Borussia Mönchengladbach – Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1:1 (1:1)
Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday 21 of the Bundesliga. After four previous successes, Leverkusen’s winning streak ended and at the same time jeopardized their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Yannik Engelhardt (10th) gave Gladbach an early lead, Philipp Sander (45th) scored an own goal at the end of the first half. Bayer remained unbeaten for the 13th time in a row.
Despite winning points, coach Eugen Polanski’s team is only three points ahead of the relegation zone. Gladbach has only won once in the last eight games.
Leverkusen had not lost against Gladbach in twelve games. After the draw, Leverkusen is level on points with Leipzig in fifth place. Fourth-placed Stuttgart is three points ahead, but has also played a game more.
1. FC Heidenheim – Hamburger SV 0:2 (0:1)
In the relegation duel in Heidenheim, the hosts lost 0-2 (0-1) against Hamburger SV. The Swabians extended their negative streak to eight games without a win. HSV celebrated its first away win of the season.
The first goal for HSV only came in the third minute of added time in the first half. Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer was able to give Hamburg a deserved lead with a shot from eleven meters. In the 78th minute, Rayan Philippe increased the score to 2-0 for HSV.
As the bottom of the table and with this further defeat, the Heidenheimers could lose their connection to the saving places with only 13 points.
VfL Wolfsburg – Borussia Dortmund 1:2 (0:1)
Second-placed Dortmund won 2-1 (1-0) in Wolfsburg. Julian Brandt scored for BVB in the 38th minute and gave Dortmund a deserved lead. In the first half, Dortmund continued to increase the pressure on Wolfsburg and created more chances. After a handball by Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck (52′), Wolfsburg equalized from the following free kick. Konstantinos Koulierakis headed the ball into the goal to make it 1-1. Towards the end of the season, BVB managed to take the lead. In the 87th minute, Serhou Guirassy scored to make the final score 2-1.
“We showed mentality,” said captain Schlotterbeck after the late winning goal at Sky. “It is simply extremely important that we have the focus and, above all, the belief to attack at the top.” Thanks to the victory, Dortmund were able to get within three points of the league leaders from Munich.
FC St. Pauli – VfB Stuttgart 2:1 (1:0)
FC St. Pauli won against VfB Stuttgart 2-1 (1-0) in the Millerntor Stadium. Hamburg, who recently lost seven competitive games in a row, were now able to win again – against VfB, who are in fourth place in the table. The Swabians lost their first Bundesliga game in two months.
In the 35th minute, Manolis Saliakas gave St. Pauli the lead. It stayed that way until the break. In the second half, the 17th-place team from Hamburg kept their nerve and increased their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Danel Sinani (55th). VfB scored the last goal of the game: Jamie Leweling scored in the 90th minute to make it 1-2.
1. FSV Mainz 05 – FC Augsburg 2:0 (1:0)
1. FSV Mainz 05 won 2-0 (1-0) against FC Augsburg. With this important victory, Mainz were able to leave the relegation zone for the first time since matchday five. Since Swiss coach Urs Fischer took over the team, Mainz has only lost one game.
The first goal for Mainz came quickly: in the fifth minute there was a penalty for Mainz, after a duel in which Elvis Rexhbeçaj from Wolfsburg hit Mainz’s Stefan Bell in the knee. In the eighth minute, Nadiem Amiri converted the penalty: 1-0 for Mainz. The next goal was a long time coming: it wasn’t until the 80th minute that Amiri scored again for Mainz to make it 2-0.
Sports director Niko Bungert said on Sky after the game: “We know exactly how hard every single step is. It was a crisp 90 minutes, Augsburg did a good job.” Mainz were “a bit smarter and luckier in the penalty area”. “Despite the step down, we know that it will be an exciting path.”
SC Freiburg – SV Werder Bremen 1:0 (1:0)
SC Freiburg won 1-0 (1-0) against the guests from Bremen. After this defeat, Bremen have now been waiting for a win for eleven games and end the 21st matchday in the relegation place.
In the 13th minute, Niklas Beste scored his first goal for Freiburg and put SC in the lead. In the second half, however, Freiburg had to play outnumbered from the 52nd minute onwards. Johan Manzambi climbed onto Bremen’s Olivier Deman’s calf – but Manzambi saw red. Freiburg were unlucky when the supposed 2-0 by substitute Yuito Suzuki didn’t count. The stadium management already played the goal anthem, but after a little delay the referee decided on an offensive foul.
Due to his subsequent outburst of anger, SC coach Julian Schuster finally saw his fourth yellow card. He will therefore be missing from TSG Hoffenheim next Saturday.
Read Friday’s match report here.
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