Bundesliga Review: Matchday 9

The first games after the international break didn't fail to disappoint, packed full of goals and controversy, then again, it's just another normal Bundesliga matchday. Then again, there was a nil-nil draw and a moment of madness.

FRIDAY: Hoffenheim 1-2 Leverkusen
Controversy doesn't do this game justice. Hoffenheim deserved all three points from the game in truth, with Modeste showing why he's one of the league's most feared strikers, as both Wollscheid and Toprak picked up bookings early on while trying to keep him quiet. Sidney Sam, who now has a combined total of ten goals and assists opened the scoring for Leverkusen, who then had to rely on Bernd Leno who seems to have thrown off all his critics, denying Modeste at point blank. Kevin Volland had a goal ruled out, wrongly shortly after, and yes, this was all before half-time.

Into the second half, and chaos insued, the home side got a penalty (which wasn't) and Salihovic converted to deservedly bring the home side level, then came the major talking point. Stefan Keissling headed wide from a corner, but the netting was cut and the ball went into the net via the outside, the linesman give it and Hoffenheim were furious. Previously, this happened when Bayern played Nurnberg, when Helmer scored a "phantom goal" and the appeal from Nurnberg was upheld and the game replayed. On a positive for Leverkusen, they sat atop the Bundesliga for the first time in over one thousand days as their fine start continues, while Hoffenheim will be hoping justice is served.

'The Phantom Goal'

SATURDAY: Dortmund 1-0 Hannover
Dortmund had the most shots in Europe heading into this one, and with their first of the game, Marco Reus put them one-nil up from the penalty spot. After some nice play from Reus and Durm down the left-hand side, the latter was fouled by Sakai and the preceding converted from the spot. Dortmund continued their dominance through-out the first half, as Hannover found themselves camped almost exclusively in their own half.

The second half was much the same, as Dortmund failed to find a way past Zieler and a very resolute Hannover backline, who themselves found Roman Weidenfeller in confident form, dealing with anything that came his way. In truth it was a deserved win for die Schwarz-gelb who keep up the pressure on Bayern and Leverkusen, while Hannover's rotten run away from home continues.

Bayern 4-1 Mainz
Mainz went into this game after finally ending their barren run of defeats by drawing against Hoffenheim, and this seemed to give them a huge confidence boost. They were organised and very disciplined in the first half against Bayern, not giving them a yard of space as the leaders heading into the match day struggled to create a real chance. They then got the goal their commitment deserved, as Dante had gone off injured moments earlier, Boateng failed to clear a through ball and this let Shawn Parker run free, rounding Neuer to make it one-nil.

The lead for Mainz could, and would only last so long, as Goetze played in Robben almost immediately and the Dutchman side footed past Wetklo to restore parity, then straight away Bayern went ahead. Some 'tiki-taka' football around the box from Goetze and Robben found an unmarked Muller who had all the time in the world to pick his spot and score. Mainz went close twice in quick succession, but not long after Gotze then got his third assist of the day, cutting back to find Mandzukic who wrapped his foot round the ball to send it past a despairing Wetklo and end any chances of a Mainz comeback. Bayern began to dominate even more and they added a fourth through a Tomas Muller penalty, Robben angered that he wasn't allowed to take it, as he threw the ball to Muller in disgust. None the less an impressive showing from Goetze and Bayern in the end to send them back to the top of the Bundesliga.

Bremen 0-0 Freiburg
The Bundesliga's first nil-nil draw, and boy was this a stinker of a game, few to none on the chance register. The best of which fell to Werder early into the second half, when they struck the post and shot over from a corner, more worrying for the team in green was that their main talisman Nils Petersen would be out for six weeks. I did have a bad feeling before the game and unfortunately it materialised after over one hundred games, someone could always have cut the net at this game and give us a few goals!

