Berlin (AP) – FC Bayern could actually start planning for the next championship celebration. After the 4-1 win in Freiburg and Dortmund’s home defeat against Leipzig, the lead of the Bundesliga leaders has grown to nine points.
However, a change mistake and the question of whether the strange scenes have an aftermath caused irritation for the soccer record champion. In Berlin, however, Felix Magath recognizes more than ever how difficult his rescue mission at Hertha will be.
Referee: “Totally confused situation”
Twelfth man: Freiburg’s new international Nico Schlotterbeck counted briefly, then he was sure: Bayern have one man too many on the pitch. “It was a totally confused situation,” said referee Christian Dingert later. He only interrupted the game after Schlotterbeck pointed it out.
For a few seconds, the Munich team played outnumbered because Kingsley Coman initially didn’t leave the field in a double substitution. The wrong shirt number had been displayed. Not much happened in those seconds. And yet many immediately asked themselves: will Bayern lose the win because of the error? Dingert recorded the scene in the game report, the DFB had to regulate everything else. “I have no major concerns,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer.
Attrition: The Dortmund football temple was completely full again for the first time after two years of Corona – and then that. BVB went down 4-1 against RB Leipzig, the result being whistles and isolated calls after coach Marco Rose was thrown out. “We had big plans and wanted to gain momentum for the final phase. So we slowed ourselves down massively today,” said the coach. Veteran Mats Hummels already suspected the next Twitter thunderstorm for the fickle Dortmunders, but nevertheless emphasized: “You don’t have to pretend that we were played 4-1 against the wall.”
Magath: Team must “fight more”
Disillusionment: Felix Magath had celebrated a promising debut at Hertha in the home office with the 3-0 win over Hoffenheim. After the 1: 2 in Leverkusen, the first game in Berlin with the 68-year-old on the bench, things are looking bleak again. Hertha is back in penultimate place. And now comes the city derby against Union. Magath has noticeably picked up on training lately, and now he’s appealing to his protégés’ fighting spirit: “When you’re at the bottom of the table, you’re not that good in terms of play. That’s why you have to fight harder – otherwise you won’t get out of the bottom.”
Relegation battle: At the end of the 28th match day, the focus is on the battle for remaining in the league. Despite personnel concerns, Borussia Mönchengladbach wants to continue its upward trend and increase the gap to the lower ranks. After the last two wins, the twelfth in the table will welcome FSV Mainz 05 on Sunday (5.30 p.m. / DAZN). Borussia are missing Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hofmann, Tony Jantschke, Luca Netz and Marvin Friedrich for health reasons. Before (3.30 p.m. / DAZN) VfL Wolfsburg is required at FC Augsburg. With a win at table 15. the 13th from Lower Saxony can move further away from the endangered zone.