Breathe a sigh of relief at 1. FC Cologne
©IMAGO
Borussia Dortmund prevented a false start to the second half of the Bundesliga at the last minute. The second-placed team initially gave up a 2-0 lead against relegation candidate FC St. Pauli on Saturday afternoon, but then came away with a 3-2 win thanks to Emre Can’s penalty kick in stoppage time. Previously, 1899 Hoffenheim had been preparing for a long time to compete with BVB in the race for runner-up: TSG won 1-0 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and temporarily jumped to third place, from which they can still be displaced.
There was a sigh of relief for 1.FC Köln, who had recently been in crisis, celebrating their first win since the beginning of November against bottom team Mainz 05 (2-1). In the relegation battle, VfL Wolfsburg stood on the spot with a 1-1 draw against 1. FC Heidenheim and Hamburger SV drew 0-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
BVB loses 2-0 and still wins against St. Pauli
Only a last-minute penalty saved Borussia Dortmund from another disappointment. Captain Emre Can caused collective celebration with his converted penalty after a video decision in the fifth minute of stoppage time and the 3:2 (1:0) against FC St. Pauli. Coach Niko Kovac’s team is unlikely to have impressed the 81,365 football fans with their performance. Playful and technical deficiencies caused frustration for a long time.
James Sands (61st minute) and substitute Ricky-Jade Jones (72nd) equalized for the underdogs to make it 2-2 after Julian Brandt (45th+1) and Karim Adeyemi (54th) had given BVB a 2-0 lead despite a weak game. On the first matchday, Dortmund had already lost a 3-1 lead with a 3-3 draw in the first leg. This time it was enough for a narrow and very lucky victory after video referee Johann Pfeifer recognized that Jones had fouled Maximilian Beier, who was also substitute, on the edge of the penalty area.
0-1 at Hoffenheim: Bayer Leverkusen continues to look for its form
Bayer Leverkusen completely botched the start of the year in the Bundesliga. Coach Kasper Hjulmand’s team suffered a deserved 0-1 (0-1) defeat at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim a week after the 4-1 defeat against VfB Stuttgart. The Werkself thus left the points to a direct rival in the fight for a Champions League place. TSG jumped to third place for the time being
The Kraichgauer team, who were once again strong, celebrated their sixth home win in a row and distanced Bayer to four points. Wouter Burger scored for TSG in the 9th minute in front of 26,957 spectators in Sinsheim. The Leverkusen team, who still have to make up for the game at Hamburger SV that was canceled during the week on March 4th, did not have a successful dress rehearsal for the premier class game on Tuesday at Olympiacos Piraeus. Bayer last lost the first two games after the winter break 22 years ago.
Joker Ache shoots 1. FC Köln out of the crisis against Mainz
1. FC Köln has ended its sporting crisis and put a damper on 1. FSV Mainz 05, which is in danger of relegation. After eight Bundesliga games without a win, Lukas Kwasniok’s team won 2-1 (0-1) thanks to a brace from second-half substitute Ragnar Ache, handing Mainz its first defeat under coach Urs Fischer.
In front of 50,000 fans in the sold-out Cologne stadium, Stefan Bell (29th minute) initially gave the guests from Mainz the lead before Joker Ache turned the game around with his brace (57th and 86th). Thanks to the first three points since the beginning of November, FC has now increased its cushion over the relegation zone with 20 points and is eight points ahead of FSV, which is in 17th place.
HSV only 0-0 against weak Gladbach
Hamburger SV continued to defend its status as an uncomfortable home team, but only got one point against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Hanseatic team will probably be very annoyed about the 0-0 draw against a visiting team that was overwhelmed and weak for long stretches. In the midst of the eventful days at the club after the departure of former sports director Stefan Kuntz, the traditional North German club, which was strong at home, lacked effectiveness in a less than entertaining game.
The guests from Lower Rhine were in a worrying state, especially in the first half. There was no reaction after the violent 1:5 loss at TSG Hoffenheim, and things only got a little better in the second half. With a win in front of the fans in the Volksparkstadion, which was once again sold out with 57,000 spectators, HSV could have distanced themselves more clearly from the relegation zone, which is no longer too far away. Nevertheless, coach Merlin Polzin’s team remained at home without a defeat – the last time HSV suffered a home defeat was on October 25th in a 0-1 defeat against Wolfsburg.
1:1 in Wolfsburg: Heidenheim jumps to the relegation place
1. FC Heidenheim has taken an important step forward in the relegation battle. In the 1-1 (1-0) draw in Wolfsburg, the previous bottom of the table missed out on a possible away win. Nevertheless, the FCH improved to the relegation place thanks to the late defeats of its two competitors Mainz 05 and FC St. Pauli.
Wolfsburg’s defender Moritz Jenz equalized the 1-0 lead by Adrian Beck (45th + 1) in the 79th minute. After the final whistle, both teams were disappointed. It quickly became apparent and audible that the Heidenheimers were not held in high esteem as opponents in Wolfsburg. With only 19,163 spectators in the Volkswagen Arena, almost 10,000 seats remained empty. The fans whistled every time the ball was played back to their own goalkeeper instead of forward.