Braunschweig 2-3 Schalke
The home side began the game brightest, especially Ademi upfront who was running Howedes ragged, and in the eighteenth minute, he did it again. A long ball fall the aforementioned Ademi and he flicked the ball brilliant round a bamboozled Howedes and he shot at Fahrmann, who made a mess of saving the attempt and it trundled in. The lead didn't last long however, as a Szalai header produced a decent save from Davari, but he parried back into the middle of the goal and young Max Meyer was on hand to tap in for his second in as many games.

The home side started the second half as well as they did the first, and were rewarded for their efforts as a magnificent counter saw Karim Bellarabi, who scored last time out against Wolfsburg, leave Santana on the ground and smash past a helpless Fahrmann. Yet again, this lead didn't last long either, as some shocking defending from a Schalke corner found an unmarked Leon Goretzka to tap home his first Bundesliga goal. A fantastic game, in which neither team deserved to lose, Braunschweig will feel hard done by but Schalke will be happy to escape unscaved. 

Frankfurt 1-1 Nurnberg
A largely uneventuful first half that saw barely any attempts on goal was followed up by a much better second. Frankfurt went a goal up shortly after half-time thanks to a lovely flowing move, which resulted in Alex Meier slipping in Vaclev Kadlec to shoot past an on rushing Schafer and give the home side a deserved lead. The game looked dead and done from a Frankfurt point of view, but a late Drmic goal after some great work from the away side's midfield allowed him to round Trapp and slot home to seal an important point for the away side, though they still remain without a win thus far while Frankfurt will be disappointed they couldn't get all three points.


Hertha 1-0 Gladbach
The Saturday night game that saw brothers Raffael and Ronny go up against each other, and it was the latter that would have the family bragging rights until they meet again as an Adrian Ramos strike proved the difference between the teams. Not the greatest game in truth, as Hertha's defence held fantastically against a creative Gladbach side, who after their great two-nil win against Dortmund, seems like inconsistency may plague them again this season. Despite this, it shows that Hertha are no push-overs this year and could be dark-horses for Europe, Gladbach will be with out Martin Stranzl next time out as the Austrian picked up a second booking late on.
SUNDAY: Hamburg 3-3 Stuttgart
A cracking encounter at the Imtech Arena saw six goals, a sending off and a great game all round for everyone in the ground. Stuttgart went a goal up just after kick-off as Romanian prodigy and a player who I admire hugely opened the score with a fine finish. Hamburg began to come into the game and got their goal through Lasogga, who has been in fine fettle since returning from that injury. Though they couldn't hold out until the half, as Christian Gentner struck in the thrity-seventh minute to send Stuttgart in, slightly against the balance of play, two-one to the good.

Into the second half and just ten minutes in Max Beister foudn the net to level the game up, but that too was short lived as Johann Djourou put through his own net, only to be bailed out by a Rafael Van der Vaart just three minutes later. Hamburg continued to push and in the last ten minutes Stuttgart went down to ten after Rudiger threw a punch into Van der Vaart's stomach and he saw red, but Hamburg couldn't make their man advantage count as it finished all square.
Augsburg 1-2 Wolfsburg
The final game from Matchday 9 was entertaining for the first half at least, as Tobias Werner had the home side deservedly a goal up after ten minutes and they continued their dominance but were pegged back towards the end of the half as young Max Arnold struck to level matters. Then shortly after Luis Gustavo who had been the villain in recent weeks then put the Wolves a goal to the good just before half-time. That's the way it finished as Augsburg may feel slightly aggrieved they couldn't pick up a point from the game, while Wolfsburg will hope this can be the start of a good run for them.

Bundesliga Review: Matchday 8

The final weekend before the last few world cup qualifiers failed to disappoint again as there were plenty of incidents and excitement to keep us talking for the weeks to come, so let's begin!

FRIDAY: Hannover 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Both sides had made promising starts to the campaign and my have sets their sights on Europe since then. Not the greatest Bundesliga game ever, but Christian Schulz gave the home side the lead after twenty three minutes. The game fell into a lull, as Hertha seemed resigned to counter attacks, and Hannover were in no real rush themselves, then Ronny came on. The mercurial Brazilian's first touch was a free-kick, was in turn, nearly ripped the net off the hinges and left Zieler to have a front row view as it slammed into the top corner.

