FC Bayern Munich – FSV Mainz 05 8:1 (3:1), Goals: 1:0, 3:1 and 7:1 Harry Kane (13th, 45th+7, 70th), 2:0 and 8:1 Leon Goretzka (19th, 90th+3), 2:1 Nadiem Amiri (31st), 4:1 Thomas Müller (47th), 5:1 Jamal Musiala (61st), 6:1 Serge Gnabry (66th)
With the first air of spring, a bit of euphoria blew through Munich and the stadium in the north of the city. While the first picnic blankets saw the sun in the English Garden, FC Bayern discovered how relaxing it is to once again play a successful Bundesliga game, even by Bayern standards.
After a Mainz corner, Manuel Neuer made the game quick early on, and the ball landed at Jamal Musiala via Thomas Müller. Müller’s pass was a bit too long, but Musiala processed it anyway and found the gap to Harry Kane – 1-0. Six minutes later, Joshua Kimmich, who was once again positioned at right-back, took advantage of the sleepiness of the Mainz defense and quickly took a free kick. Kane headed onto the post, Leon Goretzka converted the rebound – also because Kane was smart enough not to touch the ball in an offside position.
Everything looked like a picnic in the park, but at the moment FC Bayern are conceding every goal, no matter how unlikely. Nadiem Amiri, who has been strengthening Mainz since the winter break, was allowed to hit a free kick directly into the near corner because Müller had opened a gap in the wall. But Thomas Tuchel’s team, whose broken toe was confirmed during the week, continued to act dominantly, missed the best opportunities and it was only in stoppage time in the first half that Kane again ensured a result that corresponded to the course of the game: Goretzka chipped to the English international striker and he took it Ball and used it in a flowing movement that only great strikers can do.
Before that, there was another moment of shock: Josuha Guilavogui hit his head against his teammate Caci’s knee – and was briefly unconscious. Referee Patrick Ittrich administered first aid and put Guilavogui in the recovery position. Shortly afterwards, the Mainz player was able to stand again and was immediately substituted with a suspected concussion. Alphonso Davies also had to leave the field after 17 minutes because Silvan Widmer’s foot hit him in the face.
After the break, Müller decided the game early with his second goal of the season after a nice assist from Musiala. But a few more highlights followed. Once Kane’s assist before Musialas made it 5-1, when, again on a counterattack, he sent a pass with a banana curve from one side of the pitch to the other. And once there was substitute Serge Gnabry, who volleyed a high cross from Goretzka and turned with his heel and turned it into the goal. Kane scored his 30th goal of the season with his fourth hat trick of the season. And Leon Goretzka rewarded himself for his best performance in a long time with a brace.
FC Bayern will thus reduce the gap to league leaders Leverkusen to seven points by Sunday – but above all they will have a week’s rest in Munich. That hasn’t happened that often this year.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1. FC Cologne 3:3 (1:1), Goals: 0:1 and 1:2 Faride Alidou (7th, 64th), 1:1 Franck Honorat (32nd), 2:2 and 2:3 Robin Hack (71st, 73rd), 3:3 Damion Downs (79.)
Mönchengladbach’s Robin Hack (left) scores the 2-2 against strong Cologne on a pretty crazy afternoon.
(Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa)
The sun was low in Mönchengladbach and she was shining, perhaps she too was happy about this fiery duel between neighbors. Niederrheiner against Rhinelander, just a few motorway exits away, spring fever everywhere – and then this overture: 1. FC Köln, the team with the fewest away goals in the league, actually took the lead through Faride Alidou because Gladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas took the lead from his shot Winkel basically punched himself into the goal. The Cologne team initially enjoyed their luck, a ball from Florian Neuhaus landed on the post, actually a picture-perfect afternoon for the Rhenish souls. But then Timo Hübers made a bad pass in the build-up to the game, which allowed Gladbach to make it 1-1 through Franck Honorat. Borussia seemed a bit more brash, but they had to get to grips with Cologne Fortune first.
After another goal from Neuhaus, the game was turned upside down again when Alidou’s second header made it 2-1 for the visitors. In the end, it took a double strike from Gladbach by Robin Hack to ensure a fair result despite all the troughs of this football game: Gladbach was 3-2 ahead, the Lower Rhine was seething with ecstasy, but the final point of this carnivalesque chaos was reserved for the Cologne team. Substitute youngster Damion Downs appeared on the left of Borussia’s penalty area, unleashed a hidden left-footed shot and made it 3-3. In the end, the Lorenz no longer “popped,” as they say in the West when the sun is shining, but the people had experienced an afternoon that certainly lit up the hearts of many.
RB Leipzig – SV Darmstadt 98 2-0 (1:0), Goals: 1:0 Thomas Isherwood (3rd, own goal), 2:0 Christoph Baumgartner (50th)
Leipzig’s coach Marco Rose was happy again: they scored 2-0 against Darmstadt.
(Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa)
There was a lot to process for the two opponents: Leipzig had been kicked out of the Champions League in Madrid, Darmstadt had conceded an honorable 0-6 at the Böllenfalltor against FC Augsburg. But while the Saxons’ strong performance in the 1-1 draw in the Spanish metropolis, which could certainly be described as flattering for the Royals, had an inspiring effect, the South Hesse team acted with leaden heads right from the start.
Coach Torsten Lieberknecht had changed his selection to seven positions – the hoped-for positive effect did not materialize. In fact, just a few moments after kick-off, one of the new players made a very unfortunate introduction: Swedish central defender Thomas Isherwood shouldered a cross from David Raum after a short corner into his own box. To defend the Swede’s honor, the only thing that can be said is that he was harassed by Leipzig captain Willi Orban. This determined the direction of the game, from then on the Darmstadt team was only concerned with not conceding another goal. What was actually achieved relatively painlessly compared to the defeat from the previous week, the oppressively superior Leipzig team achieved a 2-0 final score thanks to an Austrian co-production by Xaver Schlager and the goalscorer Christoph Baumgartner. While Leipzig can continue to think about the premier class based on the current situation, Darmstadt will probably have to plan on a two-pronged basis.
FC Augsburg – 1. FC Heidenheim 1:0 (1:0), Goal: 1-0 Jeffrey Gouweleeuw (22nd)
The 1-0 for Augsburg: Gouweleeuw had scored, Heidenheim’s defense was beaten.
(Photo: Harry Langer/dpa)
Two names were at the center of this comparison of the two midfield teams: Augsburg’s top striker Ermedin Demirovic and Heidenheim’s top preparer Jan-Niklas Beste. The 25-year-old Bosnian international in the service of the Swabians was unable to add any more to his previous 14 goals (and nine assists). The Baden-Württemberg resident, who is apparently high on national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s list and could make his debut in the friendly against France, also stuck to the seven goals he has scored so far (ten assists).
The best striker action of the game came from a central defender: Dutchman Jeffrey Gouweleeuw used a hard-to-take dropkick to convert a high corner from Arne Maier to give the Swabians a deserved 1-0 half-time lead. Because the highly praised of the two teams also acted discreetly in the second half, it was Augsburg’s Italo-Brazilian Iago who hit the crossbar with a shot – it remained the most noticeable action. Augsburg’s third win in a row should further dispel concerns about staying in the league, but newly promoted Heidenheim will have to look backwards again.