Bundesliga Match Day 18: Weekend Wrap-Up
- Chuck Smith
- Jan 21, 2019
- 4 min read
Bayern Munich's prized acquisition for 2018-2019 was central midfielder Leon Goretzka and the former Schalke man continued to show why he was so sought after with another stellar performance in the Bavarians' 3-1 win over Hoffenheim.
Goretzka secured a brace and Robert Lewandowski added another goal to give Bayern plenty of offense on the day. For Goretzka, it has taken a bit of time for the 23-year-old to settle in with Bayern, but over the last two-and-a-half months Goretzka has been excellent. Whether it has been sitting deeper as part of a double pivot or playing high in a more attacking role like he did against Hoffenheim, Goretzka has been extremely effective.
With a surplus of quality options in the middle of the field, it will certainly be interesting to see how Niko Kovac manages his talent as Bayern attempts to hunt down Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, while also preparing to face Premier League juggernaut Liverpool in the Champions League.
It was not a terrible effort by TSG1899 in all honestly. They were game and battled hard, but did not have enough talent to match up with Bayern. Nico Schulz's fantastic goal was highlight reel worthy, but Hoffenheim will have to wait until next week to try and get back on the winning track.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Hoffenheim 0 (W)
Borussia Dortmund 1, RB Leipzig 0: In the Bundesliga's marquee matchup of the weekend, a single goal by BVB's Axel Witsel made the difference. This match proved one thing: Dortmund is going to continue to be an absolute handful for the opposition. Leipzig had its chances, but BVB is still finding ways to win and as the season grinds on that will prove to be more important than anything.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 2, Borussia Dortmund 2 (L)
Hertha Berlin 3, FC Nurnberg 1: Die Alte Dame took care of business like it should have in this one behind a brace from Ondrej Duda and another goal from Vedad Ibisevic. On the cusp of a top six position, Hertha will need to prove its mettle against the league heavyweights as the season goes on.
For Der Club, Hanno Behrens managed the squad's lone goal. The return to the top flight of the Bundesliga has been a nightmare for Nurnberg and the the club will have a long road ahead of it if it wants to attempt to work its way out of almost-certain relegation.
Prediction: Hertha Berlin 2, FC Nurnberg 1 (W)
Schalke 04 2, Wolfsburg 1: Daniel Caligiuri's brace paced Die Königsblauen and got Domeico Tedesco's squad off on the right foot to start the Ruckrunde. Schalke was clearly not as bad as it looked in the Hinrunde, but it will need to show better and better each week to crawl back into contention for a top six position.
Wolfsburg's 21-year old Elvis Rexhbecaj tallied the Wolves' only goal, but a loss here won't define the second half for this squad. Wolfsburg is on the up swing and should be a handful for just about everyone in the coming weeks.
Prediction: Schalke 2, Wolfsburg 1 (W)
Fortuna Dusseldorf 2, FC Augsburg 1: F95 continued its turnaround and is making itself into a formidable team. Maybe Dusseldorf is not a top-end squad in the league, but with each week it is proving that it deserves at least another season in the top division. Marvin Ducksch's 39th minute tally gave F95 an early lead before Benito Raman's 89th minute goal became the game-winner.
Jonathan Schmid has the only goal in a disappointing effort from Die Fuggerstädter.
Prediction: FC Augsburg 2, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1 (L)
Borussia Monchengladbach 1, Bayer Leverkusen 0: Alassane Plea's 37th minute goal was the loan score of the contest, but while Die Fohlen can walk away feeling good after a hard-fought win, Die Werkself must, again, look in the mirror to see what the problems are. New coach Peter Bosz could not make an immediate impact on Leverkusen and it may be time to start wondering if this core group of players has what it takes to fix their issues and get moving in the right direction.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 2, Borussia Monchengladbach 1 (L)
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, SC Freiburg 1: Die Adler's big three of Sebastian Haller, Ante Rebic, and Luka Jovic all struck for goals in a nine-minute span during the first half to decimate Breisgau-Brasilianer.
Freiburg had no answers on this day and Christian Streich saw his team get overwhelmed in one short stretch that crushed his squad's hopes. Nils Petersen put Breisgau-Brasilianer on the scoreboard with a nice goal in the 69th minute, but it was clearly not enough enough on this day.
Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 3, SC Freiburg 1 (W)
Werder Bremen 1, Hannover 96 0: Milot Rashica's 32nd minute goal was enough for Werder Bremen to escape this contest with a win. It was another move in the right direction for Bremen, which is becoming one of the more interesting teams in the league to watch in the second half.
It has not been a banner season for Hannover by any means and it likely wont get much easier. H96 is spiraling toward relegation and needs a quick turnaround to at least try and push out of the league's final two positions in the table.
Prediction: Werder Bremen 2, Hannover 96 1 (W)
Mainz 3, VfB Stuttgart 2: In the Bundesliga's wildest game of the weekend, Mainz continued to show that it has, indeed, made the jump from league doormat to pesky, middle-of-the-road club. M05 jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind an own goal, plus tallies from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Alexander Hack before Stuttgart finally woke up.
Nicolas Ivan Gonzalez (82') and Marc-Oliver Kempf (85') help Die Schwaben make a late run, but it was not enough.
Last match day record: 5-4
Season record: 75-87
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.
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