SATURDAY: Gladbach 2-0 Dortmund
The main talking point going into the battle of the Borussia's was Marco Reus returning to Gladbach where he properly established himself on the Bundesliga scene. Gladbach keeper Marc Andre ter-Stegen had to be at his best, denying Hummels, Lewandowski and GroBkreutz fantastic early chances and that's all the first half was really, Dortmund dominant but failing to find a cutting edge.

Into the second half and Dortmund continued their dominance despite Wendt having a fantastic chance earlier in the half. However, the last ten minutes were where the goals occurred. A moment of Mats madness meant he was sent-off for a poor tackle on Kruse and he converted the penalty to give Gladbach the lead and then after Reus had rattled the bar seconds earlier, Raffael rifled past Weidenfeller to seal the deal and condemn Dortmund to their first defeat this season.

Schalke 4-1 Augsburg
These two sides went into the game on runs that you wouldn't expect them to have, Schalke were struggling to string together a few wins, while Augsburg couldn't lose and were on a club record run without defeat in the Bundesliga. The game started with the form side on top, as Augsburg took the lead early on through a fantastic Sascha Molders finish past a helpless Hildebrand for his first goal in 894 minutes. However, Schalke were back in it soon after, as Klavan brought down Draxler, picked up a red card for his troubles and Kevin-Prince Boateng smashed home, leaving Manninger no chance. They made their advantage count straight away, and their pressure soon told as Szalai gave the home side the lead for the first time, Neustader found Uchida, who touched down for Szalai to tuck under Manninger for the Royal Blues second goal. 

The Royal Blues managed to ensure that the second half wouldn't be that boring and that the ending wouldn't be that nervy, as Szalai slid home after good interchange play around the edge of the box. The game had one more goal left though, and that fell to young Max Meyer, getting his first Bundesliga goal just before the end, to cap off a rousing performance from the Gelsenkirchen side.

Stuttgart 1-1 Werder Bremen
Two sides who found themselves in the upper mid-table realm after contrasting starts, they have both steadied, with Stuttgart hoping to surprise a few and push towards the European places, while Werder under Dutt look a new side and look like they've finally found their shooting boots. It was the home side that took just six minutes to break the deadlock, as a Maxim corner made it's way to the back post and found Martin Harnik who finished well for his third goal of the season. They couldn't get to half time with the lead though, Petersen tapped home for his third goal this season.

The second half was a very dull affair, but Stuttgart probably deserved the win in truth as Vevad Ibisevic had a goal ruled out and further chances to continue new boss Bruno Labaddia's great start, but over the balance of ninety minutes, it was probably a deserved point for both sides.

Wolfsburg 0-2 Braunschweig
A derby that hasn't been played for years, as two of the league's Northern sides battled for pride on Saturday, anything less than a win for Hecking's men would be a disaster, while Braunschweig were trying to avoid defeat again. Wolfsburg were making all the early ground, but to their shock, it was Braunschweig who took the lead through Bellarabi, who only had to tap in after poor defending from Knoche and Naldo.

Wolfsburg started the second half the strongest, the same vein as the first, but couldn't create that guilt edge chance. The commentator described the game as "a good old fashioned English derby" and true to form, it was the underdogs who came out on top. Domi Kubela struck the final blow as Wolfsburg pushed forward and he slotted past Benaglio to send the away fans wild, with their first Bundesliga win in over a quarter of a century, in the derby to boot.

Mainz 2-2 Hoffenheim
My first thought approaching this match was goals, goals, goals. With FOURTY-THREE GOALS this season in games involving these sides, we should be in for a cracker. It didn't disappoint early on, as one of Hoffenheim's early season stars gave them the lead, as Kevin Volland drifted past five Mainz defenders to smash home from twenty-five yards to Heinz Mueller's left. The away side were dominating, and Firmino double their advantage with the most delicate of chips over the onrushing Mueller, after Schipplock's perfectly weighted through ball.

