Hertha BSC – Borussia Mönchengladbach 1: 0 (1: 0), Goal: 1-0 judge (40th)
Central defender is a sensitive position in football. And so it seems understandable that the Berlin coach Pal Dardai did not want to field anyone on Saturday evening when the defense chief Niklas Stark was out due to adductor problems. Dardai needed someone he could trust, who had absorbed his ideas as long as possible. So it was not surprising that he ultimately decided on number 31 for the post in the defense headquarters next to Dedrick Boyata. Because they are worn by someone who has known him very well for a long time: his son Marton, 19.
In the end, it was not a bad decision by the coach, after all, his Hertha won 1-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the end. Not Dardai, but Marco Richter, who was signed up from Augsburg during the season, scored the goal of the day with a sideways puller. He sends his Berliners past Gladbach to tenth place in the table. But in the back, 19-year-old Marton Dardai did his job confidently and without mistakes.
FC Bayern – TSG Hoffenheim 4: 0 (2: 0), Goals: 1-0 Gnabry (16th), 2-0 Lewandowski (30th), 3-0 Choupo-Moting (82nd), 4-0 Coman (87th)
Actually, they wanted to see their stadium completely full again for the first time at FC Bayern Munich, after this is now possible again thanks to the so-called 3G Plus regulation. But instead of the hoped-for 75,000, only just under 60,000 people came to the Fröttmaninger Arena. And they immediately saw something that should not seem so familiar to them from the once sold-out time in the arena: Robert Lewandowski, top scorer record man on duty, lifted the ball over goalkeeper Oliver Baumann as usual, but next to the goal.
A scene from the brand: He can’t not do that. The shock was only to be short-lived for the Munich team, however, as the afternoon turned into a “gmahden Wiesn”: Serge Gnabry brought FCB into the lead after a quarter of an hour. And then Lewandowski also met, as if he had been spurred on by his faux pas with a 25-meter shot worth seeing. It was Poland’s 18th Bundesliga goal against Baumann, and he has not scored against any goalkeeper more often. Hoffenheim could not do anything to counter the goals, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Kingsley Coman increased to 4-0 instead.
And what about Joshua Kimmich? He played well, but that wasn’t the topic of the afternoon. Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic announced that the national player would comment on the speculations about his vaccination status. the image had reported that he was not vaccinated against Covid-19 – which Kimmich later confirmed.
Arminia Bielefeld – Borussia Dortmund 1: 3 (0: 2), Goals: 0: 1 Can (31st), 0: 2 Hummels (45th), 0: 3 Bellingham (72nd), 1: 3 Klos (87th)
The second best Bundesliga scorer behind Lewandowski had to watch on matchday nine. Erling Haaland struggles with a hip flexor injury and is out for several weeks. In an emergency it was a good thing that his BVB had to compete with the weakest team in the league: Arminia Bielefeld had only scored four goals before the game – and was only able to add one to 1: 3 on Saturday.
Emre Can gave Dortmund the lead with a penalty, an admittedly very smart solution for scoring a goal in a game without Haaland as the front man. Mats Hummels did the rest with a 16-meter volley and Jude Bellingham after a solo, two extremely handsome goals. Shortly before the end, Fabian Klos was allowed to shoot the Arminen consolation goal from a penalty. The Norwegian Haaland not only remains Lewandowski’s closest pursuer, his club also confirmed its status as a stubborn pursuer of FC Bayern Munich in the top German soccer league.
RB Leipzig – Greuther Fürth 4: 1 (0: 1), Goals: 0: 1 Hrgota (45th / penalty kick), 1: 1 Poulsen (46th), 2: 1 Forsberg (53rd / penalty kick), 3: 1 Szoboszlai (65.), 4: 1 Novoa (88.)
Jessy Marsch wanted a dynamic performance, and when Leipzig’s trainer speaks of “dynamics” it sounds like “dynamite” because of its American accent. It also fits, only his team missed everything that could be associated with such energy for one half against Greuther Fürth. There was nothing more to be seen of the very attractive football against Paris Saint-Germain during the week, and only the promoted team raised the alarm in the opposing penalty area. The Fürth flooded like soap through the Leipzig defensive rows – the 0: 1 at halftime by a converted penalty from Branimir Hrgota had earned all parties.
Then what happened at half-time? At first it remained the secret of Marsch and his team, in any case, dynamism was now in the game for the Leipzigers: Yussuf Poulsen foughtfully equalized after an RB advance, then was awarded a penalty in a duel with a clumsy Marco Meyerhöfer, the Emil Forsberg on his 30th birthday – tight, but placed – maneuvered into the left corner of the gate. Even in the slightly lifted 3: 1 by substitute Dominik Szoboszlai, Poulsen was part of the offensive command. So Danish Dynamite – it turned out to be a well-rounded affair.
And the fact that Hugo Novoa made it 4: 1 also suited this day: At 18 years, eight months and 29 days, the Spaniard is now RB’s youngest Bundesliga scorer. Whom did he replace? Joshua Kimmich.
VfL Wolfsburg – SC Freiburg 0: 2 (0: 1), Goals: 0: 1 Lienhart (27th), 0: 2 Höler (68th)
SC Freiburg remains the only undefeated club in the Bundesliga. He mastered the task at VfL Wolfsburg in a way that impressed: cool on the defensive and efficient in front of the opposing goal. Everyone knows: against Freiburg and the shooter Vincenzo Grifo you should avoid standards as much as possible. VfL did not take it seriously enough and had to pay for it in the 27th minute: Grifo sent a free kick from an acute angle directly on goal, Philipp Lienhart pushed him over the line in the second attempt – but was initially called back by referee Tobias Welz. It was only when inspecting the scene that the inspectors discovered that Mbabu’s hoe was picking up the offside.
As hesitant as the game had started, it turned out to be entertaining after the 0: 1. Particularly spectacular: The scene in which VfL keeper Koen Casteels cleared Kübler out of the way beyond the game situation as if the Freiburg man were a bowling pin – basically a clear penalty (31st), but referee Welz was gracious. On the other hand, storm boss Lukas Nmecha was noticed several times, but in his best scene he blasted the ball from twelve meters onto the lower edge of the bar.
After the break, Wolfsburg looked superior, but remained harmless. The guests controlled the match and struck ice cold: After a fine counterattack, Lucas Höler put the ball into the net. At least until Sunday afternoon, Freiburg are now third in the table. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, which started the season with four wins, has since been unsuccessful and has only got one point out of the five games.