Bundesliga Match Day 15: Weekend Wrap-Up
The Bayern Munich that most have been waiting to see all season is officially in the house. Die Roten was brilliant and creative en route to a thoroughly dominant 4-0 victory over a seemingly sunken Hannover 96 squad.
Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba were both superb on the day for Bayern and scorched Hannover for the first two goals of the game. Kimmich hit a wonderful half volley, while Alaba crushed a volley that will surely be a contender for goal of the year.
From there, it did not get any better for Hannover, which just had no answers for Bayern. Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry added the other Bayern goals as this version of Niko Kovac's team looks to be extremely formidable.
While Kovac has eschewed rotating too much over the past three weeks, he did successfully integrate Kingsley Coman, Thiago Alcantara, and a rejuvenated Mats Hummels all stepped in and had extremely strong efforts. Thiago teamed with Leon Goretzka to form an updated version of Kovac's preferred double pivot and it was a huge success.
Even with the new lease on life, Bayern has a lot of ground to make up on Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table. Die Roten can ill afford a slip up, even against an extremely formidable opponent like RB Leipzig, who will be an extremely tough matchup for Wednesday's midweek showdown in Bavaria.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Hannover 96 0 (W)
Wolfsburg 2, FC Nürnberg 0: The Wolves rode the red hot play of Daniel Ginczek, who gave his squad a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute before 20-year old Croatian forward Josip Brekalo added a goal in the third minute of extra time to officially put the nail in the coffin for Der Club.
In truth, the Wolves were in complete control of the game for just about the entirety. Nürnberg showed more here than it did against Bayern Munich last week, but it was still not good. Der Club needs to make it to the break and then seriously regroup. With the way things are trending, it could be a return trip for the second division for Nürnberg.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 2, FC Nürnberg 1 (W)
Schalke 04 1, FC Augsburg 1: Schalke's disappointing showing in the Bundesliga continued as Die Königsblauen once again faltered against an opponent that it should have taken points from. Instead, Schalke settled for a road draw and failed to make a move to turn its season around.
Augsburg's Michael Gregoritsch gave the home side an early lead with a goal in the 12th minute and it would not be until Daniel Caligiuri found the back of the net in the 58th minute for Schalke to knot the contest. Die Fuggerstädter is no slouch, but Schalke needs to do better,
On the bright side for Augsburg, Gregoritsch scored for the first tie in nearly six weeks, which will hopefully give the 24-year old Austrian a boost of confidence as Die Fuggerstädter needs another consistent scoring threat aside of the oft-injured Icelander Alfred Finnbogason.
Prediction: Schalke 04 2, FC Augsburg 1 (L)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2, SC Freiburg 0: I had a strong feeling that Freiburg was in for a letdown and that F95 was ready to at least get a point, but I didn't expect Düsseldorf to do Freiburg like that! Frankly, this was exactly the kind of effort that F95 needs as it seeks to turn its season around. Kaan Ayhan's unexpected brace was enough to thwart Breisgau-Brasilianer's previously solid run of games.
Prediction: SC Freiburg 2, Fortuna Düsseldorf 2 (L)
Hoffenheim 0, Borussia Monchengladbach 0: Sure a draw didn't help either team too much, but Monchengladbach suffered far more than Hoffenheim. The Foals lost Raffael to a fractured collarbone, while Lars Stindl sustained an MCL and capsular injury to his left ankle. Both players offer a lot to the M'Gladbach lineup and will be missed.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 2, Borussia Monchengladbach 2 (W)
VfB Stuttgart 2, Hertha Berlin 1: Stuttgart came up with the surprise of the week as Die Schwaben picked up a much needed three points by upending a wildly inconsistent Hertha Berlin side. After Maximilian Mittelstadt gave Die Alte Dame a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute, it became the Mario Gomez Show as the veteran striker came up huge for his club as it is in a fierce battle to avoid relegation.
Gomez scored goals in the 64th and 76th minute respectively to power Stuttgart to a much needed victory. As the squad has reeled in recent weeks, Gomez had not been able to assert himself offensively. Hopefully this performance can give him the momentum needed to carry the Stuttgart offense in the second half of the season.
Prediction: Hertha Berlin 2, VfB Stuttgart 1 (L)
Borussia Dortmund 2, Werder Bremen 1: BVB did not have an easy go of it with Werder Bremen, but the league leaders once again took care of business. Paco Alcacer (he started!) and Marco Reus scored in the 20th and 27th minutes respectively. Max Kruse had the lone goal for Die Werderaner.
Jadon Sancho assisted on Reus' goal to continue his excellent play as well. Dortmund is showing no signs of slowing down...BVB is just scary good right now.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3, Werder Bremen 1 (W)
RB Leipzig 4, Mainz 1: Yussuf Poulsen and Timo Werner each had a brace to power Die Roten Bullen as Leipzig heads into a heavyweight showdown on Wednesday against Bayern Munich. Werner has been on a torrid run as he pushed his tally to 10 Bundesliga goals this season. Werner's two second half goals were each a spectacle on the quality he brings to the pitch. If his confidence is high and he's playing at this level, Leipzig is going to be a very difficult matchup for any team in the Bundesliga. Karim Onisiwo has the lone goal for Mainz.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 2, Mainz 1 (W)
Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Bayer Leverkusen 1: Die Adler once again proved their mettle against a tough opponent. Frankfurt used goals from Danny da Costa and Filip Kostic to put Leverkusen in a two-goal deficit and those two tallies ultimately proved to be too much for Die Werkself. Karim Bellarabi scored in the 65th minute for Leverkusen, but it was another barren goal-scoring effort from Julian Brandt and Leon Bailey, who have just not made the type of impact in league games that they should.
Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Bayer Leverkusen 2 (W)
Weekly record: 6-3
Season record: 59-76
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.
