Bavaria wins without shine – Cologne furious – Derby winner Union
After the CL slip, the Munich team celebrate a lackluster work victory against FC Augsburg. Bielefeld experienced a completely used day in Wolfsburg, while Cologne turned a 0-2 draw into a 3-2 win against Mainz. In Fürth, Gladbach showed no weaknesses. In the evening, Union clearly won the Berlin derby at Hertha.
Goal scorers: Robert Lewandowski, Genki Haraguchi and Luca Kilian (from left).
IMAGO/Jan Hübner
Felix Magath gave up in the top game Saturday night his home debut as coach of Hertha – and that in front of a full house in the derby against city rivals Union. The Köpenickers then quickly made it clear that they hadn’t brought any gifts with them. After a good half hour they handed the old lady the 0:1 (Haraguchi) and thus rewarded themselves for a dominant appearance. At the beginning of the second half, however, Baumgartl was unlucky when he hit his own net to make it surprisingly 1-1 (49′). Hertha’s new hopes soon ended, however, as Prömel spoke immediately (53′) before Becker (74′) and Michel (85′) made things clear in the capital with a 4-1 win. Hertha remains under the ominous line, while Union can continue to dream of Europe.
Bavaria celebrates work victory
After the disappointing 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at Villarreal, FC Bayern was looking to make amends against FC Augsburg. But the Munich team, who had changed four positions, struggled, tried to hardly pose a goal threat against the snappy and passionate Augsburg and only showed a dangerous look after the break when Gikiewicz deflected Lewandowski’s attempt around the post. Only a penalty from Oxford broke the spell for the record champions, Lewandowski scored safely from the spot and gave the Munich team the lackluster 1-0 work victory (82nd). Müller was the first field player ever to celebrate 300 victories in the Bundesliga, while Kimmich equaled a Bundesliga record from Arjen Robben. Like the Dutchman, Kimmich only needed 196 games for 150 wins.
Used day for Arminia Bielefeld
VfL Wolfsburg (three defeats in a row) got off to a better start in the crisis duel against Bielefeld (five times without a win) and thanks to Nmecha took the lead early (11th). It got even worse for Arminen, because Brunner had to be substituted after a collision with the wind after almost half an hour – it was already the second change for the Bielefeld team, as coach Frank Kramer had brought in Laursen for Andrade shortly before, probably for sporting reasons. When Nmecha then also put together the double pack, the used day of the guests was already perfect (38th). Arnold’s direct converted free kick (48th) and Kruse’s 4:0 (53rd) immediately after the restart ensured the early decision (48th).
Cologne’s Kilian: first unlucky, then lucky
In Cologne, Mainz loanee Kilian was unlucky early on when he deflected a Burkardt shot in the game against his former club and helped the 05ers take the lead early on (14′). In general, the opponents balanced each other out in this game, the Rheinhessen seemed to be close to the goal, but seemed more determined and quickly struck again after the restart, this time via Onisiwo (55th). However, Skhiri immediately countered the Austrian’s 2-0 lead (60′) and breathed new life into the Effzeh. The billy goats then reared up successfully: Ljubicic (78th) and Kilian of all people (82nd) made the Rhein-Energie Stadium a madhouse.
Gladbach quickly rewarded itself in Fürth
Gladbach’s Borussia was superior in Fürth and then quickly rewarded themselves for the good start (18′) after a fine combination and an ice-cold shot from Thuram. Shortly thereafter, VAR intervened because Tillman had fouled Lainer, and Plea safely converted the following penalty to make it 2-0 (24th). The cloverleaf didn’t let up in the further course, but the bottom line was clearly inferior and ultimately had to admit defeat. The descent is taking on more and more concrete features in Franconia.
Brandt rises to BVB match winner
Am Friday VfB Stuttgart kept up well against BVB for a long time, but ultimately went away empty-handed because Brandt scored a brace for Westphalia (12′, 71′). The 25-year-old was not intended for Dortmund’s starting XI, but he was substituted on extremely early due to Reyna’s recent injury. Incidentally, Reyna wasn’t the only injury suffered by BVB, Dahoud (shoulder) and Hummels (thigh) were also forced out.