18th matchday
Berlin (AP) – Borussia Dortmund took advantage of Bayern’s slip. To speak of tension at the top of the table in the Bundesliga would be premature. Behind BVB things are still tight. SC Freiburg had to give up its third place in the table – to the next surprise club.
Moral:Phew! Borussia Dortmund often had doubts about the morale of the players. The attitude was right on Saturday. With the 3: 2 after 0: 2 deficit, BVB shortened the deficit to Bayern to six points. The victories “taste particularly good,” said Emre Can. Only two late goals in the closing stages made for a successful evening on the Main. “We achieved a great, emotional victory,” said defense chief Mats Hummels, who warned: “We keep conceding goals from situations that are not allowed to fall.” That happens “far too often, this stability is what we have to do if we want to achieve anything”.
Restart:The relief could be seen in the professionals at RB Leipzig. The past six months have been difficult for the runners-up and qualification for the Champions League is a long way off. The 4: 1 against FSV Mainz 05 was the right sign from the point of view of the Saxons, who now occupy eighth place. “We played a good game. There was a lot of input during the week, but we have already been able to implement a lot,” said international Lukas Klostermann. Shortly before the game, the injured Emil Forsberg said of Domenico Tedesco, who was signed in December: “We have a coach who has a clear plan.”
Series:Bayer Leverkusen have not won five competitive games in a row. The assessment of the 2: 2 against Union Berlin was correspondingly cautious. “In the end, I’m just happy that we haven’t lost the game,” said Leverkusen’s goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. For the Berlin team, the two-goal scorer Grischa Prömel was particularly happy on the day before his 27th birthday: “It’s a small miracle. I’ve never scored a double in my entire life.”
Third:Before the season started, only a few fans and experts would have predicted TSG 1899 Hoffenheim as third in the table after the 18th matchday. That’s exactly where the team of coach Sebastian Hoeneß is now. “It’s still only a moment. But of course it is a bit of confirmation that we are on the right path,” said Hoeneß after the 3-1 win against FC Augsburg. “Still, we can’t buy anything for it.” Double packer Ihlas Bebou played a major role in the victory. “I’m just happy that we won,” said the 27-year-old.
Anniversary:The first game after the ten-year-old from coach Christian Streich at SC Freiburg did not go to the 56-year-old’s taste. Streich did not take his unhappy substitute goalkeeper into account. “No problem at all. I also make mistakes,” said Streich about Benjamin Uphoff, who had his share in both goals conceded to make the final 2-2. The SC had led 2-0 – but then slipped from third to fourth place due to the draw. Regular goalkeeper Mark Flekken was absent after a positive corona test.
Comeback:Sasa Kalajdzic did not score straight away after a 141-day injury break. But the 24-year-old was immediately back in the team when VfB Stuttgart went 0-0 at SpVgg Greuther Fürth. “You could see how important he is for us as a target player,” said sporting director Sven Mislintat. “He made our game good,” said coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who let his striker play through. “You could tell that he still had grains, it wasn’t the most intense game for him.”
To care:Hertha BSC has to tackle the game against 1. FC Köln (3.30 p.m. / DAZN) with a few Corona failures. Due to the positive test by striker Ishak Belfodil, there was already the seventh corona case among the Berliners since training started after Christmas. In contrast, only the sick defender Jorge Merè and midfielder Ellyes Skhiri (Africa Cup) are missing from Cologne. VfL Wolfsburg has above all sporting concerns before the game at VfL Bochum (5.30 p.m. / DAZN). The Lower Saxony had gone into the winter break with five league bankruptcies in a row.
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