croatian scored the winning goal. “Humorless” is what such a thing is called in technical language.
FSV Mainz 05 – 1. FC Heidenheim 0:1 (0:1), Goal: 0:1 Marvin Pieringer (13.)
Things usually went better for Jan-Niklas Beste (below) than in this scene. The Heidenheimer opened the newly promoted team’s goal again with one of his dangerous free kicks.
(Photo: Racocha/Photo Booth/Imago)
The Bundesliga always has something new to offer, for example a game between Mainz and Heidenheim. This had never happened before, so it was a world premiere! If the league wants to conquer large markets in this world in the future thanks to an investor deal, such games may also be part of the so-called “product”. Oh well. However, Mainz would have to stay in class and that would be difficult. A free kick from the league’s secret set-piece king, Jan-Niklas Beste, gave Heidenheim an early lead through Marvin Pieringer. Afterwards, the FSV attacked furiously (including shots at the post by Ludovic Ajorque and Johnny Burkhardt), but Mainz remains Mainz. Nobody wanted to come in. Heidenheim, on the other hand, achieved their second victory in a row with minimal resources.