RB Leipzig – VfB Stuttgart 3-1 (1-0)
Borussia Mönchengladbach, FSV Mainz 05, and Heidenheim all start the ninth matchday of the Bundesliga in the relegation zone. All three remain undefeated, and Mönchengladbach even secured a formidable victory that lifted them out of the relegation zone. The bottom-placed teams see a glimmer of hope. At the top of the table, Leipzig defeated Stuttgart.
Mainz 05 earned their first point at home, but despite a respectable result against Werder Bremen, they continue their quest for the promotion they so desperately need in the Bundesliga. The Rhineland team drew 1-1 (1-0 on aggregate) with the North German side on Saturday afternoon, conceding a late goal, and remains firmly in the relegation zone after Bo Henriksen’s side suffered four consecutive defeats.
Thanks to Silvan Widmer’s goal (36th minute), Mainz secured their first point of the season in front of their home fans after four straight home losses, but Jens Stage’s late equalizer for Bremen (86th minute) dampened the home side’s spirits. Werder Bremen remain unbeaten for four consecutive matches with this draw and sit comfortably in mid-table after nine rounds.
“I know it’s difficult right now,” Mainz coach Bo Henriksen had said before the match, “but we have to enjoy it. It’s also okay to make mistakes.” His words had an effect: Mainz showed the necessary courage from the outset. However, the first clear chance of the game fell to Bremen, but Marco Grüll’s shot after a diagonal pass from Romano Schmid went too central (13′).
The Mewa Arena fell briefly silent shortly afterward due to a medical emergency near the Bremen section; meanwhile, the Mainz players focused on their task on the pitch and came close to taking the lead for the first time in the 24th minute: Phillipp Mwene’s delicate long-range effort struck the crossbar.
The home side impressed with their relentless pressing, with Henriksen cheering them on enthusiastically from the touchline, and witnessed their deserved first goal: Widmer’s close-range shot was brilliantly saved by Werder Bremen goalkeeper Mio Backhaus, but the Mainz captain pounced on the rebound to score. Only after this setback did Bremen manage to shake off their passivity, but Horst Steffen’s team failed to create any real danger before halftime.
After the restart, nothing changed; on the contrary, Mainz’s play continued in a one-sided fashion, with Werder Bremen defender Amos Pieper clearing Lennard Maloney’s header off the line at the last moment (47′). Shortly after, Benedict Hollerbach started a solo run, but Backhaus managed to close down his legs in time to block his shot from a tight angle (52′).
Bremen lacked rhythm and conviction; however, substitute Justin Njinmah had a golden opportunity to equalize, but his shot, one-on-one with Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner, went narrowly wide. Werder gained new confidence and were rewarded with Stages’ goal.
Union Berlin – SC Freiburg 0:0 (0:0)
Frustración among los aficionados por el VAR, sin victoria en el campo: el SC Freiburg continúa su racha sin ganar y sigue estancado en la Bundesliga. The sábado, against the Union Berlin, the team of Julian Schuster solo logró and receive 0-0 from a medium actuation that includes the goles anulados. It is significant that the Breisgau club is part of the league.
Los goles de Matthias Ginter del Friburgo (minuto 17/mano) and the delantero centro del Union, Andrej Ilic (minuto 63/fuera de juego), causaron revuelo, ya que fueron anulados tras la intervención del VAR y las consiguientes interrupciones more largas.
With these points in the new part of the league, the SC Freiburg was in the middle of the table, also from the Union Berlin. The team of the entrepreneur Steffen Baumgart alone had a victory in Victoria in two parts and aventaja por apenas un punto al conjunto de Schuster.
At the Alte Försterei stadium, with all entradas vendidas, the visitors intent on controlling the position of the principle, mientras que el Union, como de costumbre, se centró en los contraataques. Ninguno de los dos equipos generó verdadero peligro en los primeros compases del partido, also Andras Schäfer from Berlin (minuto 10) and Johan Manzambi del Friburgo (minuto 11) were able to test a los porteros rivales with disparos lejanos.
In conclusion, the opening of the Friburgo parecía inevitably lasted this period of playing flojo, with a corner of Jan-Niklas Beste that Ginter spoke in the middle of the tumult. Sin embargo, dado que el campeón del mundo de 2014 había cabeceado inicialmente el balón con la mano, el árbitro Sören Storks anuló el gol tras consultarar el VAR.
The partido perdió entonces notablemente emoción. The defense compacta of the Union was contuvo bien al Friburgo, pero los locales carecían de ideas en ataque. No sooner did you take off than the Friburgo turned into a generator. This is a large part of Maximilian Eggestein, Best (minuto 38) is seen solo from the porteria, but is disparo se marchó rozando el poste izquierdo.
Incluso tras el descanso, the 22,012 spectators present a partido muy disputeado en que la mayoría de los ataques peligrosos llegaron a balón parado. Lucas Höler, from Friburgo (minute 53), remato de cabeza rozando el larguero tras un saque de esquina. The goal that seemed to be going Union’s way was also scored, but Ilic’s second goal was disallowed after a long stoppage by Rani Khedira.
