FC Augsburg – FC Bayern Munich 2:3 (0:2) Goals: 0:1 Aleksandar Pavlovic (23rd), 0:2 Alphonso Davies (45th+5), 1:2 and 2:3 Ermedin Demirovic (52nd and 90th+4th, penalty kick), 1:3 Harry Kane (61.)
Anyone who is fit plays. This dictum applied to Munich’s defense before the game against Augsburg. The regulars Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer, Noussair Mazraoui, Minjae Kim – injured or traveling or both. When asked whether left-footed Raphael Guerreiro could even play right-back, coach Thomas Tuchel said: “He has to.” The potential new right-back, Sacha Boey, previously from Galatasaray Istanbul, still has to pass the medical check. The only alternatives on the bench were Adam Aznou, 17 years old, and Frans Krätzig, already 21.
FC Augsburg responded to this situation with a strategy that was both surprising and unsurprising: they attacked. This was surprising because Augsburg is not known for this tactic, but on the other hand it is only logical to attack a weakened and improvised defense. The plan initially worked. Only through a double intervention by the video referee did FC Bayern escape an early deficit. First, the Cologne Keller corrected a hand penalty decision against Matthijs de Ligt and (rightly) moved the crime scene outside the penalty area. Then the VAR saw that Elvis Rexhbecaj was just offside when he scored.
FC Bayern slowly found their way into the game and took the lead. Guerreiro brought a corner sharply in front of the goal, Leon Goretzka extended the ball at the first post, Philipp Tietz didn’t clear it properly – and Aleksandar Pavlovic slammed the ball in with a shot on the move. But: Tietz fell so badly on Kingsley Coman’s foot during his unsuccessful defensive action that the Frenchman had to be replaced. Carers supported him and he could no longer put any weight on his left leg. Mathys Tel came into the game, Thomas Müller remained on the bench. Even after that, Munich didn’t have an outstanding game, but as it is in football – when the goals are scored, the rest almost doesn’t matter. Alphonso Davies, who has recently come under criticism, was nicely cleared by Goretzka and thundered the ball flat into the near corner with his weaker right foot.
After the break, Augsburg continued to pursue its attack plan – why not, with the score at 0-2. Kevin Mbabu suddenly had a lot of space on his right side. He looked, wasn’t attacked, looked again, crossed to Ermedin Demirovic without any further inconvenience, who headed into the goal. This only caused little stress on the Munich side because Harry Kane restored the old distance shortly afterwards. For the third time that day, FC Bayern benefited from a close VAR decision, this time referee Christian Dingert personally judged on the screen that Kristijan Jakic “controlled” the ball (a term from the rule book) played to Kane, who was offside.
The game sputtered towards the end before Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller each made an appearance. First the goalkeeper caused a penalty because he hit Felix Uduokhai in the head during a failed defensive move. But he also parried Sven Michel’s penalty, which he was responsible for. Then Müller followed suit and fouled more than unfortunately in his own penalty area, this time Demirovic smashed the ball past Neuer. At the final whistle, Pavlovic had to go out after a fall – a player named Lovro Zvonarek helped the lead to tremble over time.
VfB Stuttgart – RB Leipzig 5:2 (2:1), Goals: 1:0 Enzo Millot (25th, hand penalty), 2:0, 4:2 and 5:2 Deniz Undav (30th, 56th, 75th), 2:1 Benjamin Sesko (32nd), 3: 1 Jamie Leweling (48th), 3:2 Lois Openda (55th)
Then you lay down: VfB striker Deniz Undav (on the ground) scored three times against Leipzig.
(Photo: Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)
Stuttgart against Leipzig, that was also the duel between third and fourth in the table, the performance density between the two chasing teams behind Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich was reflected in the game. At first Leipzig pressed, then VfB woke up and was immediately awarded a hand penalty after a video review. Leipzig’s Mohamed Simakan caught the ball with his upper arm after a header from Dan-Axel Zagadou. Enzo Millot converts safely down the left. Slightly shocked, phlegmatic Leipzig conceded the 0-2, Deniz Undav accepted a pass directly in front of the penalty area and scored, also down the left. The cheers had barely died down when Benjamin Sesko brought the visiting team close again with a header goal; the Swabians were visibly asleep in the six-yard box during this scene.
Stuttgart, without Serhou Guirassy and Silas, who were at the Africa Cup, came out of the half-time break more alert, Jamie Leweling scored from close range to make it 3-1. And now it got wild: Lois Openda shot Leipzig’s only second chance into the VfB goal, Undav immediately increased the score to 4:2 with a header before the attacker even scored the third goal. The Leipzig team looked like extras at 2:5, which was preceded by a quickly taken free kick. The third RB defeat in a row should now also put coach Marco Rose under pressure. Stuttgart, which never won in eleven games against Leipzig (nine defeats, two draws), is now slightly ahead of its feared opponents in the table.
SV Werder Bremen – SC Freiburg 3:1 (1:1), Goals: 1:0 Marvin Ducksch (9th, penalty kick), 1:1 Vincenzo Grifo (28th, penalty kick), 2:1 Justin Njinmah (53rd), 3:1 Julian Malatini (90th + 3)
Prelude to the deserved Werder victory: Marvin Ducksch (right) gave Bremen an early lead from the penalty spot.
(Photo: Joern Pollex/Getty Images)
Perhaps it will turn out to be a great stroke of luck that Leonardo Bittencourt only hit the crossbar in the 82nd minute. As is well known, at SV Werder Bremen there is a tendency to a latent euphoria in success, which can awaken big dreams of the good old days, which are then usually disappointed again and end in a downward spiral. At the moment, however, one can dream: first an away win at FC Bayern, now a superior home win against SC Freiburg and suddenly there are only a few points left to reach the international places in the table, where Werder was once based.
An early penalty goal by Marvin Ducksch (9th minute) paved the way this time, with only one obstacle appearing: Vinzenco Grifo equalized the game after 28 minutes – also from the spot – but Freiburg’s short storm run ended after half-time: Then Bremen played superiorly, quickly took the lead again through Justin Njinmah (53′) and almost scored one of the best goals of the season with Bittencourt’s shot from the center circle. The ball hit the crossbar, but a certain euphoria was evident in the celebration of Julian Malatini’s late 3-1 win.
VfL Wolfsburg – 1. FC Cologne 1:1 (1:1), Goals: 0:1 Faride Alidou (38th), 1:1 Kevin Paredes (40th)
Unexpected Bundesliga assignment: After linesman Thorben Siewer was injured, volunteer referee Tobias Krull (center) spontaneously stepped in as the fourth official.
(Photo: Swen Pförtner/dpa)
It really wasn’t expected that Tobias Krull from MTV Gifhorn would be the main actor in a Bundesliga game. When, after 14 minutes of the game, a clarification from Cologne’s Max Finkgräfe caught assistant referee Thorben Siewer in the head, Wolfsburg was suddenly in need of a man, which is why a replacement was called for via a stadium announcement: Krull reported, put on referee clothing and finally moderated the events on the pitch Sideline in a game that was pleasantly unspectacular for someone celebrating such a first.
There were two hectic minutes when Faride Alidou gave Cologne the lead (38th minute), which was then equalized a little more than 80 seconds later by Kevin Paredes. In the end, the 1-1 score was satisfactory for Cologne because the Wolfsburg team wasted their chances time and time again – which gradually raises the question of whether a search for a successor to Niko Kovac might soon be necessary. However, it is currently unclear whether MTV Gifhorn would also release its sporting director Tobias Krull for this.
TSG Hoffenheim – 1. FC Heidenheim 1:1 (1:1), Goals: 0:1 Eren Dinkci (29th), 1:1 Andrej Kramaric (45th + 7, hand penalty)
Heidenheim needed to be in front: Eren Dinkci (left) scored after just under half an hour, and TSG equalized before halftime.
(Photo: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
This Saturday was the day of the neighborhood duels. Hoffenheim, in eighth place, met Heidenheim, ninth in the table. The question in this no man’s land game that many teams would like to have further back was: Which trend will end? Hoffenheim has only won one of the last nine games. Heidenheim was unbeaten in five games and also showed why the Swabian bulwark is currently so stable.
The FC kept a clean sheet against Hoffenheim, who were initially slightly superior, but then they struck, a ball won by Omar Traoré, Jan Schöppner passed into the path of Eren Dinkci, who shot and scored with no frills. A hand penalty helped TSG equalize shortly before half-time: Benedikt Gimber’s illegal action punished Andrej Kramaric with a goal from the penalty spot.
Hoffenheim pushed for the lead in the second half, driven by the eye-catching Anton Stach, but lacked efficiency and precision. The game was high-quality in terms of duels, fast and exciting, but neither team managed to score the winning goal. The trend continues for both clubs: TSG cannot win, Heidenheim cannot be defeated.