Hertha BSC loses the derby and continues to stagger towards relegation. Opponent Union, on the other hand, can always dream bigger. Meanwhile, the Wolfsburg winning streak ends in Bremen. The Bundesliga overview from Saturday afternoon.
Dhe 1. FC Union Berlin has increased the pressure on FC Bayern and with the fifth derby win in a row, the staggering Hertha missed the next heavy blow. Coach Urs Fischer’s team won 2-0 (1-0) in the sold-out Olympic Stadium in their capital city rival. In front of 74,667 spectators, Danilho Doekhi (44th minute) scored for the guests from Köpenick after assists by Christopher Trimmel and Paul Seguin (67th).
While the Irons are now level on points with the record champions at least until the Bayern game against Eintracht Frankfurt in the evening (6.30 p.m. / Sky), Sandro Schwarz’s team is getting deeper and deeper in the relegation vortex due to the third defeat in a row. With 14 points, the Charlottenburgers, who had their first goal against Union after 74 minutes, are still in 17th place. Hertha had already lost the previous four derbies, three in the league and one in the DFB Cup.
Werder Bremen – VfL Wolfsburg 2: 1 (1: 0)
Werder Bremen surprisingly ended VfL Wolfsburg’s winning streak. After four defeats in a row, the promoted team won this supposedly unequal northern duel 2-1 (1-0).
National striker Niclas Füllkrug scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season. In the 24th minute he converted a controversial hand penalty. In the 77th minute he scored from close range after a clever discard by Mitchell Weiser. Werder put a comfortable gap of eight points between themselves and the relegation place. Kevin Paredes made it 1:2 in the 90th minute.
The Wolfsburg had previously won six games in a row with a goal difference of 22:1. Even a draw in Bremen would have meant setting a club record from the championship year 2009, when VfL under Felix Magath went eleven consecutive Bundesliga games unbeaten. But the energy and relentlessness that had made Niko Kovac’s team so strong recently was shown this time above all by Bremen.
SC Freiburg – FC Augsburg 3:1 (2:1)
SC Freiburg has caught up after just one point from two games and is keeping up with the top of the table. The Breisgauer defeated FC Augsburg 3:1 (2:1).
The key scene happened in the 30th minute: Berisha equalized the Freiburg lead from Gregoritsch (13th) with a penalty. Apparently, adrenaline did not release that on the Augsburg side. The next few moments looked more like deep sleep: 13 seconds after the kick-off, Höler scored the Freiburg 2-1. Against pressing guests, Lienhart headed a corner for the decision (85th).
FSV Mainz – VfL Bochum 5: 2 (3: 0)
A defeat in the home game against VfL Bochum – and 1. FSV Mainz 05 would have arrived in the relegation battle. Coach Bo Svensson’s team played with corresponding commitment from the start. And won 5:2 (3:0).
She took the lead after just 47 seconds: Jae-Sung Lee used a cross from Anthony Caci to make it 1-0. Access Ludovic Ajorque was part of the Mainz starting XI for the first time. The 28-year-old Frenchman pushed Marcus Ingvartsen to the bench in the storm.
Even after the 1-0, the hosts dominated: Silvan Widmer made it 2-0 (18th), Karim Onisiwo increased to 3-0 (28th) and then to 4-0 (57th). The Bochum defense was not ready for the Bundesliga. Customer Malong (70′) and (72′) scored for VfL, Onisiwo then scored to make it 5-2 (87′). It was the first win of the year for Mainz.
TSG Hoffenheim – Bor. Mönchengladbach 1: 4 (0: 2)
Late premiere for Mönchengladbach: With the deserved 4-1 (2-0) in Hoffenheim, Borussia achieved their first away win of the season.
Man of the day was Hofmann, who scored two goals. With amazing parallels: Hofmann shot twice with his right foot, twice he hit the bottom right corner, once from ten (12th), once from 14 meters (37th). Stindl scored both goals, who then made it 3-1 himself (83′). Substitute Wolf made it 4-1 (90+1). Bebou had scored for the hosts (80th), who have now gone eight games in a row without a win.
