Bundesliga Bulletin: Stalemate in Munich, BVB lose thriller
February 9, 2020
Good week for: Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, the title race
Bad week for: Timo Werner, Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin (again), Werder Bremen (again)
The headlines:
— Leipzig miss their chance in Munich
All eyes were on Munich for the big top-of-the-table clash between league leaders Bayern and Bundesliga upstarts RB Leipzig. Unfortunately it ended goalless, but it wasn't as dull as the scoreline might suggest and is a result that keeps the title race wide open. The game will be remembered for two huge misses by Leipzig: first Marcel Sabitzer blazed over just after the restart, and then Timo Werner, who has now gone four games in all competitions without a goal, somehow put the ball wide from a few yards out. Bayern dominated the first half though, and their best chance came towards the end when Leon Goretzka waltzed into a fine position, only to meet his match in the form of Peter Gulacsi, who pulled off a fine save. Bayern remain in Leipzig's crosshairs.
— Dortmund doing Dortmund things
Despite leading twice in Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund ended up on the wrong side of a 4-3 thriller on Saturday night. Despite high-scoring wins over Augsburg, Cologne and Union Berlin, there had still been concerns that BVB's offensive power was masking a vulnerable defense. The warning signs were there when they conceded three in a cup defeat to Werder Bremen in midweek, and that fragility was on show again at the BayArena.
Emre Can was brought in from Juventus to add some defensive solidity and experience, and he curled in a stunning debut goal that ended being a footnote in a game that saw Leverkusen score twice inside the final 10 minutes to secure a special comeback.
— A week to forget for Hertha
Just four days after throwing away a 2-0 lead away at Schalke in the cup, Hertha Berlin suffered another setback as they lost at home to Mainz in the Bundesliga. The visitors' Robin Quaison scored all three goals for the visitors in a 3-1 win that saw Mainz move to within a point of Hertha as the relegation battle begins to shape up.
— Big bother for Bremen
If Florian Kohfeldt thought things were about to get better after Werder Bremen's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the cup, he was mistaken. It was back to the Bundesliga on Saturday, and back to reality as the northern side lost 2-0 at home to newly promoted Union Berlin. A second-half brace from Marius Bülter condemned them to their ninth defeat in their last 11 league games and left them four points adrift of guaranteed safety. To make matters worse, bottom club Paderborn nicked a draw away at Schalke to move within a single point of Bremen.
The quotes:
"We wanted to finish in the top four. This point is an important step towards that."
Julian Nagelsmann when asked about Leipzig's title hopes.
"I'm not interested in it at all. I care about this team and winning trophies with them, ideally three."
Thomas Müller, pointing to the Bayern badge on his shirt, when asked about Euro 2020.
"We have to be dirtier. I have only been here a week but we have to learn. Tonight was a game which summed up Borussia Dortmund."
Borussia Dortmund new boy Emre Can after his team's 4-3 defeat in Leverkusen.
"If you love football, you will have enjoyed that game. Unless you're a BVB fan."
Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz after the thriller in Leverkusen.
"Our league situation really isn't good. I felt it on the way to the stadium. Once again, something was different. We're carrying this rucksack around with us at the moment."
Werder Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt on the atmosphere around the relegation-threatened club.
"We still have total trust in Florian. He is a very, very good coach. The situation wouldn't be any better with any other coach. That's why we're sticking with him."
Werder Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann on Kohfeldt's future.
"I've given the players a couple days off to clear their heads."
Hertha Berlin coach Jürgen Klinsmann after back-to-back defeats in cup and league.
The stats:
— RB Leipzig have still never scored a goal at the Allianz Arena (look away now Timo Werner).
— Emre Can's first start for Borussia Dortmund was also his first Bundesliga start in exactly 2,100 days. On May 10, 2014, he lined up for ... Bayer Leverkusen.
— Mats Hummels' goal for Dortmund against Leverkusen made him the only player to have scored in each of the last 12 Bundesliga seasons, starting in 2008-09.
— Mainz's Robin Quaison became only the eighth player to score two hat tricks away from home in one season after he scored all three goals in his side's 3-1 win away at Hertha Berlin.
— And last but not least...
The fans
Down in Germany's second division, Hamburg fans carried out a "legal pyro show" for the first time. After the German Football Association (DFB) gave permission for a one-off, authorized display under controlled conditions, ultras set off ten smoke bombs under the supervision of the fire brigade and a pyrotechnics expert. It didn't look bad, and it seemed to help their team as well, as HSV beat Karlsruhe 2-0.