Bundesliga Match Day 11: Weekend Wrap-Up
Der Klassiker has come and gone, only this time the fallout could have long-lasting effects.
Borussia Dortmund's astounding and confident comeback resulted in a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich and the tide of the Bundesliga has officially turned.
Meet the new boss, not the same as the old boss...
BVB trailed 0-1 and then 1-2, but kept churning and eventually took advantage of god-awful positioning by Die Roten to secure the tying and winning goals. All three Dortmund goals came in the second half s BVB seemed to thrive under the pressure of being pushed by Bayern.
Marco Reus, the frontrunner for the league's first half MVP (if there was a formal award), buried a penalty kick to tie Bayern early in the second half and later score again to tie the game at 2-2. From there it was Paco Alcacer, who started the game on the bench in favor of Mario Gotze, taking advantage of Bayern's awful positioning to score the game winner.
It was a banner and monumental win for the Black and Yellows.
For Bayern, Robert Lewandowski had a brace against his former team, but Die Roten had a multitude of other opportunities that fell flat. At times, Bayern was plagued by indecision or just poor decisions.
The recurring theme of horrid positioning by defenders and the defensive midfielder again came back to burn Bayern as Mats Hummels, who may have been sick during the game, Niklas Sule, and Javi Martinez all took turns gambling up a bit too much resulting in too much heat for Manuel Neuer to handle. Neuer, himself, was not stellar either.
This is a Bayern team that looks like it is not fully bought in to Niko Kovac and with a lot of behind-the-scenes drama (James Rodriguez among others) that has created an odd aura of doubt around the team. Indecision, poor decisions, questionable tactics, and under-performing play have all haunted Bayern throughout the season and across all competitions.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Borussia Dortmund 1 (L)
VfB Stuttgart 2, FC Nürnberg 0: Behind goals from Timo Baumgartl and Erik Thommy, Die Schwaben finally got back on the winning track. Stuttgart snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory, while Der Club is just one point away from being in the RELEGATION DANGER ZONE.
Prediction: VfB Stuttgart 2, FC Nürnberg 1 (W)
RB Leipzig 3, Bayer Leverkusen 0: Yussuf Poulsen had a brace and Lukas Klostermann added another goal to propel Die Roten Bullen past the ever-confusing, constantly inconsistent squad of Bayer Leverkusen. Leipzig is another team that looks like it is coming together nicely and brimming with confidence, while Die Werkself just looks lost at times.
The conundrum that Leverkusen is facing is that its management desperately needs to figure out if Heiko Herrlich's message is falling on deaf ears. The young core group for Leverkusen is taking steps back rather than making progress in what was supposed to be a breakout season.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3, RB Leipzig 2 (L)
Borussia Monchengladbach 3, Werder Bremen 1: M'Gladbach has continued to impress and behind a hat trick from Alassane Plea, Die Fohlen sped past a suddenly faltering Werder Bremen side.
Die Werderaner's Nuri Sahin scored, but Werder Bremen is battling itself of late. The cohesion that was there early in the season has not become been evident as the team looks disjointed on the pitch.
Prediction: Werder Bremen 2, Borussia Monchengladbach 2 (L)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 4, Hertha Berlin 1: With the league's biggest upset and most surprising scoreline, F95 dismantled Die Alte Dame behind a brace from Benito Raman and a goal a piece from Takashi Usami and Rouwen Hennings. It was a much needed victory for lowly Düsseldorf and a continuance of Hertha Berlin's recent uneven play.
Prediction: Hertha Berlin 3, Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 (L)
Mainz 3, SC Freiburg 1: Mainz went double "Jean-Philippe" AGAIN and got ahead early behind goals from Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Jean-Philippe Mateta on its way to cruising by SC Freiburg 3-1. Karim Onisiwo added the final goal in the second for Mainz, which is doing well to distance itself a bit from the bottom of the table
Roland Sallai scored for SC Freiburg, who was unable to build any momentum after a couple of solid performances.
Prediction: Freiburg 2, Mainz 1 (L)
Hannover 96 2, Wolfsburg 1: Goals by Linton Maina and Ihlas Bebou pushed Hannover 96 to a much needed win over Wolfsburg. Hannover NEEDED the victory in a bad way, while the Wolves failed to capitalize on a good opportunity to move the table.
Wout Weghorst scored on a PK for Wolfsburg, which will need to find a way to get back in the right direction soon.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 2, Hannover 96 2 (L)
Hoffenheim 2, FC Augsburg 1: Andrej Kramaric and Reiss Nelson each scored for Hoffenheim to keep Julian Negelsmann's on an upward trend. Alfred Finnbogason had a nice goal for Augsburg in the 69th minute, but it was not enough.
Hoffenheim is a dangerous team right now. A better offensive team than it was last season, the defense is starting to come together as well.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 3, FC Augsburg 2 (W)
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Schalke 0: Die Adler is dangerous, while Die Königsblauen is hapless. Kind of plain and simple. Luka Jovic had a brace and Sebastian Haller added another goal to give Eintracht Frankfurt a dominant and convincing win over Schalke.
Frankfurt is going to be one of the most fun teams to watch over the course of the rest of the season. Die Adler has a dangerous and potent offense, along with a coach who appears to be willing to trade offensive punches with anyone to rack up goals. Frankfurt will be a nightmare match-up for most teams if it can stay healthy and continue to play with such an aggressive and attacking style.
Prediction: Schalke 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 2 (L)
Weekly record: 2-7
Season record: 42-57
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.
