Sport Bundesliga, 29th matchday
Curiosity in Bochum, BVB wins while outnumbered, Mainz creates a spectacle
As of: 5:59 p.m. | Reading time: 6 minutes
Mainz 05 is the winner of the 29th matchday. The furious Rheinhessen turned the game around against Hoffenheim, while the competition gave up in the relegation battle. In Bochum, Keven Schlotterbeck experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions. Dortmund and FC Bayern achieved narrow victories.
Three days before the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League against Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund remains on course for the premier class in the Bundesliga. After two defeats in a row, BVB won 2-1 (2-1) at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday and remains on the heels of fourth-placed RB Leipzig with the same points. Fifth place in the table may also be enough for Champions League qualification. In front of 54,042 spectators in the sold-out Borussia Park, Marcel Sabitzer (22nd/28th/foul penalty) scored for Dortmund. The hosts scored through Maximilian Wöber (36th).
BVB coach Edin Terzic decided on a large rotation between the two games against Atlético Madrid. Jadon Sancho was unwell at short notice, meaning six new players were put into the starting line-up. The recently unsuccessful center forward Niclas Füllkrug also initially stayed out; Sébastien Haller moved into the center of the attack in his place. However, the 29-year-old had to leave the field injured after ten minutes. Terzic had to change again and substituted Youssoufa Moukoko instead of Füllkrug.
In the 104th derby between the two Borussias, the Gladbachers had prepared for Dortmund’s strong offensive and, as they did in the 3-1 win in Wolfsburg, relied on a five-man defense chain plus two defensive midfielders. The Japanese Ko Itakura moved from the center of defense to midfield and once again solved the task there well.
But a long ball from Nico Schlotterbeck to Sabitzer, who entered the Gladbach penalty area from the left and outwitted goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from a tight angle, was enough for the guests to take the lead. Six minutes later, Sabitzer secured his brace to make it 2-0 with a converted penalty kick. Schlotterbeck had previously been hit in the foot by Nathan Ngoumou.
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In the varied game, the hosts scored the next goal with a header from Wöber after a corner from Franck Honorat. It was already the tenth preparation for a goal by the Frenchman, who was signed at the start of the season. The guests always remained dangerous even with greater pressure from Gladbach. Young Jamie Bynoe-Gittens in particular repeatedly caused unrest in the Gladbach defense with his dribbling. We also liked the prudent Julian Brandt at the headquarters.
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Referee Florian Badstübner withdrew another penalty for Dortmund, which Sabitzer had already converted to make it 3-1, after a video check. Shortly afterwards, Karim Adeyemi had to leave the pitch for repeated foul play, putting his team outnumbered. The Gladbachers brought in two more strikers, Jordan Siebatcheu and Tomas Cvancara, but were unable to equalize.
And goodbye: Karim Adeyemi had to leave the pitch after just under an hour
Quelle: Getty Images/Christof Koepsel
FC Bayern – 1. FC Cologne 2:0 (0:0)
Before being replaced as German football champions, FC Bayern fulfilled its league obligations again, even without the commands of coach Thomas Tuchel. The coach, who was suspended after four yellow cards, saw from a VIP box how his heavily rotated star ensemble four days before the quarter-final second leg in the Champions League against Arsenal FC was led by a wonderful long-range shot from Raphaël Guerreiro with a 2-0 (0-0 ) won against relegation-threatened 1. FC Köln.
The day before Leverkusen’s likely title party, the record champions, who had changed seven positions and led by the hapless Harry Kane, missed good chances in the first half. The ball hit the aluminum twice. After the break, Guerreiro gave the safe FC defender Marvin Schwäbe no chance to defend with his placed 16-meter shot (65th minute). After two recent defeats against Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Heidenheim, the Munich team celebrated once again in the Bundesliga in front of 75,000 spectators thanks to him and Thomas Müller, who was unhappy for long stretches.
The victory in the 100th league duel between the two traditional clubs was marred by the exit of offensive player Kingsley Coman. Shortly after the break, the Frenchman apparently suffered a serious injury to his right leg without the opponent’s influence. He was transported out of the arena with the support of two carers.
Like Serge Gnabry (torn hamstring), Coman will miss the second leg against the Gunners on Wednesday. On the other hand, captain Manuel Neuer, with whom FC Bayern did not want to take any risks after the recent injuries, and Leroy Sané (pubic bone problems) should return to the team. In order to reach the semi-finals against Manchester City or Real Madrid in the premier class after the 2-2 draw in the first leg, Kane and Co. should make better use of their scoring opportunities against the team around national player Kai Havertz than against Cologne.
RB Leipzig – VfL Wolfsburg 3:0 (1:0)
RB Leipzig also remains on track in the fight for the Champions League places. In the first game against their first Bundesliga coach Ralph Hasenhüttl, the Saxons won against VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 (1-0). This means that RB remains in fourth place in the Bundesliga table, level on points with Dortmund. Dani Olmo took the lead after 13 minutes in front of 45,858 spectators. Benjamin Sesko (68th) and Lois Openda (82nd) increased.
Head coach Marco Rose compensated for the loss of the suspended national player David Raum without much rotation, simply placing Benjamin Henrichs on the left side. Mohamed Simakan moved into the starting line-up and took over the right side for Henrichs. The guests, however, are different. Leipzig’s former coach Hasenhüttl made five changes. The Lower Saxony team under their predecessor Niko Kovac had won both games against Leipzig this season, first in the second round of the DFB Cup (1-0) and then in the first leg of the league (2-1).
VfL Bochum – 1. FC Heidenheim 1:1 (0:0)
At VfL Bochum, the change of coach only paid off to a limited extent. In the first game under the direction of Letsch’s successor Heiko Butscher, the fourth-bottom team in the table did not get beyond a 1-1 (0-0) draw against 1. FC Heidenheim.
This means that the Revierklub remained winless for the seventh time in a row and still has to worry about staying in the league. The gap to relegation place 16 shrank to one point. First, Keven Schlotterbeck (81st) put his team behind with a strange own goal when the ball slipped over his foot during an unsuccessful attempt to clear the ball, but then he scored the celebrated equalizer in the 90th minute. The lead over the relegation place, which Mainz 05 occupies, is now one point.
Mainz 05 – TSG Hoffenheim 4:1 (0:1)
The Mainz team clinched their next victory in the relegation battle and continued their furious comeback. The Rheinhessen team deservedly won 4-1 (0-1) against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and showed great passion and comeback qualities. After the opening goal for the guests by Pavel Kaderabek (19th minute), Jonathan Burkardt (47th), Phillipp Mwene (51st), Brajan Gruda (63rd) and Karim Onisiwo (88th) turned the game around in front of 32,000 spectators.
The 05ers got their third win from the last four games. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, suffered a bitter setback in the race for European Cup qualification after a disappointing performance.
