Bayern lost their second on the spin as the Bundesliga’s new top two keep winning in another exciting weekend of Bundesliga action.
By Sean Nolan
Just two weeks ago we feared that a Bayern Munich win at Dortmund would end the Bundesliga race well before the winter break. Now thanks to two defeats for the Bavarian giants and the simply sensational form of Borussias Dortmund and Monchengladbach, the German season is shaping up to be a cracker.
That champions Borussia Dortmund are flying is not too much of a shock but the form of ‘Gladbach is both thrilling and completely unforeseen.
The club are hugely popular in Germany but they almost slipped out of the top flight last season, only escaping the drop thanks to a 2-1 aggregate win over Bochum.
Marco Reus gets all the headlines but coach Lucien Favre has other talents at his disposal and it was a Mike Hanke brace and a delightful free-kick by Juan Arango that saw them win the Rhine derby against FC Köln 3-0 on Friday.
Gladbach have won four on the trot and they host a Dortmund side with three wins-in-a-row in the most recent ‘game of the season’ on Saturday. Injuries permitting, both Reus and Mauro Götze will face off on the same pitch and we strongly advise you to hunt down somewhere, anywhere, to watch this one.
Whoever emerges from that game intact will be in a very strong position, especially if Jupp Heyncke’s stuttering Munich lose again at home to fourth placed Werder Bremen.
Bremen are exciting to watch but far too porous at the back, averaging almost two goals against in every game. Bayern shipped three to Mainz last week so expect lots of goals in the Allianz Arena, even if Claudio Pizarro fails to line out for Bremen against his former club.
The battle at the top is mirrored by the battle at the bottom. None of the bottom five going into the weekend lost, with three winning, including Augsburg earning their first ever home win in the Bundesliga.
They remain bottom, but with just five points between Augusburg and FC Köln in 11th place, the battle to stay in the Bundesliga looks set to be just as intriguing as the race for the title.
The death of Gary Speed forces us to face the issue of suicide in football for the second week in succession. Babak Rafati, the referee who attempted to kill himself before a Bundesliga game last week, confirmed this week that he suffered from depression and the pressure of making mistakes and media scrutiny exacerbated his symptoms.
He also expressed his desire to get back into the game when he had completed some treatment, something that would send a powerful message about the ability to recover from such an illness.
This week also saw Robert Reng’s book, A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke, win the William Hill Sports Book of the Year.
“Robert Enke was one of Germany’s greatest goalkeepers and his tragic death shocked the world. Ronald Reng’s intimate portrait – vivid, powerful and moving – is an outstanding piece of sportswriting and a very worthy winner of the prize,” said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe.
Sadly, the book became more relevant than ever this weekend.
Results: SV Werder Bremen 2-0 VfB Stuttgart, FC Augsburg 2-0 VfL Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Schalke 04, Hertha BSC Berlin 3-3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen, FC Nuremberg 1-0 FC Kaiserslautern, 1899 Hoffenheim 1-1 SC Freiburg, Hannover 96 1-1 Hamburger SV, FC Köln 0-3 Borussia M’gladbach, FSV Mainz 05 3-2 FC Bayern Munich
Fixtures (December 2-4):
Fri: Bayer 04 Leverkusen v 1899 Hoffenheim
Sat: FC Bayern Munich v SV Werder Bremen, Borussia M’gladbach v Borussia Dortmund, FC Kaiserslautern v Hertha BSC Berlin, SC Freiburg v Hannover 96, VfL Wolfsburg v FSV Mainz 05, VfB Stuttgart v FC Köln
Sun: Hamburger SV v FC Nuremberg, Schalke 04 v FC Augsburg
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