Union Berlin’s bulwark holds out against Bayer Leverkusen for almost an entire half. But shortly before the break it breaks: the Bundesliga leaders win thanks to a penalty goal from Florian Wirtz. Meanwhile, Cologne turns the game against Bochum around at the last second.
Union Berlin – Bayer Leverkusen 0:1 (0:1)
The coronation is so close: the invincible sky-strikers from Bayer Leverkusen have one and a half hands on the championship trophy after their next victory. A clearly superior leader led by coach Xabi Alonso deservedly won an intense away game at Union Berlin 1-0 (1-0) and can finally put the champagne cold for the big celebration of the first Bundesliga title.
With six league games remaining and 18 points to be awarded, the lead over Bayern Munich is 16 points – also because the Munich team lost 2-3 in Heidenheim. As a result, the Werkself could win the championship they so longed for next Sunday (5.30 p.m./DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker) Make it perfect with your own win against Werder Bremen – or celebrate after another mistake by Bayern on Saturday against 1. FC Köln.
National player Florian Wirtz scored in Berlin with a hand penalty after video evidence (45th + 8) for Leverkusen, who have now been without defeat in 41 competitive games. Meanwhile, Bayer played a yellow-red card for Union’s Robin Gosens (45th + 3).
Before the game, Alonso had pushed aside thoughts of the bowl, championship celebrations or the like. “We are in a very good position. But we are not talking about the championship, we are talking about the next opponent,” said the coach, who changed six times compared to the 4-0 win in the cup semi-final against Fortuna Düsseldorf. And yet the picture was initially familiar.
Although regular players such as striker Patrik Schick and winger Jeremie Frimpong were only sitting on the bench at the beginning, Bayer immediately seized control of the game, but Union held firm against it with a compact five-man chain. Only with a free kick from Alejandro Grimaldo (11th) from 17 meters, which Union keeper Frederik Rönnow parried strongly, did Bayer become really dangerous. It took a moment for Leverkusen to find their typical dream combinations.
Four minutes later, the Dane directed a header from Schick substitute Borja Iglesias over the crossbar with a world-class reflex. Of course, Alonso’s offensive machine couldn’t be completely prevented. Wirtz didn’t always allow himself to be held back by the attentive Union collective and found the agile Nathan Tella, whose ball into the back area narrowly caressed Grimaldo (28th) past the goal.
Things got very bitter for the hard-working Union players when Gosens flew off the field after a challenge against Tella and Union captain Christopher Trimmel deflected a shot from Piero Hincapie with his arm after the following free kick. Referee Benjamin Brand needed a moment, but according to the video images he pointed to the spot – and Wirtz easily converted.
After the break, the game was hardly different than before: Bayer combined well through the ranks, Union tried to prevent this as best as possible, but that cannot always be successful. After a great pass from Wirtz to Amine Adli (59th), it was goalkeeper Rönnow again who had to parry the substitute offensive man’s shot from a tight angle.
1. FC Cologne – VfL Bochum 2:1 (0:0)
Thanks to a fantastic final spurt, 1. FC Köln celebrated a redemptive victory in the basement thriller. Steffen Tigges (90+1) and Luca Waldschmidt (90+2) shot the FC after falling behind to win 2-1 (0-1) against VfL Bochum. Now only four points behind VfL, which occupies the first non-relegation place, Cologne can still hope for direct rescue. The relegation place is for table 17th. also within reach.
Cologne can improve in the upcoming duels against relegation rivals FSV Mainz 05 and against Darmstadt 98. VfL, which beat Bayern Munich in February and took the lead through Felix Passlack (53′), has now been waiting for a win for six games and has to look further down.
Before kick-off on Sky, FC coach Timo Schultz spoke of the “crunch time” in the relegation battle and announced an “open sights”: “We have to and want to win, so we’ll play forward accordingly.” The Cologne team implemented this requirement, