Bundesliga 29th matchday
Berlin (dpa) – FC Bayern has just averted another setback after the European Cup bankruptcy in Villarreal with a lackluster work victory.
The Munich team won against FC Augsburg 1-0 (0-0) on Saturday and restored the seven-point gap to rival Borussia Dortmund. BVB beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 at the start of the 29th Bundesliga matchday on Friday.
Meanwhile, Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Wolfsburg have pulled away from the relegation zone. Borussia scored 2-0 (2-0) at SpVgg Greuther Fürth and is in secure midfield with 37 points. With the 4-0 (2-0) win over Arminia Bielefeld, Wolfsburg have three points fewer. Particularly bitter for Bielefeld: In addition to relegation worries, another player was injured with a head injury. Cedric Brunner had to be taken to the hospital after a nasty collision with Wolfsburg’s Jonas Wind, Fabian Klos had only been caught the previous week. The striker underwent head surgery.
1. FC Köln moved closer to the European Cup places again with a furious 3:2 (0:1) against FSV Mainz 05. Cologne now have 43 points in seventh, Mainz remains at 38.
Lewandowski with a late penalty goal
In Munich, FC Bayern found it difficult to make amends for the European Cup shame. Only after an increase in the second half did coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team win after a late penalty goal by Robert Lewandowski (82nd). This was preceded by a handball by Reece Oxford, for Lewandowski it was the 32nd goal of the season. In the first round there was no scoring chance and no corner for Bayern. On Tuesday, Munich must improve significantly in the second leg against Villarreal, otherwise the Champions League is threatened.
The Gladbachers could rely on the French striker duo Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea. Thuram scored the lead (18′), Plea increased the penalty to 2-0 (24′). Curiously, referee Tobias Stieler only gave the Gladbach penalty after a few minutes after the video referee intervened. On Wednesday, Stieler was still under criticism in the role of VAR because he mistakenly did not intervene in the Augsburg penalty against Mainz.
Nmecha with a brace for Wolfsburg
In Wolfsburg, Lukas Nmecha gave VfL a 2-0 half-time lead with a double strike (11th and 38th), Maximilian Arnold with a free kick (48th) and Max Kruse (53rd) made everything clear. Between the first two goals, however, the collision between Brunner and Wind caused a shock (27th). Brunner remained motionless on the pitch and was taken off the field after minutes of treatment by Arminia doctors and paramedics. At half-time, the Bielefeld team announced that Brunner was conscious and was taken to a Wolfsburg hospital.
In Cologne, Mainz thought they were already clearly on the road to victory after goals from Jonathan Burkardt (14th) and Karim Onisiwo (55th). But Ellyes Skhiri (60th), Dejan Ljubicic (78th) and Luca Kilian (82nd) turned the game for FC. Match winner Kilian has been loaned to Cologne from Mainz since the start of the season.