In Stuttgart, FC Bayern won without much glamor. Matthijs de Ligt (40′) and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (62′) scored the goals. The Munich team also celebrated a successful dress rehearsal for the round of 16 second leg in the Champions League on Wednesday against Paris Saint-Germain. The relegation-threatened Stuttgart side’s goal from Juan Jose Perea came too late (88′).
Behind them, Union Berlin lost some ground to the top duo after the “Iron”‘s soaring flight ebbed away for the time being. The Berliners did not get more than 0-0 at home against 1. FC Köln. Fifth-placed Freiburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach also went goalless.
Schalke 04 gave another strong sign of life in the relegation battle. The bottom team, which many have already written off, won 2-0 at their direct rivals VfL Bochum and caught up with Bochum, 1899 Hoffenheim and Stuttgart on points at the bottom of the table. Hoffenheim’s negative series continued. The team of ÖFB national player Christoph Baumgartner conceded the sixth defeat in a row with a 0:1 at FSV Mainz. Augsburg defeated Werder Bremen 2-1.
Union staggers, Schalke follows suit
After a 0-0 draw against Schalke and a 0-3 draw at Bayern, Union Berlin failed to score for the third league game in a row. Captain Christopher Trimmel was in the starting lineup for the Berliners, as were his compatriots Dejan Ljubicic and Florian Kainz for the Cologne team. ÖFB striker Michael Gregoritsch was absent from Freiburg in Mönchengladbach due to illness. Philipp Lienhart defended in a three-man defense, while Stefan Lainer and Hannes Wolf sat on the bench at the other end.
Schalke followed up after four goalless draws and the 3-1 win against Stuttgart in the district duel. Kevin Stöger could not prevent Bochum’s defeat. A slapstick own goal by Bochum goalie Manuel Riemann (45th) and a goal by Marius Bülter (79th) brought the decision. Schalke, with reservist Leo Greiml, are the only team still undefeated in the second half of the season alongside arch-rivals Dortmund, who have stormed to the top. Next Saturday there will be a direct duel in Gelsenkirchen.
Hoffenheim still in crisis mode
While Schalke draws hope again, things are getting increasingly bleak for Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim are already 13 league games without a win. There have only been two points since mid-October. Again, the weak defensive behavior was punished by standards: Leandro Barreiro scored the golden goal for Mainz after a corner (33rd). In addition, offensive man Baumgartner Hoffenheim is missing after a yellow card in the next game in Freiburg.
Without the recently injured Karim Onisiwo, Mainz moved up to seventh place with their fourth win in a row. With the home win against Bremen, Augsburg put eight points between them and the relegation zone. Former ÖFB team captain Julian Baumgartlinger came on at break. Marco Friedl played through as captain for the tenth-placed Werder team, Romano Schmid came on in the 68th minute.
German Bundesliga, 23rd round
Saturday:
Union Berlin – Cologne 0-0
Union: Trimmel played through
Cologne: Kainz up to the 87th minute, Ljubicic up to the 92nd minute
Monchengladbach – Freiburg 0-0
Mönchengladbach: Lainer and Wolf on the bench
Freiburg: Lienhart played through, Gregoritsch (ill) not in the squad
Augsburg – Bremen 2: 1 (1: 1)
Goals: Beljo (6th), Maier (46th) and Stage (16th)
Augsburg: Baumgartlinger from the 46th minute
Bremen: Friedl played through, Schmid from the 68th minute
Mainz – Hoffenheim 1:0 (1:0)
Tor: Barreiro (33.)
Mainz: Onisiwo (injured) not in the squad
Hoffenheim: Baumgartner played through
Bochum – Schalke 0: 2 (0: 1)
Tore: Riemann (45./Eigentor), Bülter (79.)
Bochum: Stöger up to the 46th minute
Schalke: Greiml on the bench
Stuttgart – Bayern Munich 1: 2 (0: 1)
Tore: Perea (88.) bzw. De Ligt (39.), Choupo-Moting (62.)
Freitag:
Dortmund – Leipzig 2: 1 (2: 0)
Tore: Reus (21./Elfmeter), Can (39.) bzw. Forsberg (74.)
Leipzig: Schlager eliminated injured in the 85th minute, Laimer (suspended) not in the squad
Sunday:
Leverkusen – Hertha BSB 3.30 p.m
Wolfsburg – Frankfurt 17.30 Uhr
