The eleventh matchday was the quietest so far, which was not due to boredom on the pitches, but rather due to the fans in the stadiums. They stopped their support in the first twelve minutes – as a note of protest against the interior ministries’ planned measures with stadium bans, personalized tickets and facial recognition. After the protest march in Leipzig there was twelve minutes of silence, but football was still played. Bayern only briefly gave the competition reason to hope; things remain tight in the bottom of the table. (You can find everything about Munich’s 6-2 win against Freiburg here. And here you can find the Bundesliga table).
Will Dominik Kohr become wiser one game day?
“Hart-Kohr” or “Mainz-Rambo” are the most common nicknames for the 05 defender, who once again lived up to them in the 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim. The 31-year-old hit Max Moerstedt in the midfield shortly before the end of the game with open sole and full force on the lower leg and deservedly saw red after VAR intervention. Fortunately, Moerstedt has “stable bones,” as his trainer Christian Ilzer noted afterwards with a serious expression. Mainz colleague Bo Henriksen looked no less grumpy when he called his player’s behavior “not smart”. With dismissal number nine, Kohr set a Bundesliga record, overtaking Jens Nowotny and Luiz Gustavo, who were each sent off eight times. At least Kohr apologized the day after.
:Record red for Kohr
“I haven’t seen such a hard foul in a long time”: Mainz’s Dominik Kohr becomes the record holder with his ninth Bundesliga dismissal – and apologizes.
Who remains the Bayern hunter – Borussia Dortmund or VfB Stuttgart?
At first it seemed as if the guests would earn this distinction in the top game of their pursuers with the same points, because VfB Stuttgart set the tone for a long time. Only a penalty, vehemently criticized by VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß and safely converted by BVB captain Emre Can, put Dortmund on track. This resulted in a fine move before the break, which Maximilian Beier completed to make it 2-0. But then the typical Borussia second half followed, Dortmund were well served with the equalizer thanks to the two goals from Deniz Undav. In the spectacular final phase, substitute Karim Adeyemi took the lead with disarming speed, but Undav immediately equalized it again. What remained? Decision postponed – and Dortmund sadness.
When can Cologne win against a top team?
Leipzig, Stuttgart, Dortmund and FC Bayern, four opponents from the upper regions, 1. FC left the pitch as losers four times. And nothing happened against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday evening either. A win would have meant equal points with the Hessians, 17 points and more proximity to the upper zone. And it had started very well in front of the home crowd, after just four minutes and the lead by Jakub Kaminski. But then the guests proved without any mercy that they felt called upon to play in this group: Arthur Theate, Mahmoud Thaoud in the first half and Jonathan Burkardt twice scored Frankfurt’s goals before Cologne’s Marius Bülter and Luca Waldschmidt shortened the score. The fact remains: FC is close, but not there (yet).
Who can save Wolfsburg?
Interim coach Daniel Bauer, who was promoted from the U19 team, announced that there would be no more excuses. He was right, but he probably expected something different from his team than this first half. Rather, the hosts’ performance was a declaration of bankruptcy; the guests from Leverkusen only needed a concentrated half hour to steer the game in their direction through Jonas Hofmann, Edmond Tapsoba and Malik Tillman. Bauer’s days as head coach are probably already numbered, but there are no names in sight for a new coach – a successor for the sacked sports director Sebastian Schindzielorz has not been found either. Denis Vavro’s goal to make it 1:3 in the second half was clearly not enough for Wolfsburg.
Will Sandro Wagner get the hang of things?
The Augsburg coach had reacted remarkably calmly to the constant questions about his future in recent weeks. This suggests that Sandro Wagner is confident in the trust of the club’s management and, on the other hand, that he has a lot of trust in his team. He had also repeated this like a mantra, and now the players signaled that he was not wrong in this regard. In the first half, the Swabians were not only better than the Hamburg guests, they also knew how to please with some impressive moves. One of these led to the 1-0 winning goal by Anton Kade, one of the young wild ones in the Swabian team, in the middle of the second half. And Wagner? Acknowledged it stoically with his hands in his pockets.
Can Heidenheim still be saved?
Coach Frank Schmidt’s head seemed to tilt into an unhealthy angle for a while. What his staff had to offer on the pitch is likely to lead straight into the second division without any improvement soon. No finish, no flow of the game and statistical defensive behavior – the 2-0 win by the guests from Gladbach was exemplary. Their ball relay in the Heidenheim penalty area was obviously so nice to watch that no one from the opposing team wanted to disturb it. Borussia further freed itself from the red zone with the clear 3-0 win, Heidenheim’s coach Schmidt acknowledged what he saw with – of course – a shake of his head.
