Masterful Leno unable to keep out vicious Mainz
Bayer Leverkusen were completely outplayed by Mainz in long spells of the game, as Malli, Cordoba and Pablo de Blasis led the formidable attacking charges of the hosts. Germany international Bernd Leno made several quality saves to prevent his side from a worse outcome. He was left chanceless however after 14 minutes, when Malli’s lob settled in the back of the net after a fine pass by De Blasis.
Germany international Karim Bellarabi looked like guiding Leverkusen towards a comeback, but a number of long-range attempts by the forward failed to find the target. In contrast, at the other end the opposite happened, when Cordoba’s low finish gave Mainz a 2-0 lead shortly after the half-hour mark.
Leno remained a central figure after the break, making another great save from Cordoba after 57 minutes. Mainz kept a high tempo though and earned a penalty when Tin Jedvaj blocked Malli’s shot with his hand inside the area. Malli stepped up himself and converted confidently past Leno.
Bayer showed morale in the second half and pulled one back in the 65th minute through Javier Hernandez. Suddenly, Leverkusen were playing with more purpose than in the first half and Mehmedi nearly reduced Mainz’ lead to just one with his fierce attempt hitting the side-netting after 72 minutes. However, in the end, Mainz waere able to secure a fully deserved home victory.
Points shared in thrilling encounter
FC Augsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach shared the points on Sunday afternoon following an entertaining 2-2 draw, with plenty of chances at both ends. Raffael opened the scoring for the visitors after 33 minutes but goals from Alfred Finnbogason and Cajuby shortly after the restart gave Augsburg the advantage. Fabian Johnson got a quick reply with the equaliser just two minutes later.
Augsburg showed no signs of being tired after their Europa League elimination following an intense 90-minute fight with Liverpool on Thursday. They played forward with pace right from the start and created early chances. Halil Altintop’s header from a Philipp Max cross missed the target after seven minutes. Gladbach allowed Augsburg to take control but stayed dangerous from counter attacks. Oscar Wendt’s perfectly timed pass into Thorgan Hazard’s run nearly produced the opener, but Augsburg keeper Marvin Hitz prevailed.
The game continued in the same fashion, as both teams created chances until Gladbach took the lead from Raffael after 33 minutes. The second half remained an open battle and produced three goals within the space of six minutes. Finnbogason’s header after Paul Verhaegh’s textbook-cross gave Augsburg the equaliser in the 50th minute.
Gladbach looked stunned and conceded again three minutes later when a completely unmarked Caiuby slotted home past Yann Sommer. The Foals responded quickly as Nico Elvedi spotted Fabian Johnson at the edge of the area and the United States international levelled the score with a fine finish in the 56th minute.
Patrick Herrmann made his comeback from injury after 68 minutes, four months after he ruptured his cruciate ligament. His team mate Wendt came close to giving Gladbach the lead shortly after he was brought on, but the Swedish international couldn’t manage to find the target.
The closing stages produced more drama. Augsburg’s Hitz pulled off a great save against Xhaka, while Finnbogason hit the woodwork in the third minute of stoppage time.
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Dortmund’s late flurry of goals seals comeback over Hoffenheim
Borussia Dortmund scored three goals in the final ten minutes of their game with Hoffenheim to earn a 3-1 home victory. Sebastian Rudy gave Hoffenheim the lead midway through the first half, but was sent off shortly before the hour mark, allowing Dortmund to overpower the visitors and claim a late win through goals from Henrik Mkhitaryan, Adrian Ramos and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Visitors Hoffenheim started bravely in the Signal-Iduna Park, as Kevin Volland’s attempted overhead kick in the third minute was blocked by Nuri Sahin. Dortmund keeper Roman Bürki made a crucial save from Mark Uth after eleven minutes, but was beaten in the 25th, when he failed to clear a long-range shot by Volland and allowed Rudy to convert the rebound.
Dortmund struggled and despite having a lot of possession they were unable to find an opening. Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann was first called into action after 43 minutes, keeping out a fierce free-kick from Germany international Marco Reus.
BVB coach Thomas Tuchel brought on Ilkay Gündogan for the second half and the Germany international immediately had an impact on the game, hitting the post from twelve yards with a thunderous strike - Reus missed the rebound. The pressure on Hoffenheim rose gradually and Rudy was sent-off after 58 minutes when he brought down Aubameyang as Dortmund were looking to counter.
Dortmund’s dominance increased with an extra man on the pitch, with Baumann denying both Gündogan and Marcel Schmelzer an equaliser midway through the second half. There was no stopping Dortmund’s comeback though, as Mkhitaryan bagged the deserved equaliser from a Gündogan corner with ten minutes left to play. Ramos nodded home a Lukasz Piszczek cross to take a 2-1 lead five minutes later and Aubameyang finished off a counter attack to complete the scoring and to allow Dortmund to keep pace with table toppers FC Bayern.
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Masterful Leno unable to keep out vicious Mainz
Bayer Leverkusen were completely outplayed by Mainz in long spells of the game, as Malli, Cordoba and Pablo de Blasis led the formidable attacking charges of the hosts. Germany international Bernd Leno made several quality saves to prevent his side from a worse outcome. He was left chanceless however after 14 minutes, when Malli’s lob settled in the back of the net after a fine pass by De Blasis.
Germany international Karim Bellarabi looked like guiding Leverkusen towards a comeback, but a number of long-range attempts by the forward failed to find the target. In contrast, at the other end the opposite happened, when Cordoba’s low finish gave Mainz a 2-0 lead shortly after the half-hour mark.
Leno remained a central figure after the break, making another great save from Cordoba after 57 minutes. Mainz kept a high tempo though and earned a penalty when Tin Jedvaj blocked Malli’s shot with his hand inside the area. Malli stepped up himself and converted confidently past Leno.
Bayer showed morale in the second half and pulled one back in the 65th minute through Javier Hernandez. Suddenly, Leverkusen were playing with more purpose than in the first half and Mehmedi nearly reduced Mainz’ lead to just one with his fierce attempt hitting the side-netting after 72 minutes. However, in the end, Mainz waere able to secure a fully deserved home victory.
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Frankfurt and Schalke produce uneventful stalemate
46,000 spectators in Frankfurt’s Commerzbank-Arena witnessed a sub-par Bundesliga encounter, featuring missed-placed passes, a lack of pace and many challenges in midfield. Schalke created two chances early in the game, but Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was denied by SGE keeper Lukas Hradecky and Roman Neustädter’s header from Dennis Aogo’s corner missed the target.
The best chance of the match fell to Frankfurt: Szabolcs Huszti’s free-kick-cross eventually struck the woodwork following a goal-mouth scramble involving Marco Russ and Sead Kolasinac. S04 keeper Ralf Fährmann, in his 100th Bundesliga appearance, made a save from David Abraham’s rebound to keep the tie level.
After the break the match continued with a lack of pace but slight advantages to the host side. Alex Meier’s header forced Fährmann to clear the ball off the line on the hour-mark. Haris Seferovic couldn’t control the ball in a good position five minutes later. At the other end, substitute and Germany international Leroy Sané pulled off a nice piece of individual skill but couldn’t find a finish as Schalke were held to a draw and drop back into seventh place. Frankfurt are 15th, two points ahead of Werder.
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