Whilst a point away at Eintracht Frankfurt is not a bad result, especially considering the Eagles’ form so far this season, Borussia Dortmund may have the 1-1 was not enough with Bayern breathing down their neck. It is the Bavarians, however, who will be kicking themselves this week as they lost 3-1 at Bayer Leverkusen in matchday 20. Niko Kovac’s men played well, but they came up against a resurgent Leverkusen side. The Werkself seem to have refound their fluent best under new manager Peter Bosz. With just 14 games left, BVB lead Bayern by seven points. As each week goes by, Dortmund’s quest for a first title since 2012 strengthens.
Borussia Mönchengladbach actually had the best weekend at the top. Their 2-0 win away at Schalke moves them up to second, above Munich on goal difference. Their opponents initially stifled them. But following goalkeeper Alexander Nübel’s sending off in the 59th minute, Dieter Hecking’s side were eventually able to find a way through. Christoph Kramer scored with a fantastic strike in the 85th minute, before Florian Neuhaus added the gloss in stoppage time.
Hannover’s new manager Thomas Doll did not get off to the best of starts, as his side were comfortably beaten by 4th-placed RB Leipzig. The 3-0 scoreline was lenient on Hannover, who recorded just one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. They were particularly vulnerable at corners, with two of Leipzig’s three strikes coming from Emil Forsberg’s set-pieces. They play Nürnberg next, who drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen on Saturday. With both sides in the relegation zone, this huge game will undoubtedly have even bigger implications at the bottom.
What a start for Jens Lehmann at Augsburg! Having joined just last week, and his new side won their first game in 11 against Mainz on Sunday. Alfred Finnbogason netted a hattrick, including two penalties. That takes his tally to 10 goals from just 13 appearances this season. This victory takes them three points above the relegation play-off spot.
The gap could have remained at one point, but Stuttgart were unable to hold on to their 2-1 lead against Freiburg at home, conceding a last minute Florian Niederlechner equaliser. Stuttgart had themselves taken the lead with just seven minutes left on the clock. But after Mario Gomez’s silly red card, they were unable to see the game out.
As has been the case too often this season, Hoffenheim dropped points from a winning position when the game appeared to be under their control. They looked comfortable after taking the lead thanks to an Andrej Kramaric penalty. However, they conceded just one minute in to the second half and were unable to regain the lead thereafter, much to the chagrin of manager Julian Nagelsmann. Dusseldorf actually looked the more likely to grab all three points. Rouwen Hennings missed a glaring chance to add to his earlier equalizer.
Bruno Labbadia has had his critics in the past, but he continues to do an impressive job with Wolfsburg. Their 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin was their fourth victory from five on their travels. They remain in sixth place. For Hertha, they seem to be in no-man’s land. They lack momentum pushing them towards the European spots and are in no danger of being dragged in to the relegation battle. Their season is in danger of petering out if they are unable to eradicate the inconsistency they are currently experiencing