Bundesliga Matchday 23

Borussia Dortmund v. FC St. Pauli 2:0 (1:0)

Goal Scorers: Dortmund – Barrios 39’, Gunesch (OG) 49’

Signal Iduna Park – 80,720

The German press was talking panic – Dortmund has drawn 3/5 matches this calendar year (drawn, not lost!). On the field, however, Dortmund’s young guns looked comfortable. St. Pauli continued their hard work that was shown in the midweek Stadtderby. St. Pauli played with grit, determination, and passion, and honestly if they were playing anybody else besides the league leaders (champions) they would have won; Dortmund simply has too many attacking threats. Barrios really is a constant threat, and played a vital role in both BVB goals (scored on 39’ and his shot led to the OG on 49’). After scoring 5 minutes into the second half the game was as good as over; St. Pauli with only one chance to write about.

FC Nürnberg v. Eintracht Frankfurt 3:0 (0:0)

Goal Scorers: Nürnberg – Schieber 67’, Mak 87’, Cohen 90’

EasyCredit-Stadion – 40,853

Frankfurt needed to make a statement and end the poor form they have displayed in 2011. However, Nürnberg did not receive this statement. Nürnberg’s man of the moment, Schieber, struck a fantastic free kick on 67 minutes. Frankfurt had a mountain to climb for the remaining twenty minutes, but it always seemed that Nürnberg would score again rather than Frankfurt equalizing. With 19 minutes remaining, Skibbe went more offensive with a double substitution (Fenin for the captain Ochs and the Greek Amanatidis for Altintop), but it did not matter in the end. Fenin was a promising addition to the lineup, and looked threatening. However, Frankfurt continues to struggle on the field. No goals in 2011. Der Club, on the other hand, walk away beaming with confidence. Mak’s goal was one of grit and determination that matched his play. Cohen’s goal was simply the icing on the cake. Nürnberg won the midfield battle and tackles were fierce and passionate. This was Nürnberg’s fourth consecutive win in the Bundesliga.

FSV Mainz 05 v. FC Bayern München 1:3 (0:1)

Goal Scorers: Mainz – Allagui 84’; FCB – Schweinsteiger 9’, Müller 50’, Gomez 77’

Stadion am Bruchweg – 20,300

FCB are starting to pick up that swagger that Bundesliga fans either love or hate. A formidable 4-2-3-1 was employed again this week by Louis Van Gaal, having Robbery (Robben + Ribéry) on the wings provides constant width with the threat of them cutting in from either side. Gomez also continues his goal-scoring prowess. Have Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz been found out, or has a run of bad luck crippled them? By the time Allagui scored on 84 minutes this game was in the bag. The Bruchweg Boys (Mainz) have lost that swagger that FCB have picked up. The possession stats go to Bayern at 55.8%. A frustrating stat for Tuchel is that Mainz registered 18 shots (compared to FCB’s 19). And on top of that Mainz completed 76% of their passing. The stats don’t add up for Tuchel and Mainz.

1899 Hoffenheim v. 1. FC Köln 1:1 (0:0)

Goal Scorers: Hoffenheim – Novakovic 48’ (OG); Köln – Mohammad 69’

Rhein-Neckar-Arena – 30,000

This was only the 6^th point Köln has picked up away from home all season, and should feel lucky to have earned it. Hoffenheim play attractive football even if sometimes it lacked direction. A 4-3-3 makes sense for Hoffenheim. After losing Ba and Gustavo in the transfer window, Hoffenheim seem to be missing that spark that Gustavo brought and that speed and pace that Ba brought (Warren Barton should be happy he is at West Ham now for easy commentary over at Fox Soccer Matchday). For Hoffenheim to put up 60% possession and 18 shots on goal only to leave with a point is criminal. Further, Hoffenheim completed 75% of their passing with Alaba completing 51/62 passes.

