Bundesliga roundup: Bayern five stars as Leipzig stay in Euro hunt with win over Gladbach
Bayern Munich 5 Augsburg 3
Bayern Munich came from behind to claim three vital points in their bid to retain the Bundesliga title, defeating Bavarian rivals Augsburg and extending their unbeaten home league run to 19 games in the process.
Aiming to become the first side to complete a Bundesliga double over Bayern since the 2011/12 season, Augsburg raced into an early lead as Mergim Berisha picked his spot from the edge of the box.
However, the Fuggerstadter bubble quickly burst as der Rekordmeister asserted their dominance with a swift response inside 15 minutes.
Joao Cancelo has made his desire for more game time well-known, and he made a strong case for further starts with an arrowed effort from the right to level the contest.
Less than five minutes later, Bayern were ahead when a poorly-cleared set-piece broke to Sadio Mane, who kept the attack alive with an overhead kick, allowing Benjamin Pavard to apply the finishing touch.
Not a stranger to the spectacular, Pavard bagged another with a sublime scissor kick, as Bayern kept their foot on the gas. With the interval approaching, the defending champions added a fourth through Leroy Sane, who followed in to head home Mané’s saved effort, leaving Augsburg with a mountain to climb.
Mane thought he had made it 5-1 when Sane slipped him through on goal, but the Senegal international was flagged offside. The visitors had barely had a sniff since taking a surprise lead, but on the hour mark, Berisha sent Yann Sommer the wrong way from the spot after Matthijs de Ligt had given away a penalty.
Nonetheless, it remained largely one-way traffic as the clock ticked down, and any hopes of an unlikely comeback were dashed by Alphonso Davies, who arrived at the back post to score just his sixth Bundesliga goal.
With the game over as a contest, Augsburg still had time for a late consolation from Irvin Cardona to make it 5-3.
Nonetheless, Bayern maintain their spot at the top of the Bundesliga table ahead of a mouthwatering clash with title-chasers Borussia Dortmund at the start of April. As for Augsburg, failure to repeat their shock win over Julian Nagelsmann’s side leaves them 13th, eight points above automatic relegation for the time being.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
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Eintracht Frankfurt 1 Stuttgart 1
Eintracht Frankfurt’s run of four consecutive Bundesliga home wins was brought to an end by relegation-threatened Stuttgart. Although the visitors may be content with the 1-1 draw, the result extends their unbeaten away run to 22 league games.
There had been at least one goal in the first half in each of Frankfurt’s previous nine competitive home games, while Stuttgart’s last 10 away matches in all competitions had also produced a minimum of one goal before the break. With that in mind, those in attendance would have been eagerly anticipating an exciting first period, but they were to be left bitterly disappointed.
A wayward strike from Stuttgart’s Juan Jose Perea was as close as any side got to finding the net in a frankly forgettable first half, which passed by without either side registering a shot on target.
Frankfurt emerged from the interval with greater purpose, and they duly took the lead within 10 minutes of the restart. The Stuttgart defence presented Sebastian Rode with enough time and space required to curl the ball into the far corner with the assistance of a slight deflection.
In a bid to find an equaliser, Bruno Labbadia introduced Silas and Chris Fuhrich from the bench.
It proved to be an inspired move as Silas hauled his side onto level terms in the 75th minute. The 24-year-old collected Genki Haraguchi’s neat pass before slotting the ball home to become the first opposing player to score a league goal at Deutsche Bank Park in 2023.
With momentum in their favour, Stuttgart started to dream of their first away Bundesliga victory since December 2021.
Enzo Millot went agonisingly close to finding a winning goal for the visitors, firing a powerful effort inches wide of Trapp’s far post. But as it proved, Stuttgart’s long wait for a top-flight away win will go on, ensuring they remain in the relegation play-off spot.
Sixth-placed Frankfurt will now turn their focus to Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash with Napoli, where they will attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sebastian Rode (Eintracht Frankfurt)
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Hertha Berlin 1 Mainz 1
Despite failing to gain ground on what would be a first European qualification since 2016/17, Mainz extended their unbeaten head-to-head streak to eight matches with a 1-1 draw against Hertha Berlin at the Olympiastadion.
