Bayern München suffered a surprise home defeat on matchday 24, three days ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Borussia Dortmund. The record champions were beaten 2-1 by high-flyers Mainz 05, meaning their lead at the summit has been cut to five points following BVB’s 2-0 win over SV Darmstadt 98.
Fit again Patrick Herrmann was on the scoresheet for Borussia Mönchengladbach as they thumped VfB Stuttgart 4-0, while Schalke 04 also returned to winning ways with a 3-2 triumph over Hamburger SV. Just three weeks following their cup exit to Bremen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen suffered another home loss to Werder, with the relegation-threatened club securing an important 4-1 win. Eintracht Frankfurt’s worries of dropping out the top flight have increased following a 2-0 defeat to third-placed Hertha, while TSG 1899 Hoffenheim improved their chances of staying up by beating FC Augsburg 2-1 in a relegation six-pointer.
Cordoba stuns Bayern
There was a first Bundesliga home defeat since 9th May 2015 for Bayern München, as a late goal from Mainz 05’s Jhon Cordoba downed the league leaders. The visitors went in front thanks to Jairo Samperio’s breakaway goal, before FCB pulled level through a low Arjen Robben strike around the hour mark. However, the Colombian curled past Manuel Neuer in the 86th minute to earn the Zerofivers a 2-1 win and underline their European ambitions.
Despite BVB coach Thomas Tuchel opting to rest several of his star players, Dortmund still marched to another three points in Darmstadt. Adrian Ramos opened the scoring for the Ruhr club, before a goal shortly after the break from Erik Durm wrapped up a 2-0 win.
He came, he saw, he scored: Patrick Herrmann celebrated a successful homecoming for Borussia Mönchengladbach, with the Germany international scoring moments after being brought on as a substitute in his first game at BORUSSIA-PARK since returning from a length injury break. Gladbach had a ball against what usually is their bogey team, as further strikes from Thorgan Hazard and Raffael, as well as a Kevin Großkreutz own goal, saw them beat Stuttgart 4-0 to hold on to fourth place. The Foals hadn’t beaten VfB on home soil since back in 2005.
Schalke fight back against Hamburg, Leverkusen suffer déjà-vu
Despite getting off to a bad start in their meeting with Hamburg, Schalke finally tasted victory again on Wednesday night. The Gelsenkirchen club had gone five competitive games without a win before goals from Max Meyer, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Alessandro Schöpf earned them three points over HSV. Nicolai Müller had put HSV ahead, but a red card for Johan Djourou shortly before half time opened the door for Schalke’s fightback.
Elsewhere, Leverkusen suffered a second painful home defeat to Bremen in the space of just three weeks. After being knocked out in the quarterfinals of the DFB Cup with a 3-1 defeat, Bayer 04 were hit for four this time as a Claudio Pizarro hat-trick and an early strike from Fin Bartels earned Werder three massive points in the fight against relegation. The hosts’ consolation came courtesy of a Papy Djilobodji own goal after he misjudged a header back to his own keeper. It meant Bremen are still without a clean sheet in 24 Bundesliga games, setting a new league record. However, a first win in six ensured they moved out of the relegation zone, while Leverkusen have slipped down to seventh.
The relegation play-off spot is now occupied by Frankfurt. The Eagles frustrated Hertha for long periods in Berlin, but second-half goals from Mitchell Weiser and Salomon Kalou condemned Eintracht to a sixth straight winless match, while the 2-0 victory tightened the capital club’s grip on third place.
Meanwhile, Hoffenheim have moved a step closer to exiting the relegation zone after beating Augsburg 2-1. Germany international Kevin Volland put TSG ahead, only for FCA captain Paul Verhaegh to equalise from the penalty spot. They left it late, but a goal from Mark Uth made it back-to-back home wins for the first time this season for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
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Bayern München suffered a surprise home defeat on matchday 24, three days ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Borussia Dortmund. The record champions were beaten 2-1 by high-flyers Mainz 05, meaning their lead at the summit has been cut to five points following BVB’s 2-0 win over SV Darmstadt 98.
Fit again Patrick Herrmann was on the scoresheet for Borussia Mönchengladbach as they thumped VfB Stuttgart 4-0, while Schalke 04 also returned to winning ways with a 3-2 triumph over Hamburger SV. Just three weeks following their cup exit to Bremen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen suffered another home loss to Werder, with the relegation-threatened club securing an important 4-1 win. Eintracht Frankfurt’s worries of dropping out the top flight have increased following a 2-0 defeat to third-placed Hertha, while TSG 1899 Hoffenheim improved their chances of staying up by beating FC Augsburg 2-1 in a relegation six-pointer.
Cordoba stuns Bayern
There was a first Bundesliga home defeat since 9th May 2015 for Bayern München, as a late goal from Mainz 05’s Jhon Cordoba downed the league leaders. The visitors went in front thanks to Jairo Samperio’s breakaway goal, before FCB pulled level through a low Arjen Robben strike around the hour mark. However, the Colombian curled past Manuel Neuer in the 86th minute to earn the Zerofivers a 2-1 win and underline their European ambitions.
Despite BVB coach Thomas Tuchel opting to rest several of his star players, Dortmund still marched to another three points in Darmstadt. Adrian Ramos opened the scoring for the Ruhr club, before a goal shortly after the break from Erik Durm wrapped up a 2-0 win.
He came, he saw, he scored: Patrick Herrmann celebrated a successful homecoming for Borussia Mönchengladbach, with the Germany international scoring moments after being brought on as a substitute in his first game at BORUSSIA-PARK since returning from a length injury break. Gladbach had a ball against what usually is their bogey team, as further strikes from Thorgan Hazard and Raffael, as well as a Kevin Großkreutz own goal, saw them beat Stuttgart 4-0 to hold on to fourth place. The Foals hadn’t beaten VfB on home soil since back in 2005.
Schalke fight back against Hamburg, Leverkusen suffer déjà-vu
Despite getting off to a bad start in their meeting with Hamburg, Schalke finally tasted victory again on Wednesday night. The Gelsenkirchen club had gone five competitive games without a win before goals from Max Meyer, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Alessandro Schöpf earned them three points over HSV. Nicolai Müller had put HSV ahead, but a red card for Johan Djourou shortly before half time opened the door for Schalke’s fightback.
Elsewhere, Leverkusen suffered a second painful home defeat to Bremen in the space of just three weeks. After being knocked out in the quarterfinals of the DFB Cup with a 3-1 defeat, Bayer 04 were hit for four this time as a Claudio Pizarro hat-trick and an early strike from Fin Bartels earned Werder three massive points in the fight against relegation. The hosts’ consolation came courtesy of a Papy Djilobodji own goal after he misjudged a header back to his own keeper. It meant Bremen are still without a clean sheet in 24 Bundesliga games, setting a new league record. However, a first win in six ensured they moved out of the relegation zone, while Leverkusen have slipped down to seventh.
The relegation play-off spot is now occupied by Frankfurt. The Eagles frustrated Hertha for long periods in Berlin, but second-half goals from Mitchell Weiser and Salomon Kalou condemned Eintracht to a sixth straight winless match, while the 2-0 victory tightened the capital club’s grip on third place.
Meanwhile, Hoffenheim have moved a step closer to exiting the relegation zone after beating Augsburg 2-1. Germany international Kevin Volland put TSG ahead, only for FCA captain Paul Verhaegh to equalise from the penalty spot. They left it late, but a goal from Mark Uth made it back-to-back home wins for the first time this season for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
