Bundesliga Match Day 33: Weekend Wrap-Up
Well, that solved nothing.
Bayern Munich failed to seize the day and settled for a scoreless draw with RB Leipzig that kept Borussia Dortmund's title hopes alive. It was not a banner effort for either Bayern or Leipzig as the Bavarians dominated play for the most part, but lacked precision in the final third.
Leipzig struggled against a very staunch Bayern defense, but fought hard to earn what amounted to an inconsequential point for itself. Regardless of that, Die Roten Bullen entered the game already locked into the Champions League for next season and with no chance to move up or down in the table, did will just show some motivation for the fixture. In some cases, teams would have mentally packed it in, but not Leipzig. The East Germans at least showed the mental toughness and will to scrap with the six-time defending champions.
The play of the game was clearly the Leon Goretzka goal that was disallowed by VAR after it was found that Robert Lewandowski was in an offside position. The call was extremely debatable and somewhat ludicrous, but it was one that could have major ramifications in the Bundesliga title as we enter the season's final week.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, RB Leipzig 1 (L)
(Standings courtesy of @Bundesliga_EN)
This was - by all accounts - a scorching...
VfB Stuttgart 3, Wolfsburg 0: Stuttgart clinched the 16th position, ensuring it would at least have a shot to remain in the Bundesliga's top flight as it will enter the relegation playoff with a hope to retain its position. With the win, Hannover 96 and FC Nurnberg officially accepted relegation for next season, but it was the kind of effort that Die Schwaben has rarely seen this season.
Stuttgart stunned a strong and feisty Wolfsburg squad as Gonzalo Castro (45+1'), Anastasios Donis (55'), and Daniel Didavi (83') all scored in the huge victory for Die Schwaben.
Prediction: Wolfsburg 2, VfB Stuttgart 1 (L)
Borussia Monchengladbach 4, FC Nurnberg 0: M'Gladbach shuttered Der Club's dreams of a miracle by pounding Nurnberg with four goals. Tallies from Josip Drmic (56'), an own goal from Lukas Muhl (63'), Thorgan Hazard (65'), and Denis Zakaria (80') allowed Die Fohlen head into next week's battle with BVB with a legitimate shot to play spoiler to Dortmund's title hopes.
In what has been a pretty bad stretch for M'Gladbach, the squad still has a chance to clinch a top four position, so it has much to play for against the Black and Yellows.
Prediction: Borussia Monchengladbach 2, FC Nurnberg 1 (W)
Werder Bremen 1, Hoffenheim 0: Johannes Eggestein's 39th minute goal was the difference in the game as Werder Bremen once again showed its tremendous grit in pushing aside Hoffenheim. The win gave Die Werderaner at least a slim bit of hope to sneak into 7th place and a chance to possibly try and trudge through the Europa League qualifiers.
Prediction: Hoffenheim 2, Werder Bremen 2 (L)
Hannover 96 3, SC Freiburg 0: After a season of looking god awful, H96 has come alive! A week after making life difficult for Bayern, Hannover secured three points with a shutout victory over Freiburg, which apparently took the week off.
Waldemar Anton (39'), Ihlas Bebou (51'), and Walace (81') were the difference for Hannover 96, which probably needed at least one game like this before heading down to 2. Bundesliga.
Prediction: SC Freiburg 2, Hannover 96 1 (L)
Borussia Dortmund 3, Fortuna Dusseldorf 2: In the league's second most exciting game of the weekend, BVB outlasted F95 to stay alive in the title hunt. Christian Pulisic opened up the scoring in the 41st minute, which gave Dortmund a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
From there things got a little crazy. F95's Oliver Fink registered a 47th minute tally before Thomas Delaney gave BVB a 2-1 lead in the 53rd minute. Mario Gotze made it 3-1 at the 90+2' mark but Dawid Kownacki cut the lead to 3-2 for Dusseldorf at 90+5'. The game would end with F95 dominating one last possession before ultimately failing to get a good attempt on net.
Dodi Lukebakio's missed penalty at the 59-minute mark was a huge play in the game and the Bundesliga overall. Not only did it ultimately help Dortmund win, but the fallout also included preventing Bayern from clinching its 7th consecutive title. It was a very costly miss for Dusseldorf and Bayern alike.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3, Fortuna Dusseldorf 1 (W)
Bayer Leverkusen 1, Schalke 04 1: If Leverkusen fails to gain a Champions League berth, it will look at this game and hate how things played out. Kai Havertz continued his torrid play with a 31st minute goal, but Die Werkself could not put away Schalke. Guido Burgstaller's 47th minute goal tied the game and ultimately put Leverkusen in a position to fight for its "European life" next week.
Worse (and typically of Schalke's season), Daniel Caligiuri missed a penalty kick int he 53rd minute that could have iced the game for Die Königsblauen. While we expect Schalke to let down this season, this game was another reminder of how close Leverkusen is to breaking through, but also how far away they really are from being true contenders.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3, Schalke 04 1 (L)
Hertha Berlin 4, FC Augsburg 3: Who'd have thought this game would have such fireworks, but Die Alte Dame and Die Fuggerstädter hooked up for a six-goal second half. Andre Hahn gave Augsburg a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute, which was the only goal of the first half.
What ensued afterward made for a crazy and fun exchange. Hertha Berlin's Marvin Plattenhardt (47') and Augsburg's Michael Gregoritsch (PK - 50') traded goals before Marko Grujic knotted the game at 202 for Die Alte Dame.
Gregoritsch struck again in the 70th minute to give Augsburg a 3-2 lead, but Salomon Kalou (75' and PK - 90+2') scored a late brace to clinch the victory for Hertha Berlin.
In a season where both teams struggled at times, it was a fun way to see some of the talent existing on those rosters show itself.
Prediction: FC Augsburg 2, Hertha Berlin 2 (L)
Mainz 05 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 0: Anthony Ujah's brace was the difference in the game on the scoreboard, but the real factor in this one was the tied and weary legs of Die Adler. Not to take anything away from Mainz, which has spent the entire season being a thorn in the side of nearly every Bundesliga side, but Eintracht Frankfurt is spent.
The shame of the situation for Die Adler is that it lost (on penalty kicks) to Chelsea in the Europa League, but now had skidded into 6th with just a slim hope of pushing into 4th place and a spot in the Champions League. Frankfurt had to take the challenge of battling Chelsea seriously, but it probably hurt its standing domestically. It was a no-win situation for Adi Hutter and here is to hoping that Frankfurt doesn't find itself completely shutout of European competition next season. The core of the squad is too good to miss out.
Last match day record: 2-7
Season record: 149-148
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.