Whatever Tuchel said at half-time worked. Mainz came out all guns blazing, but not until the final ten minutes did they get their reward, as sub Choupo-Moting gave them hope, it looked all false until... in the NINETY-SECOND minute, Heinz Muller, not Nicolai, headed down to Malli to send the fans wild and stop Mainz's rut of defeats.

Leverkusen 1-1 Bayern Munich
The teams in second and third took on each other at the Bayer Arena, and we weren't disappointed. This game saw Bernd Leno fend off some of his recent criticism as he pulled off a string of fine saves to ensure Leverkusen kept up their title challenge. It was Bayern who took the lead in the first half, through Toni Kroos who let fly a rasping drive into Leno's top right hand corner, nothing he could do that time. However, just two minutes later, the irrepressible Sidney Sam scored to level matters.

The second half was also an entertaining affair, at which Leno had to be at his very best to bat away the Bayern chances as they peppered his goal, a game which Bayern had twenty seven shots on goal. This draw meant Bayern went top of the Bundesliga out-right, but also underlined Leverkusen's title challenge was here to stay.

SUNDAY: Nurnberg 0-5 Hamburg
One of the least exciting games on paper this weekend, as fifteenth faced off against sixteenth, turned into one of the top scoring games, pretty typical that I typed that first part on Friday night, eh? This was an absolute drubbing in truth. Nurnberg looked uninspired as they took to the field on Sunday, looking to improve on a poor start. The game was tight to begin with, but a brilliant Rafa van der Vaart chopper kick got Hamburg into gear.

A poor end to the first half, dull at best was followed by minutes of madness after half time, in which Pierre Michel Lasogga scored an EIGHT minute hat-trick, the last of which was a fantastic hit, to put the game beyond Nurnberg. If that wasn't bad enough, after a poor Schafer clearance, Arslan chipped him from thirty-five yards to complete the rout, leaving Nurnberg without a win this season.

Freiburg 1-1 Frankfurt
The final game of matchday eight as two sides who impressed greatly last year had made stuttering starts, and the points were shared in a decent game in Southern Germany. We had to wait to the second half to get any goals, and unfortunately for Christian Gunter, it was in the wrong net, but Nicolas Hofler equalised late on for the hosts as they picked up an important point. Just before the final whistle, their were three bookings, which included a second yellow for Johannes Flum, capping off another incident packed Bundesliga matchday!

Bundesliga Review: Matchday 4

So, the weekend before the international break and the Bundesliga left us with some more exhilarating entertainment before it had a rest, so without further ado, let's have a look!

TUESDAY: Freiburg 1-1 Bayern

Bayern took on Freiburg knowing that their hosts hadn't beaten them for seventeen long years and were strong favourites to win this one as well. On Saturday Bayern had also set a new club record of twenty-eight game unbeaten, and had Dortmund (31) and Hamburg's (36) records set in their sights to surpass.  However, Freiburg came out firing and looking dangerous as they went close early on, only for Bayern's so called "second eleven" to take the lead in the thirty-fourth minute. Another slick passing move from Guardiola's men saw Xherdan Shaqiri take a touch then rifle home a half-volley past Oliver Baumann, making up for his shocking miss in the Bavarian Derby.

In the second half, Bayern were denied through a combination of Baumann, last ditch defending and sheer luck, their lack of clinical finishing was made to pay as Freiburg found an equaliser. Not necessarily deserved on their second half performance, but their grafting came to fruition as Nicolas Hoefer pounced as he poked home to give Freiburg the draw. Despite the disappointment Bayern went on to lift the Supercup come Friday, with a 5-4 penalty win over Chelsea after a cracking game that finished 2-2 and saw new European footballer of the year Franck Ribery showcase why he was selected the award.

