Match Day 20: Weekend Wrap Up
While Bayern Munich may have stolen the weekend show with an electrifying five goal outburst in a comeback win over Hoffenheim, it was the ongoing off-the-field fracas at Borussia Dortmund that garnered the most attention. The Black and Yellows scuffled to a 2-2 draw against SC Frieburg in a game that once again had to give the Dortmund (8-7-5) faithful extreme doubt about the make-up of the squad. Jeremy Toljan's extra time goal was the only difference between failure and disgrace for Dortmund in this one.
As Kicker will be reporting in its print edition tomorrow, the primary subject of the off-the-field drama, Pierre Emerick Aubameyeng, finally appears to be heading out of Dortmund with a transfer to Arsenal. Extremely talented, but even more flighty, Aubameyang presented Dortmund with the perfect conundrum: How to handle a respected teammate with extreme talent, who is unhappy with the club...all while trying to prevent the season from completely unraveling? If the Kicker report is true, it's by finally ending this long, drawn out, and disruptive saga.
Now that Aubameyang appears to be moving on, Dortmund can now focus on how to reshape its future by examining who will stay and who will go this summer. With some young and valuable assets, Dortmund could opt for a complete rebuild by transferring away the likes of Christian Pulisic and Marco Reus among others, but whatever the strategy, Dortmund's leadership must figure out how to get the team back to the upper level of the Bundesliga for the betterment of everyone involved, not least of which its frustrated fan base.
For its part, Freiburg (5-9-6) just continues to push its way up the table as it has not lost a game in the Bundesliga since November 18th. Nils Peterson had both Freiburg goals, including a dramatic, long-range chip that bewildered Dortmund keeper Roman Burki. With so many teams above it failing to grab the reigns of their own seasons, Freiburg could keep pushing its way up the table toward one of those coveted top six spots. Freiburg has to be asking itself, why not us?
In other Bundesliga action:
Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Borussia Monchengladbach 0: Frankfurt continued to impress in dispensing Monchengladbach. Goals from Kevin-Prince Boateng and Luka Jovic pushed Frankfurt (9-6-5) to another victory on their way to climbing up the Bundesliga table whole pushing a stunned (and frankly underachieving) Monchengladbach (9-4-7)side further down in the standings.
Schalke 04 2, VfB Stuttgart 0: Naldo and Amine Harit kept Schalke (9-7-4) moving forward with
goals and toward the ultimate goal of capturing a Champions League slot. With the uneven and sloppy play from many of the teams below it in the standings, Schalke has to like its chances the rest of the way. Stuttgart (6-2-12) needs to regroup in a bad way as it has lost 6 of its last 7 Bundesliga matches.
Bayern Munich 5, Hoffenheim 2: After spotting Hoffenheim (7-6-7) a two-goal lead (Mark Uth and Bayern-loanee Serge Gnabry), Bayern (16-2-2) erupted for five straight goals with Robert Lewandowski, Jerome Boateng (both Boateng brothers fell on the weekend), Arturo Vidal, Kingsley Coman, and Sandro Wagner all reaching the scoresheet. The Reds are hitting a dangerous stride right now. We'll take a closer look at the state of Bayern on the site tomorrow.
RB Leipzig 1, Hamburg 1: Bruma got Leipzig (9-5-6) started just nine minutes in to the game, but it was yet another missed opportunity the young squad. Credit to Hamburg (4-4-12) for its mettle behind goals from Filip Kostic, but Leipzig simply needs to be better.
FC Koln 1, FC Augsburg 1: Milos Jojnic scored for the Billy Goats (3-4-13), but it was Caiuby's 77th minute equalizer that knotted the game for good. Despite the draw, Koln continues to force its way out of the Bundesliga basement. Augsburg (7-7-6) has cooled after a surprising start to the season as it has just one win in its last six games.
SV Werder Bremen 0, Hertha BSC 0: Werder Bremen (3-8-9)missed a golden opportunity to get out of the relegation one, but ultimately could not make any head way. Hertha (6-8-6) will take its point and run.
Wolfsburg 1, Hannover 96 0: Yunus Malli's 72nd-minute goal gave Wolfsburg (4-11-5) a needed victory and Hannover 96's (7-6-7) trend of uneven play continued.
Bayern Leverkusen 2, FSV Mainz 05 0: Leon Bailey continues his impressive run of great performances with another goal and Wendell added the second Leverkusen (9-7-4) tally to keep its hold on a share of second place. Bailey is making himself quite a name and figures to be a popular transfer target this summer. Mainz (5-5-10) has just two wins in its last 12 Bundesliga matches in what has been a most dreadful run for the team.
