Matchday 18 Match of the Week - FSV Mainz vs. RB Leipzig

The Rückrunde [second half] of the Bundesliga began this week.  Bayern Munich is at the top of the standings with 39 points, leading RB Leipzig by four.  At the other end of the table, Mainz sits in the relegation zone with Schalke, both teams with a paltry seven points.  It’s been a difficult season for Mainz. They are on their fourth head coach of the season, Bo Svensson.  This has been their worst season in recent memory.  But Mainz have shown some signs of life as of late.  Last week, the fought Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw.  On Matchday 14 they led Bayern Munich 2-0 at the half before Bayern woke up to beat them 5-2.  On the other hand, Leipzig tend to struggle against teams in the top one-third of the table [they lost to Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Matchday 15], while they are ruthless against the lesser teams like Mainz.  For different reasons, this game was a “must win” for both teams.  Leipzig won the first meeting between the two teams on Matchday 1 in Leipzig, 3-1.  But Mainz made them work for it.  Could Mainz return the favor to open the Rückrunde?  Mainz have lost the last three meetings with Leipzig to an aggregate score of 16-1, while Leipzig have lost just one of those nine meetings with Mainz (W6, D2, L1), with their sole defeat coming at the Opel Arena in April 2018's 3-0 loss.  Mainz have lost their last four home games.  It hasn’t been an easy season for them.

Leipzig drew first blood at the fifteen-minute mark when American Tyler Adams scored his first Bundesliga goal after thirty-eight games.  Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer launched a rocket at the Mainz goal, only to see it hit the crossbar.  But Mainz left Adams unmarked and tapped in an easy rebound.  Given their recent futility against Leipzig, one wouldn’t blame Mainz for thinking “here we go again.”  Only three minutes later Mainz striker Robin Quaison headed a ball just over Leipzig’s goal, so it was clear that Mainz weren’t going to go away quietly.  At twenty-four minutes, Leipzig conceded from a set piece for the first time this season: Leipzig defender Marcel Hastenberg had committed a hard foul against Mainz midfielder Leandro Barreiro, resulting in a free kick from Mainz.  Moussa Niakhate smashed the ball home after Dominik Kohr - making his Mainz debut - had seen his header saved by Leipzig goalie Peter Gulacsi.  It was only the fourth time Mainz had scored from a set piece.

Halstenberg made up for his hard foul by scoring at thirty minutes.  He had plenty of time to take a deflection from the Mainz defense, and tucked the ball away in the back of the net.  There was nobody marking Halstenberg.  It was an easy goal.  Leipzig led 2-1, but Mainz pushed back.  They had two corner kicks in rapid succession, the second of which resulted in another goal from Moussa Niakhate, a defender (!).  With his second goal of the game, Niakhate became Mainz’s leading scorer of the season [3].  Until today, Niakhate scored twice in eighty-one Bundesliga games.  He doubled his tally today.  For a team that has been weak on scoring from set piece plays, Mainz scored twice from set pieces.  Perhaps Bo Svensson has had the team working on them in practice.  The score remained tied at 2-2 until halftime.  Mainz just refused to go away.

Once play resumed in the second half, Leipzig almost caught Mainz napping but failed to score.  Four minutes in, Danny DaCosta [newly arrived on loan from Frankfurt] streaked down the left side of the Leipzig defense, getting almost to the touch line.  He found Leandro Barreiro, who beat Peter Gulacsi to the ball and tipped it into Leipzig’s net for a 3-2 lead.  It was Barreiro’s first Bundesliga goal, and it was a beauty.  That goal came from nowhere.  Mainz had scored three at home for the first time this season but continued to push on for more, while Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann made early changes to try and rescue the game. Leipzig began to pile on the pressure with midfielder Christopher Nkunku forcing a fine save from Mainz goalie Robin Zentner with a curling strike just after the hour mark. Mainz never sat back, though, and continued to make life difficult for Leipzig.  Mainz striker Karim Onisiwo almost headed beyond Gulacsi while Stefan Bell also fired a shot narrowly over the crossbar as Mainz held on to record just their second win of the season.  Mainz are still in the relegation zone, but if they keep playing like this they won’t be there for long.  Leipzig need Schalke [a huge underdog] to beat Bayern to stay within reach of the top. Otherwise, they’ll drop to seven points behind the record champions.

I would be lying if I said I thought Mainz had a chance in this game.  They proved a lot of folks wrong today.  When the match started, I figured Leipzig would run Mainz out of the building, but that didn’t happen.  There was no “luck” involved here – Mainz were the better team today.  Mainz worked hard today.

 

Matchday 6 Match of the Week

This week’s Match of the Week saw league leaders RB Leipzig visiting sixth-place Borussia Mönchengladbach [BMG]. Earlier this week, Leipzig received a 5-0 thrashing against Manchester United in UEFA Champions League play, while BMG settled a 2-2 draw against La Liga champions Real Madrid after leading 2-0, also in UCL play. Last year, BMG were one of the few teams to beat Bayern Munich after Hansi Flick took the helm.  They are not a team to be taken lightly. Commentator extraordinaire Phil Bonney called today’s game.

Having seen Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich both overtake them earlier on Saturday, Leipzig came out fighting and Yussuf Poulsen was looking particularly sharp, assisted well by an enterprising Alexander Sorlorth. The Dane brought a fine one-handed save out of BMG goalie Yann Sommer with the first big chance of the game. Sorloth nearly teed up Poulsen midway through the first half, but the ball passed just beyond of the Dane's outstretched right boot, as Leipzig continued to set the tone. BMG posed a considerable threat on the break, though, and offside decisions against Breel Embolo and Alassane Plea – the latter finding the back of the net before the offside flag was raised – prevented Leipzig from falling behind.

Leipzig's Scandinavian strikers continued to spy out chances for the guests as the game entered the second half, but it was BMG, donning special edition black shirts to mark their 120th anniversary, who drew first blood. Patrick Herrmann deftly touched Plea's cross back for Hannes Wolf to score his first Bundesliga goal, against his parent club, with a well-placed finish into the far corner. It was one of the few times during the match that Plea made a correct decision.  He usually shoots when he should pass, and pass when he should shoot.  That’s the story of his time at BMG.  He did take a shot on goal at the 67^th minute, and it was a rocket – but it bounced off the woodwork.  Pity – it would have been a great score.  Leipzig brought on striker Emil Forsberg for midfielder Dani Olmo, midfielder Amadou Haidara for midfielder Kevin Kampl, and striker Hee-Chan Hwang for Poulsen.  Despite the setback, Leipzig refused to relent and Amadou Haidara tested Sommer before Sorloth saw a shot deflected over the crossbar. Leipzig continued to knock and knock on the Foals' barn door, but they could not force it down, with Wolf's goal proved to be enough. That was the story of Leipzig’s night – lots of misses by just inches.

The result lifted BMG to fourth on 11 points after six games, with Leipzig dropping to third on 13, two behind new leaders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.  Leipzig lost to BMG for the first time ever.

Next week – Bayern Munich visit Borussia Dortmund – a first vs. second in another round of Der Klassiker.

 

 

The Double

Bayern Munich hadn’t exactly covered themselves in glory on their road to the DFB-Pokal final.  I had the opportunity to watch their quarterfinal match against second-division team Heidenheim.  The game started out well enough for Bayern with Leon Goretzka scoring in the twelfth minute.  But shortly thereafter, Niklas Süle was shown the red card for a tackle he made in the Bayern penalty area.  Bayern would have to play the rest of the game with only ten men.  Heidenheim's Robert Glatzel and Marc Schnatterer later scored to give Heidenheim the 2-1 lead at halftime.  Thomas Müller, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry each scored for Bayern after halftime to make the score 4-2.  Glatzel scored twice more to even the score, which made things a little too interesting for the comfort of Bayern’s fans.  Serge Gnabry almost made it 5-4, but his shot on goal hit the crossbar.  In the game’s waning moments, Heidenheim committed a handball, and Robert Lewandowski converted the resulting penalty kick to make the score 5-4.

Bayern’s DFB-Pokal semi-final opponent was Werder Bremen at Bremen’s Weser-Stadion.  Bayern seemed to have this match under control.  Robert Lewandowski scored in the first half, Thomas Müller scored midway through the second half.  Suddenly, Werder scored two goals in quick succession - Yuya Osako at 74’, then Milot Rashica one minute later.  Scored tied 2-2.  Werder was putting up a spirited defense for the home crowd, but their euphoria soon turned to fury when Kingsley Coman and Theodor Gebre Selassie collided in Bremen's penalty area.  From my vantage point, there was no way Coman was going to catch up to the ball headed toward Bremen goalie Jiri Pavlenka, but the referee awarded a penalty to Bayern.  The referee didn’t bother to check VAR, which made the home side and their fans furious.  Bayern got a gift from the referee, and I say that as a Bayern fan.  I didn’t think it was a penalty, but my opinion doesn’t count.  For the second week in a row, Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty that ultimately won the game for Bayern.  Bayern were on their way to the DFB-Pokal.  You can win pretty or you can win ugly, the final result still counts the same.