SATURDAY: Gladbach 4-1 Bremen

Sadly not the most exciting game to start off with, best shown by the first two shots of the game for Bremen being closer to the half way line than the goal line. A niggly and bitty game, with both sides failing to create a full clear cut chance to work either keeper, it wasn't until a fantastic long ball set Juan Arango free down the left as from just inside the box, he sent a fierce drive past the on rushing Melitiz to give his side a deserved lead on the lion-share of the play. 

The second period produced some excellent entertainment, as just eight minutes in, Melitiz failed to push a shot far enough wide and Raffael tapped in to give the home side breathing space. However, straight after Bremen had two reasonable penalty appeals turned down, and it took an amazing save from ter-Stegen to keep the Gladbach sheet clean. This seemed to really open up the game as it went to and fro. Bremen continued their pressure and got their reward as a flick on hit the helpless Nordtveit who could only react to turn the ball into his own net to give the Northerners hope. This was soon dashed as Gladbach's exciting front four combined to leave Max Kruse an almost open net to place the ball home. It was to get worse for the away side, as Kruse robbed Werder of the ball, slipped in Patrick Herrmann who rounded the keeper and slotted home for his first goal in sixteen games and it finished that way in a very convincing win for the home side.

Hamburg 4-0 Braunschweig

Two sides at the foot of the table went head to head as Hamburg celebrated fifty years in the Bundesliga and they weren't to be disappointed as star man Rafa Van der Vaart gave the an early lead as he rifled home from inside the box giving the dis-paring Davari no chance. As if it couldn't get any better, poor defending from Dogan and equally good strength from Max Beister  good play by Beister meant that he could slide in Jacques Zoua to make it two-nil with his first league goal. They continued the pressure with Zoua and co. having further chances to extend the lead, but it stayed that way until half-time.

Hamburg continued their dominance as Bruanschweig found it hard to get a real foot-hold in the game. Chance after chance fell their way, but it wasn't until Hakan Calhanoglu got the ball, beat one, beat two and then shot on the angle only for Divari to let the ball slip underneath himself and into the net. He wasn't finished and neither were Hamburg, a free-kick on the edge of the box saw that man Calhanoglu to smash home into the top corner to make it four, a fantastic result for Fink's under-pressure side.

Nuremburg 0-1 Augsburg

Augsburg fresh from their impressive win over Stuttgart last week started the brightest, with Holzhauser looking dangerous and only a combination of luck and Schaefer kept them from opening the scoring. The game then evened out, with the teams looking dangerous from set pieces and both having good chances, but the best of those were falling to the away side and they still failed to find a way past the impressive Schaefer.

The second half started in much the same vein as the first, with both sides finding it hard to come by any clear cut chances, both keepers were rarely tested to their limits. The game just couldn't find that spark to get it started, and a frustrated Pinola picked up a red card for two bookable offences. Then, the game got it's goal, Holzhauser smakced the post, number 7 couldn't tap home and then the ball fell to Vogt and he needed a deflection of the dis-paring dive of a Nuremburg defender to give them the lead. Never the less, Nuremburg couldn't recover and it was left to Schaefer to spare their blushes until the final whistle, another vital win for Augsburg as they look to keep this run of form going.

Hannover 4-1 Mainz

Mainz great run came to an abrupt end, but.. You can't keep a good man down can you? Straight away Nicolai Mueller capitalised on a poor, poor clearance from Sané. Pospech played him in, and as cool as you like slotted past Zieler to give him his fifth goal of the campaign in just the twelfth minute. The game then evened up, as neither side were able to edge past the other. That was the case until a corner found Mame Diouf's head and he was able to get it just over the line as Pospech cleared, sparking furious protests from the away side's players, but the goal stood. This gave the home side the ascendancy as they pressed for a second, and they didn't wait long to make it count. Great work from Lars Stindl down the line meant he went past three to chip in for Artur Sobiech as he gave 'die Roten' the lead.

Tuchel's Mainz seemed to be missing that something they'd shown in their three previous games and Mueller wasn't getting the ball to help them out, and it was only a matter of time before Hannover hit them on the counter. That materialised as Didier Ya Konan then fired home a wonderful goal from twenty yards out leaving Mueller in goal diving helpless to his left-hand corner, a special striker from the Ivorian on the half volley, and they continued to ramp home their advantage as Andreassen slipped in new signing Edgar Prib who thundered a shot in at Mueller's near post to seal a fantastic result as Hannover look to push towards Europe.

Wolfsburg 2-0 Hertha

Hertha's fine return to the Bundesliga was ended by the ravaging wolves, who dominated the game. Diego had a few early chances, with a half volley zipping past the post. Then Ramos headed the ball down into the ground and just over Benaglio's goal. Then, coming up to the half, the wolves were clinical as a wayward Naldo shot fell to Ivica Olic who slid in well to tap past the hapless Kraft. Shortly after, the home side were awarded a penalty, Diego winning it, dusting himself off and converting.

More of the same after the restart as the ever impressive Koo crossed as Diego headed wise of an open net straight off the restart. The rest of the game was less exciting, as chances were few and far between, as both Benaglio and Kraft watched on largely untroubled for the second half. Hecking's side closed out the game very well as they continue their impressive home form and start to the season.

SUNDAY: Stuttgart 4-1 Hoffenheim

Bernd Schneider's run as Suttgart's new coach got off to an excellent start as they took on the team with the most goals so far, Hoffenheim, and he got the perfect start from his team. As a quickly taken Maxim free-kick made it's way into the box, Antonio Ruediger was on hand to pounce and give his side the lead after just ten minutes. They didn't wait long to press home the advantage, as Modeste missed an excellent chance, Stuttgart countered, won a corner and Mazim found Mr.Reliable, Vevad Ibisevic, to head home their second. The entertain wasn't over though, as Hoffenheim replied through Volland, his shot deflecting off of Ruediger and over Ulreich, just seconds later another goal! Koen Casteels came and got nowhere near the ball, meaning Maxim had the simple task of passing the ball into the net. There was a massive moment of controversy, as Volland chipped Ulreich, but the goal was disallowed due to the softest of pushes, Hoffenheim understandably apoplectic. 

The second half started off in the same vein as the first, as Ibisevic round the on rushing Casteels to make it four-one as Schneider's men continued to dominate. The continued pressure paid off as the magnificent Maxim cut in from the left, glided past Vestergaard and then sent a beautiful curling shot into the top corner. Stuttgart fans were in wonderland, and if they hadn't hit cloud nine yet, they were getting ever closer in goal terms. Casteels misjudged again and that left the Bosnian an open goal to head into for his hat-trick. Stuttgart had many further chances to add to their tally, but Roberto Firmino added a late consolation for the away side, however Schneider will not complain one bit after this result.

Frankfurt 1-2 Dortmund
Both teams with good early chances, with Weidenfeller and Trapp having to make good saves from Inui and Lewandowski respectively. Kuba was then denied by Trapp, but soon after he turned provider, driving through Frankfurt's midfield before slipping in Henrik Mkhitaryan to delightfully slide home his first Dortmund goal. Schmelzer had to be alert to deny new signing Kadlec with an important tackle, Klopp was his usual animated self on the touch-line as Frankfurt began to come into the game more and more. So much so, that they equalised through new signing Kadlec, his first goal for Frankfurt. Schmelzer let Aigner run free and his header hit the post and rebounded to the Czech international and he tucked it away. 

Frankfurt started the second half much the stronger, forcing a string of corners but failed to really test Weidenfeller. Dortmund, as we know are dangerous on the counter, and despite Frankfurt tracking Mkhitaryan the whole way across the box, the Armenian wriggled free and curled a beautiful shot into Trapp's right hand corner. Frankfurt were not disheartened and they continued to attack, with Anderson going inches from levelling the score as he hit the post. The game continued to be an even affair, with Dortmund typically dangerous counter attacking and Frankfurt looked threatening from set-pieces. Unfortunately for the hosts, Dortmund remained incredibly resilient and as Mhkitaryan kept Dortmund's 100% record intact.