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Bundesliga Match Day 28: Weekend Wrap-Up


It did not take long for Der Klassiker to transform in Das Massaker. Bayern Munich made it very clear early in the contest that it was going to exert its talent and depth directly onto a completely shell-shocked Borussia Dortmund side.

Mats Hummels opened the scoring with a header off of a corner in the 10th minute and Bayern never had to look back. Robert Lewandowski had a brace (17' and 89'), while Javi Martinez (41') and Serge Gnabry (43') also tallied goals for the Rekordmeister.

Funny enough, even with all of those players scoring goals, it was Thomas Muller, who was Bayern's best player. Working behind Lewandowski, Muller exploited the gaping holes in the BVB defense and used his superb vision to create chance for his teammates, including a sublime pass to Gnabry that resulted in the team's fourth goal.

It was a truly excellent performance from Muller, but it would be hard-pressed to find any Bayern player who was sub-par. It was a thorough and complete demolition of a very good team.

Dortmund never got in sync on offense and was a total mess defensively. It would be fair to question why Lucien Favre opted to start the game with Mario Gotze on the bench. Favre used his intuition and went with Mahmoud Dahoud instead of Gotze and it backfired in a bad way. Maybe on this day Gotze (who came on as a substitute in the 61st minute) might not have helped either, but the chemistry that developed between Marco Reus, Gotze, and Jadon Sancho was certainly missing on Saturday.

The game was a letdown to Dortmund's team and fans, but it is not as if all hope for a league crown is gone. Even with the dominant win for Bayern, the Bundesliga title is still up for grabs. Bayern still has to face Fortuna Dusseldorf, Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig, and Eintracht Frankfurt among others which will not be an easy task. Dortmund, meanwhile, has a bit of a less daunting slate which includes Borussia Monchengladbach, Schalke (!?), and Mainz among its tougher opponents.

Clearly, Bayern has no room for a letdown and cannot afford take any of its remaining opponents lightly.

Prediction: Bayern 3, Borussia Dortmund 1 (W)

(Courtesy of @Bundesliga_EN)

Mainz 5, SC Freiburg 0: Mainz has been quietly solid all season, but this 5-0 thrashing of Breisgau-Brasilianer certainly one of the most impressive efforts for Die Nullfünfer this season. 21-year-old French forward Jean-Philippe Mateta (25', 33', 77') tallied a hat trick, while Jean-Paul Boetius (20') and Karim Onisiwo (73') also scored. M05 was utterly and completely on fire in this game.

For Freiburg, it was a HUGE letdown after last week's tremendously gritty performance against Bayern to force a draw. Freiburg spent its mental and physical prowess in battling Bayern and was just not prepared for this one. I would not put that on Christian Streich, as the coach was surely ready to pull his hair out on the sideline, but rather a loss of focus from the players. Freiburg needs a quick re-boot to set itself back on course.

Prediction: SC Freiburg 2, Mainz 2 (L)

Wolfsburg 3, Hannover 96 1: The Wolves too care of business and kept themselves in a position to compete for a top six position in the stretch run of the season. Renato Steffen had a brace (32' and 71' ), while Jerome Roussillon (78') also contributed a goal to lead Wolfsburg over a struggling H96 side. Hendrik Weydandt (30') gave Hannover an early lead, but it was yet another failure for H96 in a season that has been one to forget.

Prediction: Wolfsburg 2, Hannover 96 1 (W)

VfB Stuttgart 1, FC Nurnberg 1: In a game that had direct implications on relegation, neither team could muster enough to garner three points. Matheus Pereira (42') gave Der Club a first half lead, but it could not hold on to it. In the 75th minute 19-year-old Turkish defender Ozan Kabak put home a goal to knot the game at 1-1 where it would stay. It is hard to think that these two squads are not destined for two of the bottom three positions of the table at season's end.

Stuttgart has to be beside itself with its position in the standings. While it has not been a banner season, there is more than enough talent on the roster for Die Schwaben to at least be a middle of the pack team in the Bundesliga.

Prediction: VfB Stuttgart 2, FC Nurnberg 1 (L)

Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Schalke 04 1: For the better part of the season Schalke has been a disaster and even though it was able to put up a great fight against Die Adler, it "Schalke'd" hardcore in extra time.

Ante Rebic gave Eintracht Frankfurt a lead in the 13th minute, but Die Königsblauen fought back with a goal from Suat Serdar (remember this name!) in the 21st minute. And for a while...it appeared like Schalke was going to walk away with a hard-earned point.

Extra time, however, was not so kind to Die Königsblauen. In the fourth minute of extra time, Serdar was booked for his second yellow card and sent off. Sure that's some unfortunate timing, but what could wrong?

Well, five minutes later as the game extended into the ninth minute of extra time Luka Jovic found the back of the net and secure three important points for Die Adler.

Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Schalke 04 1 (W)

Fortuna Dusseldorf 2, Hertha Berlin 1: F95 once again made it clear that they have no intentions of being relegated and picked up a key three points against a fading Hertha Berlin squad. Dusseldorf's Benito Raman (35') and Die Alte Dame's Marko Grujic (41') exchanged first half goals, but it was not until the 61st minute when Raman struck again that either team took control of the game.

Hertha Berlin is in a horrid slump as it lost four consecutive games and five of its last six. Die Alte Dame was a threat for a top six position just a few weeks ago, but those hopes appear to be dashed. F95, meanwhile, has show tremendous resilience and transformed itself into a solid and dangerous middle-of-the-table team.

Prediction: Hertha Berlin 2, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1 (L)

RB Leipzig 4, Bayer Leverkusen 2: This game had all the makings of a shootout and it lived up to the hype for at least a little while. Leverkusen's Kai Havertz had a first half brace (12'-PK and 23'), while Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer countered with a 17th minute goal.

The second half, however, belonged to Die Roten Bullen. Timo Werner (64'), Emil Forsberg (71'-PK), and Matheus Cunha (83') all scored -- including an amazing effort from Cunha -- to power Leipzig to three points. Ralf Rangnick's team is looking potent and energetic heading down the stretch, which could mean trouble every other team in its way.

Prediction: RB Leipzig 3, Bayer Leverkusen 2 (W)

Hoffenheim 4, FC Augsburg 0: Augsburg has nothing left in the tank and Hoffenheim took full advantage of it. Andrej Kramaric (6') and Ishak Belfodil (61', 74', 82') took care of the scoring as TSG1899 was thoroughly dominant.

Prediction: Hoffenheim 3, FC Augsburg 2 (W)

Borussia Monchengladbach 1, Werder Bremen 1: M'Gladbach's Florian Neuhaus (49') and Werder Bremen's Davvy Klaassen (79') traded goals, but neither team could make much headway. Even in a draw, Bremen continues to impress, while Die Fohlen is reeling and needs to find its bearings in the worst way.

Prediction: Borussia Monchengladbach 2, Werder Bremen 2

Last match day record: 5-3

Season record: 126-125

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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