RB Leipzig had some trouble, but not as much as Bayern, in reaching the DFB-Pokal final.  Leipzig had to work pretty hard in the quarterfinal against Augsburg.  Neither team got on the scoreboard until the 74^th minute when Leipzig striker Timo Werner scored.  Leipzig appeared to be heading for the semi-final date when Augsburg’s Alfred Finnbogason [a scoring machine when he’s healthy] scored on a desperate shot three minutes into stoppage time.  Since this was a knockout-stage game, Augsburg and Leipzig played two tense but scoreless fifteen-minute periods, but the game ended with a twist.  Augsburg’s Michael Gregoritsch was called for a handball inside Augsburg’s penalty are four minutes into stoppage time.  Leipzig’s Marcel Halstenberg converted the resultant penalty kick and Leipzig were on their way to the semi-final.  Their semi-final opponent was second-division team Hamburg. Until the end of last season, Hamburg had been the only team to have been in the first division of the Bundesliga since its formation.  But after tempting fate for too many seasons for their fans’ liking, Hamburg were finally relegated after last season.  But they seemed to rediscover their form by making it all the way to the semi-final.  Once there, however, RB Leipzig proved to be too tough for them. Leipzig won, 3-1. 

For the first time since he left the game against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 29 with a calf injury [six weeks], Manuel Neuer started in goal instead of Sven Ulreich.  I was concerned [as was he] that he didn’t have a match under his belt prior to the DFB-Pokal final so he could shake off any rust.  Neither of us needn’t have worried.  At eleven minutes into the game, Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen headed a ball toward goal from a corner kick at point-blank range.  Neuer got a glove on it on sheer reflex and it hit the crossbar.  It was a “how did he do that” moment.  Neuer had another such moment in the second half.  Three minutes after the second half began, Neuer found himself being the only thing between his own goal and Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg.  Forsberg took a great ball from Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate.  Finding himself one-on-one with Forsberg, Neuer reminded us of why he was once considered one of the best goalies in the world.  He deflected Forsberg’s ball first with his leg and then his arm, resulting in a corner kick for Leipzig.  Ever since he broke his foot against Real Madrid two seasons ago, Neuer has not been the dominant stopper that Bayern Munich [or the German National Team] needs.  But on this day, he was the Neuer of old.  Leipzig had their chances but could not capitalize.

After last week’s 5-1 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt to win the Bundesliga, Bayern set their sights on completing the “domestic double.  But Leipzig dominated much of the opening half hour, creating one clear-cut chance [Poulsen’s].  But at 29’, Robert Lewandowski made a difficult header past Leipzig’s goalie Peter Gulasci. Lewandowski took a cross from David Alaba as he was heading away from the goal, and redirected the ball past Gulasci.  Lewandowski nearly added a second goal at 44’ after build-up work from Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry. Moments later, from the ensuing short corner routine, Mats Hummels made contact with a low cross from Müller but Gulasci saved it.  The score was 1-0 at halftime.  [Editor’s note: You know things are not going well for RB Leipzig when you don’t hear about Timo Werner.  As goes Timo, so goes RB Leipzig, and Timo was fairly quiet all day.]

After Neuer’s miraculous save against Forsberg in the second half, Bayern were merciless in attacking the Leipzig goal.  Shots came from Lewandowski, Müller, Gnabry and Mats Hummels even got into the act.  Peter Gulasci was a busy man in the second half.  At 66’, Hummels blocked a vicious shot from Forsberg with his jaw.  One could almost see the stars and birds circling Hummels’ head, but he got up, though it took him a little while to do so.  At 70’ Bayern brought on Corentin Tolisso for his first action since September, when he suffered an ACL tear.  Leipzig substituted 20-year-old Frenchman Dayot Upamecano for team captain Willi Orban.  Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick wanted more speed on defense.  But at 78’ Kingsley Coman scored Bayern’s second goal.  With only twelve minutes left in the game, it appeared Bayern had the Cup wrapped up, and they made two more substitutions – Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben came on for Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman. 

Lewandowski struck again.  A long Bayern clearance puts Upamecano in a tough spot.  The 30-year-old Lewandowski sprinted past the 20-year-old Upamecano, won the ball and dinked the ball over the onrushing Peter Gulasci with his left foot.  It was 3-0 Bayern with only five minutes to go.  After three minutes of stoppage time, Leipzig could not get on the board and the game ended with Bayern winning, 3-0.  Mauuel Neuer got a clean sheet, Niko Kovac got his second DFB-Pokal in as many years [his Frankfurt side beat Bayern Munich in last year’s final], and Bayern won the domestic double.  Kovac did what Jupp Heynckes couldn’t do last year, nor could Carlo Ancelotti do in his short stint at Bayern.  I think all of that talk about Niko Kovac not coaching at Bayern next year will cease.

