Bundesliga
Bayer on the verge of winning the title – Bayern embarrassment in Heidenheim
Bayer Leverkusen can clinch the championship title with a home win against Werder Bremen. photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
Bayer Leverkusen can celebrate the title very soon. Bayern are deep in crisis and are losing to the newly promoted team. Two clubs are celebrating important victories in the fight against relegation.
The pursuer FC Bayern, who are deep in the sporting crisis, lost to newly promoted team 1. FC Heidenheim 2:3 (2:0) despite being in the lead and is 16 points behind with six match days still remaining. If Munich loses next Saturday, Bayer will be champions without any action on their part.
In the fight against relegation, FSV Mainz 05 celebrated a 4-0 (1-0) win against bottom team Darmstadt 98, which is nine points behind Rheinhessen in the relegation place. The penultimate 1. FC Köln celebrated a late secured 2-1 (0-0) against VfL Bochum and remains one point behind Mainz, Bochum in 15th place only has three points more than FSV.
Heidenheim turns the game around after the break
In the race for the Champions League, RB Leipzig managed a never-threatened 4:1 (3:0) at SC Freiburg, the Saxons overtook Borussia Dortmund and are currently fourth. BVB can overtake VfB Stuttgart again in the evening game.
Leverkusen had problems in the first half against Berlin, who were initially well sorted defensively. From the final stages of the first half onwards, Union had to continue playing without Robin Gosens, who was shown yellow-red after repeated foul play (45th + 3). After the resulting free kick, Christopher Trimmel deflected a shot in the penalty area with his arm and the ball hit the post. Florian Wirtz (45th + 8) converted the hand penalty, Trimmel was not given a card by referee Benjamin Brand for the offense.
Harry Kane (38th) scored Bayern’s first goal. It was the Englishman’s 32nd goal of the season, who has already scored as many times as last season’s top scorers, Niclas Füllkrug and Christopher Nkunku, combined (both 16th). Serge Gnabry (45th) headed it up. The restart was slightly delayed because referee Robert Schröder had to be replaced by fourth official Patrick Alt due to health problems.
Then Kevin Sessa (50th) and Tim Kleindienst (51st) scored and initially made the Heidenheim fans cheer loudly about the equalizer. Again Kleindienst (79th) punished Bayern who were far too harmless with the sensational Heidenheim lead.
Leipzig with a strong performance in Freiburg
Mainz took the lead through Andreas Hanche-Olsen (33rd), who scored his first goal of the season and put the rivals under pressure in the fight against relegation. Brajan Gruda (60th) scored the second FSV goal before Jae-sung Lee (80th and 84th) decided the game. In the parallel game in Cologne, Felix Passlack (53′) scored for Bochum in the second half, but Steffen Tigges (90’+1) and Luca Waldschmidt (90’+2) turned the game around.
Leipzig celebrated the lead early on in Freiburg through Amadou Haidara (2nd), Loïs Openda (18th) gave RB a reassuring two-goal lead. Lucas Höler missed the early goal for the sports club when he missed a hand penalty – the ball hit the crossbar (41st). On the other hand, Openda (44th) scored for the second time. Benjamin Sesko (54th) finally decided the game. Vincenzo Grifo’s Freiburg goal (59′) didn’t change that.