Bayer 04 Leverkusen – TSG Hoffenheim 2:1 (0:1), Goals: 0:1 Maximilian Beier (33rd), 1:1 Robert Andrich (88th), 2:1 Patrik Schick (90th+1)
Bayer Leverkusen had already clinched their next victory before the game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim had even kicked off: Xabi Alonso announced his whereabouts on Good Friday. He wanted to use the international break to think. Bavaria? Liverpool? No interest! “We’re not finished yet, we still have a lot to do,” said the league leaders’ coach about his decision. One would have thought that such good news would give a team a lot of extra energy. But first the guests received a boost in the duel against the favorites.
New national player Maximilian Beier was suddenly free in front of Lukas Hradecky after a one-two with Wout Weghorst. He still got to the ball, but the shot still ended up in the net. The Leverkusen team wanted to show a reaction, they repeatedly came close to the penalty area, but the shots were too weak. In the 76th minute it was almost time: first Patrik Schick tried from close range, then Amine Adli – but Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann showed excellent reflexes twice. And when it looked as if Easter Saturday would bring the end of an impressive series, Robert Andrich equalized before Schick fired the 2-1 winning goal into the net in stoppage time – as so often this season. This means that Leverkusen remains unbeaten with Alonso this season – in 39 games.
“That was another milestone, another very special one,” said Andrich after the game. “I never doubted our blatant superiority; someone just had to slide in.” The fact that there were even two, he said on Sky, “that’s just awesome”.
RB Leipzig – FSV Mainz 05 0-0
In the game between the fourth-placed team and the sixteenth-placed team, everything fit into the expected pattern: RB Leipzig had 20 shots on goal, played twice as many passes as Mainz, led in all relevant statistics and was the better team. Only Leipzig didn’t score a goal. In a sometimes absurd manner, Marco Rose’s team managed not to put the ball in the box and had to be content with a draw, which in the end was even a happy one: Mainz almost awarded a penalty in stoppage time after a VAR check receive.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – SC Freiburg 0:3 (0:1), Goals: 0:1 Michael Gregoritsch (7th), 0:2 Merlin Röhl (47th), 0:3 Ritsu Doan (57th)
The start to the event would have been more successful Farewell tour of the great Bundesliga coach Christian Streich can barely walk. From the start, SC Freiburg dominated the game in Gladbach – and quickly created chances. After seven minutes, Michael Gregoritsch made it 1-0, scoring after a deflected shot. A few days after his hat-trick for the national team, the Austrian was still in top form and was also indirectly involved in Merlin Röhl’s second goal in the 47th minute. The game against weak Gladbach was decided just ten minutes later by Ritsu Doan, who made it 3-0 on an afternoon that left only one question unanswered: Isn’t this too much fun to stop, Mr. Streich?
Werder Bremen – VfL Wolfsburg 0:2 (0:1), Goals: 0:1 Maxence Lacroix (45th + 4th), Lovro Majer (84th)
There are really worse places to return to the Bundesliga than Bremen’s Osterdeich in the first air of spring. Ralph Hasenhüttl had already halfway said goodbye to the industry. After his exit at Southampton, where the fans liked him so much that they the dubious Christmas hit “Last Christmas” was adapted to him, He explicitly left the possibility of continuing his coaching career open.
Back in the Bundesliga: Wolfsburg coach Ralph Hasenhüttl.
(Photo: Axel Heimken/dpa)
Now, a year and a half after his departure from the Premier League, he was back on the sidelines in a tracksuit and saw a half with only three scenes worth mentioning. After five minutes, Zesiger headed the ball onto the crossbar and then nothing happened for a long time. It was only shortly before the break that Bremen’s Anthony Jung used his arm too consistently in a direct duel with Kevin Behrens. Stegemann decided on the emergency brake and red – a justifiable decision. Shortly afterwards, Werder acted too confusedly at a VfL corner, the ball came via a detour to Maxence Lacroix, who maneuvered the ball past many legs and into the goal.
In the second half, Naby Keita got a few of his few minutes of action, then there was another sending off. Lacroix also saw red after an emergency stop, although his hold against Romano Schmid was much less clear than on the other side. Hasenhüttl was able to cope with it, Lovro Majer made it 2-0 after a catastrophic Bremen loss of the ball with a lob. The first three points came after eleven unsuccessful attempts for Wolfsburg – coach change effect.
Eintracht Frankfurt – 1. FC Union Berlin 0-0
At least the grass wasn’t an issue after various German national players and especially Jamal Musiala couldn’t find a foothold on the Frankfurt green last Tuesday. But there was little other topic in this game for 45 minutes; it was initially a boring affair. But that also meant that Union – the away team and still placed significantly lower in the table – sold better.
Only after the restart did a bit of action come in, the elegant Hugo Ekitiké failed to place a cross pass more precisely, and then Union did not make the most of a mistake by Ellyes Skhiri. Then Eintracht was in the game, between the 57th and the 62nd, Frankfurt had four opportunities, but either Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow or their own inaccuracies prevented them from taking the lead. Based on the second half, an Eintracht win would probably have been okay – that’s the conclusion from the Hessian perspective, as it has been so often this season: not completely convincing – but on course for Europe.