There were lots of goals once again in Saturday’s Bundesliga action on matchday 13. The game with the most goals was the Rhine Derby, although it produced a clear winner: Bayer Leverkusen earned the bragging rights against Köln, romping to a 5-1 win. Bremen also enjoyed a big victory, putting four past new boys Paderborn, while Schalke continued their perfect Bundesliga home record under Roberto Di Matteo with a 4-1 win over out-of-form Mainz 05. Elsewhere, Augsburg’s stunning season continues as they were 3-1 winners against struggling Hamburger SV, and league-leaders FC Bayern laboured to 1-0 win away to Hertha, equalling a Bundesliga record in the process.
Record FCB
Bayern moved ten points clear at the top of the table thanks to their victory in Berlin, although second-placed VfL Wolfsburg aren’t due to play until Sunday afternoon. The record German champions looked to be on their way to a routine win after Arjen Robben’s stunning goal to make it 1-0 after 27 minutes, but Hertha proved to be a hard nut to crack. The home side rarely caused Germany no.1 Manuel Neuer too many problems, although they did have an equaliser correctly ruled out for offside. Lewandowski was amongst those who came close to adding a second for FCB, but the one goal was enough in the end as Pep Guardiola’s side matched a Bundesliga record. Thanks to their clean sheet, Bayern have now conceded just three goals after 13 matchdays, equalling the league record set by VfB Stuttgart in 2003.
Leverkusen and Werder dominant
Bayer Leverkusen came out on top in their Rhine Derby with 1. FC Köln, ultimately waltzing to a 5-1 success. The promoted side opened the scoring from the spot after only four minutes, but it was one-way traffic after that. Braces from both DFB-Team winger Karim Bellarabi and Switzerland international Josip Drmic and a stunning Hakan Calhanoglu free kick meant the three points went to Bayer 04, moving Roger Schmidt’s side up into third overnight.
Werder Bremen also won by a four-goal margin, enjoying their best game of the season in a 4-0 victory against the other promoted team SC Paderborn. SVW have now won three of their four Bundesliga games under new manager Viktor Skripnik and have moved clear of the relegation zone. SCP are without a win in three, but their current tenth place no doubt exceeds all expectations regardless.
Home sweet home for Schalke, FCA reach new heights
Roberto Di Matteo’s 100% home record in the Bundesliga as Schalke manager continued thanks to a 4-1 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05, a much needed result off the back of their 5-0 thumping in the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was the Man of the Match, grabbing a hat-trick for the Royal Blues.
Coach Markus Weinzierl continues to work wonders at FC Augsburg, with a 3-1 home win over Hamburg seeing them climb into fourth place for now, their highest ever position in the Bundesliga table. Rafael van der Vaart’s goal on the stroke of half time was perfect for HSV, but Augsburg had scored all three of their goals within 25 minutes of the restart, with captain Paul Verhaegh remarkably netting his fifth penalty of the season.
Looking back and forward
Friday night’s game saw Huub Stevens return to the VfB Stuttgart dugout for a second spell at the club following Armin Veh’s resignation. The Dutch coach couldn’t have wished for a better start either, as Stuttgart moved off the bottom of the table with a 3-1 win away at Baden-Württemberg rivals SC Freiburg, ending a three-game losing streak.
Tomorrow’s action starts with a top-of-the-table clash between Europa League participants VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach (15:30 CET). Both sides will be keen to get the three points, after recently suffering unwelcome defeats. After that, the Bundesliga action heads to Frankfurt, where Eintracht host Borussia Dortmund (17:30 CET). Jürgen Klopp’s side will go into the game bottom of the table, although the BVB boss had previously said he hoped his team would never have to spend another night at the foot of the standings. Results on Saturday saw Dortmund drop down to 18th though, meaning a win against the Eagles is a must for the Champions League outfit.
created by mmc/mh
There were lots of goals once again in Saturday’s Bundesliga action on matchday 13. The game with the most goals was the Rhine Derby, although it produced a clear winner: Bayer Leverkusen earned the bragging rights against Köln, romping to a 5-1 win. Bremen also enjoyed a big victory, putting four past new boys Paderborn, while Schalke continued their perfect Bundesliga home record under Roberto Di Matteo with a 4-1 win over out-of-form Mainz 05. Elsewhere, Augsburg’s stunning season continues as they were 3-1 winners against struggling Hamburger SV, and league-leaders FC Bayern laboured to 1-0 win away to Hertha, equalling a Bundesliga record in the process.
Record FCB
Bayern moved ten points clear at the top of the table thanks to their victory in Berlin, although second-placed VfL Wolfsburg aren’t due to play until Sunday afternoon. The record German champions looked to be on their way to a routine win after Arjen Robben’s stunning goal to make it 1-0 after 27 minutes, but Hertha proved to be a hard nut to crack. The home side rarely caused Germany no.1 Manuel Neuer too many problems, although they did have an equaliser correctly ruled out for offside. Lewandowski was amongst those who came close to adding a second for FCB, but the one goal was enough in the end as Pep Guardiola’s side matched a Bundesliga record. Thanks to their clean sheet, Bayern have now conceded just three goals after 13 matchdays, equalling the league record set by VfB Stuttgart in 2003.
Leverkusen and Werder dominant
Bayer Leverkusen came out on top in their Rhine Derby with 1. FC Köln, ultimately waltzing to a 5-1 success. The promoted side opened the scoring from the spot after only four minutes, but it was one-way traffic after that. Braces from both DFB-Team winger Karim Bellarabi and Switzerland international Josip Drmic and a stunning Hakan Calhanoglu free kick meant the three points went to Bayer 04, moving Roger Schmidt’s side up into third overnight.
Werder Bremen also won by a four-goal margin, enjoying their best game of the season in a 4-0 victory against the other promoted team SC Paderborn. SVW have now won three of their four Bundesliga games under new manager Viktor Skripnik and have moved clear of the relegation zone. SCP are without a win in three, but their current tenth place no doubt exceeds all expectations regardless.
Home sweet home for Schalke, FCA reach new heights
Roberto Di Matteo’s 100% home record in the Bundesliga as Schalke manager continued thanks to a 4-1 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05, a much needed result off the back of their 5-0 thumping in the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was the Man of the Match, grabbing a hat-trick for the Royal Blues.
Coach Markus Weinzierl continues to work wonders at FC Augsburg, with a 3-1 home win over Hamburg seeing them climb into fourth place for now, their highest ever position in the Bundesliga table. Rafael van der Vaart’s goal on the stroke of half time was perfect for HSV, but Augsburg had scored all three of their goals within 25 minutes of the restart, with captain Paul Verhaegh remarkably netting his fifth penalty of the season.
Looking back and forward
Friday night’s game saw Huub Stevens return to the VfB Stuttgart dugout for a second spell at the club following Armin Veh’s resignation. The Dutch coach couldn’t have wished for a better start either, as Stuttgart moved off the bottom of the table with a 3-1 win away at Baden-Württemberg rivals SC Freiburg, ending a three-game losing streak.
Tomorrow’s action starts with a top-of-the-table clash between Europa League participants VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach (15:30 CET). Both sides will be keen to get the three points, after recently suffering unwelcome defeats. After that, the Bundesliga action heads to Frankfurt, where Eintracht host Borussia Dortmund (17:30 CET). Jürgen Klopp’s side will go into the game bottom of the table, although the BVB boss had previously said he hoped his team would never have to spend another night at the foot of the standings. Results on Saturday saw Dortmund drop down to 18th though, meaning a win against the Eagles is a must for the Champions League outfit.