SC Freiburg v. VfL Wolfsburg 2:1 (1:1)

Goal Scorers: Freiburg – Reisinger 43’, Cisse 69’; Wolfsburg – Helmes 28’

Badenova-Stadion – 21,000

A couple of seasons ago, Bayer Leverkusen had a young striker on their hands who was a constant threat. However, he got injured, and as the story goes, had a tough time finding his place in the Leverkusen side. The story continued in January when this German international, Patrick Helmes, left for Wolfsburg. Immediately he made an impact – he was involved in the infamous missed penalty by Diego (he was casually brushed aside in order for the Brazilian to slam the cross bar)! Against Freiburg he was the single goal scorer and couldn’t overshadow a Wolfsburg side that look uninterested. Wolfsburg are becoming a team that can dominate every important statistical category but still lose and somehow look uninterested. The relegation dogfight is being staged in a Volkswagen (what is it about teams who win the Bundesliga who aren’t named Bayern. 2003/2004 Werder, 2006/7 Stuttgart, 2008/9 Wolfsburg…). Too good to go down? No way – although they do have Tuncay, and we know he can do it on a “cold Tuesday at Stoke”…

Hannover 96 v. 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3:0 (2:0)

Goal Scorers: Hannover – Schlaudraff 17’, 57’ Abdellaoue 45”

AWD Arena – 37,000

Hannover could have been in third at the end of the day (read that statement again). Hannover is legitimately entertaining. I always enjoyed watching Mirko Slomka manage Schalke a few seasons back, and he is bringing that same attacking flair to match the spirit of the 96ers. Kaiserslautern is stuck at the wrong end of the table with five losses from six. All in all this was a pretty boring and straightforward 3-0 win for Hannover, nothing to write home about.

Hamburger SV v. SV Werder Bremen 4:0 (1:0)

Goal Scorers: HSV – Petric 42’, Guerrero 64’, 79’, Ben-Hatira 87’

HSH Nordbank Arena – 54,000

For me, this northern German derby was the pick of the litter. Both teams are punching below expectations (especially Werder). One might see the score and think Werder are continuing to struggle, but in fact they played well… until halftime… Werder came out after halftime and handed HSV the three points. The ever reliable, Per Mertesacker, was at fault for two of HSV’s second half goals. At the end of the day Bremen find themselves a point from the bottom three while HSV are inching closer to cementing a European spot.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen v. VfB Stuttgart 4:2 (2:1)

Goal Scorers: Leverkusen – Kießling (Kiessling) 6’, 90’, Castro 41’, Reinartz 81’; VfB – Harnik 16’, Kuzmanovic 52’

BayArena – 28,851

Both of these teams found themselves in midweek Europa League fixtures. Bayer looked convincing with a 4-0 win while VfB will feel disappointed losing a lead with an eventual defeat to Benfica (2:1). Here is another fun fact, Leverkusen has won more Bundesliga matches against Stuttgart than any other team (25), and Sunday made 26. For a team to be struggling in the table, like VfB, this was an enthralling encounter. The 4-2-3-1 was in full effect in this match; both teams set up in this formation, but it really fits Bayer’s style. This season I have been a big fan of Sidney Sam, Renato Augusto, and Simon Rolfes, they are the lynchpins for this Bayer squad. VfB, on the other hand, are a roller coaster side. They can look destined for relegation one week and absolutely provide their fans with fighting grit the next. This match was a battle. Leverkusen controlled the midfield battle. Each time Bayer would go up, VfB would come back and equalize but in the end Kiessling was too much to handle.

Borussia M'gladbach v. FC Schalke 04 2:1 (2:1)

Goal Scorers: Gladbach – Reus 12’, Idrissou 23’; Schalke – Kluge 2’

Stadion im Borussia-Park – 51,592

Schalke, coming off the back of an impressive draw against Valencia in the Champions League, find themselves on a typical Schalke high (doing decent in Europe while struggling for consistency in the league) against a team who just find it hard to get ahead. Schalke did it again, looked convincing against Valencia and look like a junior side in the league. They did get off to the best possible start with a goal after two minutes, but succumbed to a Gladbach side loving the new manager bounce. This was Borussia’s first home win of the season (yes, of the season!).