Bundesliga Matchday 29

1. FC Nürnberg v. FC Bayern München 1:1 (0:1)

Goal Scorers: Nürnberg Eigler 60’; FCB – Müller 5’

EasyCredit Stadion – 48, 548

This Bavarian derby started so promising for FCB, a brilliant cross-filed through ball from Robben to Müller – one in which Müller almost failed to control - but finished well. Mehmet Ekici was once again the player of the game. The Howler of the weekend? The Munich goal... Kraft… He tried to clear the ball (at numerous points), but only got it as far as Eigler who obliged him by knocking it in from 40 meters. Another Kraft error should have gone in earlier, but Munich got lucky… The real error Kraft made seems to be his presence - his name on the team sheet has been a continual bridge too far for the Heads of State at Munich. Louis van Gaal has been released with immediate effect. Assistant manager, Andries Jonker, will take over until the end of the season.

Hamburger SV v. Borussia Dortmund 1:1 (1:0)

Goal Scorers: HSV – van Nistelrooy (pk) 39’; BVB – Kuba 90’

Imtech Arena – 57,000 

The lead at the top is now 5 points. It still seems too wide for Leverkusen… I thought that when it was double figures though… Dortmund continues to impress, however. To fight and crawl their way back to a draw was impressive, and a deserved draw as well. Nuri Sahin still pulls the strings for BVB (61/75 pass success), but Kuba should get the plaudits. At the end of the day, Dortmund pummeled HSV’s goal. Continuous wide play (27 crosses) and break neck speed had HSV on their heels. HSV’s goal came off a penalty when Petric was brought down in the box. Ruud van Nistelrooy converted with ease.

 *If you have the time you should YouTube Dortmund manager, Klopp’s goal celebration.

FC Schalke 04 v. VfL Wolfsburg 1:0 (0:0)

Goal Scorers: Schalke – Jurado 76’

Veltins Arena – 61,600

After that certain midweek victory Schalke may be out of gas, which seems only natural following Schalke’s other midweek victories met with a drop in form in the league. Schalke goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, has assured Royal Blue fans that the partying will not be too crazy assuring them that the only drink will be “water and apple juice.” This match matters more for Wolfsburg as they try to beat the drop. This is also Felix “Saddam” Magath’s first trip back to Gelsenkirchen (since he left the helm last month).

Schalke have a foot in the Champion's League semifinals, and are now in the top half of the Bundesliga table. 

All’s well in Gelsenkirchen? 

Ralf Rangnick has Schalke fighting in ways that Magath could not. If this match was a month ago it probably would have ended 0-0, but Jurado and the rest of the Royal Blues fought and scrapped a win.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen v. FC St. Pauli 2:1 (0:0)

Goal Scorers: Leverkusen – Kießling 66’, Bender 77’; St. Pauli – Takyi 58’

Bay Arena – 30, 210

Five points, that’s it! Takyi sought to throw a wrench in the wheel after a sloppy bit of defense from Leverkusen, but Leverkusen responded quickly. A brilliant back heel from Castro to Derdiyok and finished superbly by Kießling. Michael “Big Impact” Ballack had a rocket of a free kick saved, but Leverkusen would go ahead by the increasingly reliable Lars Bender – although it should have been saved. Great match though – St. Pauli may be heading down but nobody can argue with their determination (I wish the same could be said for their fans’ antics last week… The DFB has decided that St. Pauli will play their next home game behind closed doors).

SC Freiburg v. 1899 Hoffenheim 3:2 (1:2)

Goal Scorers: Freiburg – Schuster 23’, Cisse (pk) 60’, Butscher 78’; Hoffenheim – Ibisevic (pk) 34’, Babel 42’

Badenova Stadion – 24,000 

Great match. Shuster’s opening goal was either a complete fluke or brilliant. Knocking it in from the corner looked great, but I think it may have been lucky. This ended up being a match of penalties and more penalty questions. Hoffenheim has a legitimate argument that they should have received one in the first ten minutes, but went begging. Ryan Babel’s goal was a hint at the promise he should have showed at Liverpool, taking on the Freiburg defense alone.

Eintracht Frankfurt v. SV Werder Bremen 1:1 (0:0)

Goal Scorers: Frankfurt – Fenin 83; Bremen – Altintop (OG) 58’

Commerzbank Arena – 51,500

A great diving header goal from Fenin helped save Altintop’s earlier own goal blunder to help keep Frankfurt away from the drop for one more week. In 14^th and five points away from trouble maybe Frankfurt can correct the early calendar blunders.

Hannover 96 v. 1. FSV Mainz 05 2:0 (1:0)

Goal Scorers: Hannover – Ya Konan (pk) 45’, Pinto 59’;

AWD Arena – 48,000

Hannover is getting back on track, and have third place to show for it. A straightforward penalty put the 96ers ahead just before the half. A pinto rocket goal just after the break sealed the points.

VfB Stuttgart v. 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2:4 (2:1)

Goal Scorers: VfB – Kuzmanovic (pk) 26’, Pogrebnyak 39’; Kaiserslautern – Lakic 17’, 79’, Hoffer 68’, Rivic 86’

Mercedes-Benz Arena – 39,500

Lakic’s opening goal was powerful. A towering header over the flaccid VfB defense. I wish I could say his celebration was strong, but as he flexed his bicep I simply felt sorry for him. However, his second goal, another towering and powerful header, was not met with a Hulk Hogan flex. For VfB, Kuzmanovic’s penalty came after karate kick to the chest. Now Pogrebnyak’s goal may have been the goal of the weekend. A perfect through ball and an inch perfect pass for a diving Pogrebnyak. Kaiserslautern were simply too strong for a weak VfB defense. Total lack of communication.

Borussia Mönchengladbach v. 1. FC Köln 5:1 (3:0)

Goal Scorers: Gladbach – Arango 29’, Reus 34’, 39’, Daems (pk) 65’, Nordtveit 67’; Köln – Novakovic 50’

Stadion im Borussia Park – 53,104

Derby Day! An absolute massacre. If Gladbach played their rivals each week they might be playing in the Bundesliga next season…Köln just looked awful. The opening goal, a corner, was one from the training ground because there was no defense! Speaking of that, the next goal(s) was the exact same: terrible, terrible defense from the Köln. Köln didn’t really deserve their goal, but Gladbach are still awful in defense and it showed.

*Moment of brilliance in minute 34 from Reus – go watch this goal!