Bundesliga: Leipzig gets under the wheels, relegation candidates are on the spot

As of 6:23 p.m | Reading time: 4 minutes

BIt’s a bitter afternoon for RB Leipzig: The Saxons lost 0:3 (0:1) against the currently strong FSV Mainz and are now finally in crisis because of the defeat in Bochum the day before. Nobody in Leipzig needs to dream of the title anymore.

Which would also be presumptuous after this game. Mainz was clearly better and deservedly won at altitude. Ingvartsen with a dust collector (9th), Ajorque with a nice lob (57th) and Kohr with a long-range shot (67th) scored for the guests, who, in eighth place, can now dream of participating in the European Cup.

Schalke 04 – Bayer Leverkusen 0: 3 (0: 0)

They caused an upset when they beat FC Bayern 2-1 at home two weeks ago. The win, which a few days later also resulted in Julian Nagelsmann’s departure as a coach in Munich, was followed by Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-0 (0-0) win at Schalke 04 on Saturday. The Werkself underlined their good form with the recent win, while the defeat meant a setback in the relegation battle for Schalke, who were unbeaten in the second half of the season with two wins and six draws.

Before the game, Xabi Alonso, the Bayer coach, went into raptures when asked about the Bundesliga. “The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in Europe and the world,” said the Spaniard: “The pace is great, the games are intense, all teams play bravely, only a few are deep and don’t want to play. For me it is stimulating.”

What his team initially offered was not stimulating, however. But that was also due to the opponent, who was very good defensively – and Bayer started aggressively early on. The first chance for the guests was thwarted by keeper Ralf Fährmann, who first blocked Amine Adli’s shot in the 11th minute and then Jeremie Frimpong’s follow-up shot. In the 27th minute, Adli failed again at Fährmann, who was powerless five minutes after the break. On a pass from Moussa Diaby, Frimpong scored unchallenged from close range to make it 1-0 (50th). After taking the lead, Leverkusen exploited their superiority and made it 2-0 (61′) through Florian Wirtz, before Sardar Azmoun scored to make it 3-0 (90’+2′). With the victory, Leverkusen, who are currently in seventh place, are still on course for the international places.

Union Berlin – VfB Stuttgart 3: 0 (0: 0)

VfB Stuttgart continues to trundle towards the second division. After the 0: 3 (0: 0) at Union Berlin, the Swabians remain bottom of the Bundesliga table.

Stuttgart, who haven’t won away in the league since December 11, 2021, were initially the better team but didn’t take their chances. A goal by Perea was also rightly disallowed for handball after video evidence (33rd). The attacker had been shot by the Berlin goalkeeper grill.

After the break, the game turned completely, and effective Berliners literally overran the opponent. Becker with a volley (51st), Behrens with a dust-off (65th) and ex-Unioner Haraguchi with an own goal (68th) ensured the clear victory for the Unioner, who thus secured third place and their chance for the Champions League.

SC Freiburg – Hertha BSC 1:1 (0:0)

SC Freiburg missed a big step towards the Champions League in the 1-1 (0-0) win against Hertha BSC. After an unspectacular first half, the game picked up speed in the second 45 minutes. The first highlight was provided by Freiburg’s Italian national player Grifo, who scored the 1-0 lead with one of his dreaded free kicks (52nd minute). The shot into the goalkeeper’s corner was only minimally deflected by Berlin’s Cigerci, but it was so unfortunate that goalkeeper Christensen was powerless.

Hertha missed the equalizer shortly afterwards because Lukebakio failed in a one-on-one at the heel of Freiburg goalkeeper Flekken. In the 77th minute, however, the Dutchman also had no chance: Substitute Schmid made a huge mistake, and Berlin’s Ngankam, who was also new to the game, used the through ball to equalize.

Curious: Both men made up ground on the competition thanks to the point sharing. Freiburg benefited from the Leipzig bankruptcy, Hertha from the defeats of the teams in the direct relegation zones.

VfL Wolfsburg – FC Augsburg 2:2 (0:2)

Even the ninth goal of the season by new national player Mergim Berisha was not enough for FC Augsburg to win their first away win in six months. In the 2-2 (2-0) win at VfL Wolfsburg, the Augsburgers gave up a 2-0 lead. After Wolfsburg’s captain Maximilian Arnold scored an early own goal (2nd minute), Berisha made it 2-0 for the guests in the 32nd minute. Arnold also missed a penalty (21st).

But in the closing stages, the hosts came back again. First Luca Waldschmidt scored the first goal, then Felix Nmecha made it 2-2 (90+6).