Borussia Dortmund - Time to Panic?

What has happened to Borussia Dortmund? They started the current Bundesliga campaign in beast mode. Through the first seven weeks, they won six and drew once. They scored 21 goals while surrendering only two. They gave up zero goals in the first four matches. They seemed to be running away with the Bundesliga. Then the wheels fell off. Their last win in Bundesliga play came on Matchday 7 against Augsburg. That was September 30th [it’s mid-November now]. Since then, they’ve lost [including today] to RB Leipzig [at home!], Hannover 96, Bayern Munich [at home!] and VfB Stuttgart. The best they could manage was a 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. In their last two UEFA Champions League matches, they managed two 1-1 draws against APOEL Nicosia. In four days they play Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League, then Schalke four days later. Schalke is the team immediately behind them in the Bundesliga standings. They might catch a break the following week against Bayer Leverkusen [they’re currently 9th in the Bundesliga].

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is but one barometer to measure Dortmund’s success. As he goes, so goes Dortmund. But lately, he’s been in a bit of a funk. He hasn’t scored since Matchday 8. For reasons unexplained he was suspended for the Matchday 12 match against VfB Stuttgart. That’s not to say that Dortmund’s current slide is Aubameyang’s fault – it isn’t. Since that Matchday 7 victory against Augsburg, Dortmund have surrendered 14 goals while scoring only eight. After seeming to runaway with the league in the first seven weeks, Dortmund now find themselves in third place behind Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig [same as last year]. Bayern Munich fired Carlo Ancelotti for lackluster play – could Peter Bosz be next? Since replacing Thomas Tuchel, Bosz introduced an always-pressing style. Is the team already exhausted? I don’t know, but during today’s Bundesliga telecast, Bosz was quoted as the rest of the league have “figured out” Dortmund. I just got back from two weeks in Korea and last night I watched Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich [Bayern won 3-1]. Dortmund’s defense wasn’t pretty. They kept giving Bayern too much space to operate, and Bayern made them pay. Today against Stuttgart, Stuttgart ran Dortmund into the ground. If Bosz doesn’t make any adjustments to the league’s having “figured out” his team, he could follow Ancelotti to the unemployment line.

Nov. 19th note - Between September 30th and now, Borussia Dortmund have fallen from first place to fifth. Meanwhile, Schalke now sits in second place. Good luck Dortmund, you’ll need it.

Bundesliga Match Day 4

Fox Sports televised six Bundesliga games this weekend. On Friday, Hannover defeated Hamburg 2-0. After spending last season in 2. Bundesliga, Hannover are in surprisingly good form. They’re so good right now that for the first time since Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, Hannover found themselves in first place, even if it was for only two days. Three of the televised games were blowouts: Bayern Munich 4, Mainz 0; Bayer Leverkusen 4, Freiburg 0; and Borussia Dortmund 5, FC Köln 0.

Robert Lewandowski scored a pair for Bayern, which puts him at 5 goals thus far season. Maximilian Philipp and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang each scored a pair for Dortmund. That puts Aubameyang at four goals to date. Dortmund are in beast mode this season, scoring ten goals without allowing a single goal in four games. New coach Peter Bosz’s always-pressing style is paying dividends for now. I don’t know how long Dortmund can keep up the pace, but right now they don’t appear to miss Ousmane Dembele. Dembele made the move to Barcelona for a truckload of money, but in his La Liga debut yesterday he severely injured a hamstring, which will put him out of action for three to four months. FC Köln hasn’t shown any offense so far – in four matches they’ve scored only twice. They miss Anthony Modeste, who transferred to Tianjin Quanjian of the Chinese Super League this summer.

Timo Werner [pictured above] has been playing extremely well as of late. Having been awarded the Golden Boot for the most goals scored during this summer’s Confederations Cup [3], Werner recorded his fourth goal of the season in RB Leipzig’s match with Borussia Mönchengladbach. His is the top German scorer in the Bundesliga. Of the six matches televised this weekend, the RB Leipzig-Borussia Mönchengladbach match, which ended in a 2-2 draw, was the most entertaining. Werner drew first blood in the 17th minute, but seven minutes later Borussia Mönchengladbach equalized after Belgian midfielder Thorgan Hazard converted a penalty shot. Jean-Kévin Augustin [signed this summer from Paris Saint Germain] restored Leipzig’s lead in the 34th minute. Leipzig held the lead until Lars Stindl hammered home the equalizing goal from outside the penalty area. Leipzig’s goalie Péter Gulácsi did everything right, going airborne in the direction of Stindl’s shot, but Stindl’s thunderbolt was in just the right spot, out of Gulácsi’s reach. Leipzig kept pressing, but Mönchengladbach’s defense responded to each challenge. It was a riveting contest. With RB Leipzig’s second place finish n the Budesliga, they are playing in the UEFA Champions League, just like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. They’re playing with the big boys in Europe now. They played Monaco to a 1-1 draw last week.