In the now heated atmosphere, Freiburg’s goalkeeper Noah Atubolu prevented his team from falling behind when he made a save against substitute Ilyas Ansah (72nd minute).
FC St. Pauli – Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-4 (0-2)
Coach Eugen Polanski and sporting director Rouven Schröder embraced the players in relief, while the fans celebrated the unfamiliar feeling of a Bundesliga victory with unrestrained joy. Borussia Mönchengladbach impressively ended their 217-day winless streak with a 4-0 (2-0) victory at FC St. Pauli and, with their first three points since March 29th, climbed to 16th place in the table.
“In our situation, it’s not a given that we’ll get a comfortable away win. There’s a lot of positives to take from this. But we haven’t won anything yet. Now everyone can stop writing about how many consecutive defeats we’ve had,” said midfielder Yannik Engelhardt.
Haris Tabakovic put his team on the path to victory early on with his goals (16th and 40th minutes). Shuto Machino (75th) and Oscar Fraulo (80th) then sealed the deal – and had the approximately 3,000 traveling fans cheering again after such a long time.
St. Pauli remained toothless once again. After their sixth league defeat, coach Alexander Blessin’s team is now in deep crisis, while Polanski can celebrate another success after the cup victory against Karlsruher SC earlier in the week – and his team goes into the important derby against 1. FC Köln with renewed confidence.
“Nothing comes easy. The hunger to build on this is the most important thing,” said new sporting director Rouven Schröder before the match. And Borussia’s determination was certainly evident; the team pressed aggressively – and then capitalized early on a blunder by St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasij. The Bosnian made a crucial misplaced pass during the build-up play, Florian Neuhaus reacted instantly, and Tabakovic simply had to tap the ball in.
In front of 29,546 spectators, Gladbach thus took the lead for the first time this season, but the goal didn’t seem to give the visitors any security – quite the opposite. St. Pauli suddenly took control in the dreary Hamburg weather, pushing for the equalizer – Borussia goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas had to make a save from a long-range shot by Louis Oppie (25′).
And while the home team squandered their chances, Gladbach struck again with surgical precision. After a quick combination down the left flank, Franck Honorat found Tabakovic completely unmarked, who easily finished at the far post.
After the break, Blessin brought on two fresh strikers, Andreas Hountondji and Abdoulie Ceesay, to try and avoid defeat. The home team tried to increase the pressure, but Gladbach’s compact defense remained virtually impenetrable. They also looked dangerous on the counter-attack, as seen in Tabakovic’s shot (61st minute) and Yannik Engelhardt’s attempt (72nd minute). Shortly after, substitutes Machino and Fraulo sealed the victory.
- FC Heidenheim – Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 (1-0)
Eintracht Frankfurt suffered another setback after their bitter cup elimination against Borussia Dortmund. Despite their clear dominance, coach Dino Toppmöller’s ambitious side could only manage a commendable 1-1 draw (0-1 on aggregate) against relegation-threatened 1. FC Heidenheim. For the Hessian team, it was another blow to morale ahead of their crucial Champions League match on Tuesday (6:45 PM CET/DAZN and live on ntv.de) against SSC Napoli.
Budu Siwsiwadze put Heidenheim (FCH) ahead in the 32nd minute, a team that had failed to earn any points against Eintracht Frankfurt in their five previous competitive matches. Rasmus Kristensen equalized in the 55th minute. The situation remains precarious for Frank Schmidt’s team in their fight against relegation. Heidenheim will visit Leverkusen next Saturday, while Eintracht Frankfurt will face Mainz in the derby on Sunday. Frankfurt needs a win if they want to avoid falling further behind the league leaders.
Toppmöller left top scorer Jonathan Burkardt out of the starting eleven, giving Elye Wahi a chance in his place. Eintracht dominated the early stages, but the home side showed greater determination, just as Schmidt had demanded after their cup defeat against Hamburger SV.
On the other hand, Eintracht Frankfurt struggled to create scoring opportunities. To make matters worse, Can Uzun had to be substituted early. The young player apparently injured his left hamstring. Mario Götze came on in his place. And even before he had entered the field, the score was already 0-1.
Mathias Honsak and, above all, Arijon Ibrahimovic, provided brilliant assists for Siwsiwadze’s goal. Eintracht Frankfurt, superior in their play, played at a sluggish pace against a Heidenheim side that defended tenaciously. As a result, they only managed one clear-cut chance, a shot by Wahi shortly before halftime.
After the break, Eintracht started strongly. However, Ellyes Skhiri was unlucky when his header crashed against the crossbar. The visitors increased the pressure and were soon rewarded when Kristensen calmly headed home a cross from Nathaniel Brown. Eintracht maintained the pressure, and shortly after the hour mark, Toppmöller brought on Burkhardt. Heidenheim waited for opportunities to counter-attack.
