Match Day 32: Weekend Wrap-up
Hoffenheim is scorching hot right now and blazing straight through anyone who gets in its way. This week, the unfortunate victim of Hoffenheim's path of destruction was Hannover 96, the Bundesliga's underdog darling of the 2017-2018 season.
Behind a hat trick from the increasingly dangerous Andrej Kramaric, Hoffenheim blitzed Hannover 96, 3-1. At times this season, Julian Nagelsmann appeared as if he did not have a solid handle on this squad, but those doubts in his management are long gone. Right now, it's hard to argue that Hoffenheim isn't the hottest and most dangerous team in the Bundesliga.
Next season, however, will be another test for Nagelsmann. Hoffenheim will almost assuredly be returning loanee Serge Gnabry back to Bayern Munich and will be losing leading scorer, Mark Uth and his 14 goals, to Schalke 04.
That challenge is one that will earn Nagelsmann his stripes. After successfully navigating the last two years, if the 30-year old may inch even closer to a job with one of soccer's traditional global powers.
With two games left and the champions (Bayern Munich) long decided, the primary focus in the Bundesliga is on relegation and the top six (European League play). This week's results certainly closed the door on some teams, while others have a new hope.
Bayern Munich 4, Eintracht Frankfurt 1: Bayern started a lineup of four reserve players and still embarrassed next year's coach Niko Kovac. Niklas Dorsch, Sandro Wagner, Rafinha, and Niklas Süle scored for Die Roten, while Sebastian Haller had the only goal for the Eagles. The game was the precursor to the DFB Pokal finale, which now doesn't look like it will be much of a match.
SC Freiburg 3, FC Koln 2: Koln is officially relegated (as you can see in the standings above), but the Billy Goats did not go down without a fight. Ultimately, the team could not recover from the enormous hole they sunk into before Peter Stoger was sacked. For Freiburg, it was some much needed breathing room in an effort to avoid relegation themselves. Nils Petersen had two goals, but it was Lucas Holer's late tally (90'+2) that sealed Koln's fate and have Freiburg some much needed breathing room.
Hertha Berlin 2, FC Augsburg 2: This was one of the only games we predicted correctly (because I SUCK). Michael Gregoritsch and Sergio Cordova scored for Augsburg, while Hertha was bailed out by late goals from Vedad Ibisevic (84') and Davie Selke (87').
Borussia Monchengladbach 1, Schalke 04 1: Daniel Caligiuri and Raffael exchanged goals in what was an encouraging contest from the Foals, who pushed the Royal Blues to their limit.
Hamburger SV 3, Wolfsburg 1: A PK by Bobby Wood and another first half goal from Lewis Holtby gave Hamburg the lift it needed before Gian-Luca Waldschmidt's tally finalized the scoring. Josip Brekalo had the score by the Wolves, who are back to being brutal and in danger of relegation.
VfB Stuttgart 1, Bayer Leverkusen 0: Christian Gentner's superb header gave Stuttgart the win and actually has them in a spot to contend for a top six spot in the final two weeks. Leverkusen, meanwhile, dominated play for large stretches, but could not find a way to reach the net (including a missed PK by Lucas Alario).
Borussia Dortmund 1, Werder Bremen 1: Just when we thought BVB was back, they went out and let us down once again. Bremen has been scrappy and far from a pushover of late, but Dortmund should not be settling for a draw at this stage of the season. Marco Reus continued his torrid stretch with another goal, while Thomas Delaney had the equalizer. We could go on and on about Dortmund's bed wetting of the season...and maybe we will (again!) in an upcoming piece.
Mainz 3, RB Leipzig 0: A 29th minute penalty make by Pablo De Blasis set the tone for Mainz, which also received tallies from Alexandru Maxim and Bote Baku. Leipzig, meanwhile, continued its wayward free-fall. The team has been astonishingly bad of late. Naby Keita getting booked for two yellows in the last six minutes of the game just amplified the awful play by Die Roten Bullen.
One of the underplayed stories of the Bundesliga this week was that Leipzig stalwart Emil Forsberg maybe moving on. The cryptic tweet below followed with an analysis of what Forsberg might have meant.
Given Leipzig's penchant for favoring its youth, the 26-year old Forsberg is getting a little long in the tooth (Ha! At 26!) for Die Roten Bullen. Forsberg - at least in my opinion - has a lot to offer a team with his play making ability. It will be very interesting to see if the Swede continues to ply his trade in the Bundesliga or elsewhere. He should have plenty of capable suitors for his talents.
One potential destination could Arsenal....stay tuned.
This week's record: 3-6
This season's (terrible) record: 50-58
Note: Predicted ties count as a win if correct and as a loss if there is a winner; conversely if a game is predicted to have a winner but ends in a tie, it will count as a loss.