Seeking to extend their unbeaten record at home to seven games, the hosts spared no effort to push Mainz on the back foot from the outset, cruising to gain the lead within the first 20 minutes.
Thanks to a VAR intervention following a handball, referee Benjamin Cortus pointed to the spot-kick, stepping up to which Jessic Ngankam calmly slotted home from 12 yards.
Yet to win an away league game when conceding the opener, the visitors responded in a level-headed manner, but their advances didn’t bother Hertha at the least, as the capital club restricted the visitors to their own territory for a clear majority of the first half.
Bo Svensson’s men never looked like a side on a high-flying win streak before half time, leaving the Danish coach compelled to administer tactical changes going into the break.
Knowing very well that only a fifth straight Bundesliga win would do anything to strengthen his side’s hopes of a first European qualification since 2016/17, and make a triple chance at the break.
And it was striker Ludovic Ajorque who embodied the change of approach, levelling in the blink of an eye with an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box on the hour mark.
The equaliser was what exactly the Mainz needed to shift the momentum in their favour, but Hertha came agonisingly close just moments later via Marc Oliver Kempf’s header, which crashed against the crossbar.
Dodi Lukebakio’s substitution with the onset of the final quarter-hour added firepower to Hertha’s arsenal, but a third straight home win for the first time since September 2018 was too much to ask in the end.
Considering Hertha’s relentless character, it was never going to be easy for Mainz to squeeze out a victory, as the visitors eventually settled for a draw and extended their unbeaten run to five games on the trot.
In a tale of contrasting positions, Mainz now linger four points off the nearest European spot, whereas Hertha still lie just a point above the drop zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Anton Stach (Hertha Berlin)
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RB Leipzig 3 Borussia Monchengladbach 0
RB Leipzig strengthened their position inside the Bundesliga top-four, recovering from a dreadful first-half performance to eventually beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0 at the RB Arena.
A notoriously inconsistent Gladbach side have often saved their best for facing the top sides this season, losing just one of seven matches against sides sitting in the top-five ahead of kick-off.
They were on the front foot straight away in Leipzig too, as Jonas Hofmann forced Josko Gvardiol into an early mistake, but after finding Florian Neuhaus, the midfielder could only drag his effort wide. Marcus Thuram was the next man to go close, finding space on the inside left before his effort towards the near post was well saved by Janis Blaswich.
Die Roten Bullen continued to be incredibly sloppy, but once more they weren’t punished after Thuram picked the pocket of Willi Orban, but the Frenchman lifted his effort over the bar.
Marco Rose’s men would eventually gain their composure, but chances remained at a premium with Emil Forsberg’s header on the brink of half-time the closest they came to a goal, but it sailed over.
Daniel Farke would’ve been stunned that his side weren’t ahead at the break, but they shook off any frustrations and earned themselves a penalty within 10 minutes of the restart.
Expertly played in behind the defence, Jonas Hofmann was bearing down on goal before being tripped by David Raum, with the decision to award a spot-kick made after a pitchside VAR review. Once more though, the hosts got away with it as Alassane Plea’s penalty was superbly stopped by Blaswich.
This time, Die Fohlen were punished for their wastefulness in emphatic fashion. Looking to start an attack, Kouadio Kone was caught in possession in his own half, allowing Timo Werner to seize the loose ball and carry it into the box before unleashing a thunderous strike that went in off the underside of the bar.
Having missed a spot-kick at one end, Plea gave away another in his own area after an incredibly rash sliding challenge on Amadou Haidara.
Forsberg stepped up and converted to score for the fourth Bundesliga game in a row, before Gvardiol arrived at the back post to steer home a corner, helping Leipzig leapfrog Union Berlin and move into third.
The result marks another miserable outing on the road for Gladbach, who’ve won just 1 of their last 13 league away games, while the Foals have failed to score in any of their last three matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Janis Blaswich (RB Leipzig)
