Berlin (dpa) – Bayern Munich’s pursuers have weakened strongly at the start of the second half of the Bundesliga.
The table runner-up RB Leipzig (35 points) conceded a 2: 3 (2: 2) bankruptcy at the league penultimate 1. FSV Mainz 05 and thus missed out on one point against Bayern (39), the first on Sunday – at the bottom of the pack, FC Schalke 04. Bayer 04 Leverkusen (32) also stumbled into third place. In the factory duel, Leverkusen lost 1-0 (0-1) at home to VfL Wolfsburg (32), who initially climbed to fourth place ahead of Borussia Mönchengladbach (31). Coach Marco Rose’s team defeated Borussia Dortmund (7/29) 4-2 at the start of the 18th matchday on Friday evening.
On a high-scoring Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt (30) moved up to a European Cup rank with a 5: 1 (3: 1) against promoted Armina Bielefeld, while SC Freiburg beat promoted VfB Stuttgart 2: 1 (2: 1). The 1. FC Union conceded the second consecutive defeat after its successful weeks with a 1: 2 (1: 1) at FC Augsburg. City rivals Hertha BSC lost at home to SV Werder Bremen 1: 4 (1: 2) – for coach Bruno Labbadia and sports director Michael Preetz it should be even more uncomfortable.
Leipzig’s coach Julian Nagelsmann was also not in a good mood after the defeat in Mainz. Tyler Adams (15th) and national player Marcel Halstenberg (30th) gave RB two lead. Moussa Niakhaté (24/35) equalized twice for Mainz. Leandro Barreiro (59th) scored the second win of the season after the 3-1 win against SC Freiburg on November 22, 2020 with his goal after the break.
Bayer cannot put Bayern under pressure either. There was only one win in the past six games. The defeat against Wolfsburg was the fourth in the same period. Ridle Baku (35th) made the decision.
SC Freiburg sent their state rivals from Stuttgart home without points. In the seventh minute, the Breisgauer took the lead through Silas Wamangituka. The hosts countered the quick equalization by Ermedin Demirovic (14th) with a hit by Wooyeong Jeong (37th). Shortly before the break, Nicolas Gonzalez missed the chance of a draw with an anything but courageous penalty.
With two goals, the FCA striker Florian Niederlechner (17th, 47th) almost single-handedly caused the defeat of the Unioners from Berlin. In the meantime, Marcus Ingvartsen (25th) had equalized. Ironically, he failed in the 56th minute but also to ex-Union keeper Rafal Gikiewicz with a penalty.
In the Frankfurt runaway victory, striker André Silva (25th) initiated the fifth success in the past six games. Filip Kostic (27th) and again Silva (33rd) followed suit. After Sergio Córdova (36th) scored, Bielefeld’s Joakim Nilsson (51st) scored an own goal before Luka Jovic (75th) made the final score. Frankfurt climbs to sixth place, Bielefeld remains 15, level on points with Hertha, also without a win.
Even before the game, fans had demonstrated against coaches and managers. The support for some should not increase due to the crashing defeat against Bremen. Ex-Hertha player Davie Selke scored in the tenth minute for Bremen, Ömer Toprak (29th) increased. After 1: 2 by Jhon Córdoba just before the break, Leonardo Bittencourt (57th) restored the guests’ two-goal lead before Joshua Sargent (77th) made everything clear.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210123-99-142894 / 4
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