Last week Hoffenheim stunned Bayern Munich at home 2-0. They started today’s match against Hertha Berlin in 7th place with the chance to move up to third with a win. They had a very good season last year, which was good enough to earn them the chance to get into the UEFA Champions League. They lost a two-game playoff to Liverpool, so now they’re playing in the Europa League. As it is, Hoffenheim, like RB Leipzig, are doing double duty in the Bundesliga and European football. It’ll be interesting to see how both of these clubs last. They no longer have the luxury to rest while Bayern and Borussia play the extra games with the rest of Europe. Hertha Berlin are no strangers to European play. Like Hoffenheim, they too are playing in the UEFA Europa League. Last week they played Athletic Bilbao to a 0-0 draw.

As for today’s match, Sandro Wagner put Hoffenheim ahead early with a header in just the sixth minute of play. Hoffenheim held the lead until Hertha Berlin’s Alexander Esswein equalized in the 55th minute. Both teams seemed to play like they were tired, and they probably were. After the equalizer, it was a pretty dull game. I know, for a lot of people this is a dull sport.

Matchday 34 - Hamburg Lives!

For both teams it was very simple – win and you’re in. The loser gets to play in a relegation playoff against the Bundesliga 2 third-place finisher. Hamburg and Wolfsburg played even until the 88th minute, when Hamburg’s Luca Waldschmidt, celebrating his 21st birthday today, scored his first-ever Bundesliga goal to put Hamburg in front for good, 2-1. Hamburg survives, and they remain the only team to play in the Bundesliga’s top division since the founding of the league. Wolfsburg’s season goes into extra time. They have a 2-game home-and-home playoff against Eintracht Braunschweig. Augsburg managed to stay out of the relegation playoff by fighting Hoffenheim to a goalless draw. I didn’t think Augsburg stood a chance against fourth-place Hoffenheim, but that’s why they play the games [and my crystal ball doesn’t work worth a damn). Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, the top division’s top three finishers, automatically qualify for group play in next year’s UEFA Champions League. Hoffenheim must compete in a playoff with another European football club to qualify for the Champions League. If they win, they’re in the Champions League group stage. If they lose, they play in the UEFA Europa League. 

This was RB Leipzig’s first season in the top division. They went from being the Bundesliga 2 runner-up last year to the top division runner-up this season. They were in first place for a few weeks before the Christmas break, so they’ve had a remarkable season. Now with the addition of the UEFA Champions League schedule, it remains to be seen how they handle what Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund do every year. I think they’ll be fine, but again, that’s why they play the games. FC Köln, Hertha Berlin, and SC Freiburg, by virtue of their 5-6-7 finishes respectively, qualify for UEFA Europa League play next season. Köln booked their first European league play in 25 years, while Freiburg, last year’s Bundesliga 2 champion, get their first taste of European competition. 

There are two individual award winners: 
Top Goal Scorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang [Borussia Dortmund] – 31 goals 
Top Goal Keeper – Manuel Neuer [Bayern Munich] – 14 clean sheets [“shutouts” in US-speak] 

Bayern Munich’s Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso played their last games today. They leave the sport as two of the most decorated footballers of their generation.  
Xabi Alonso: 
Liverpool – FA Cup 2005-05; UEFA Champions League 2004-05, UEFA Super Cup 2005 
Real Madrid – La Liga, 2011-12; Copa del Rey, 2010-11, 2013-14; Supercopa de España, 2012; UEFA Champions League 2013-14 
Bayern Munich – Bundesliga 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17; DFB-Pokal 2015-16; DFL-Supercup 2016 
Spain – FIFA World Cup 2010; UEFA European Championship 2008, 2012 

Philipp Lahm: 
Bayern Munich – Bundesliga 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18; DFB-Pokal 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2015-16; DFL-Ligapokal 2007; DFL-Supercup 2010, 2012, 2016; UEFA Champions League 2012-13; UEFA Supercup 2013, FIFA Club World Cup 2013 
Germany – FIFA World Cup 2014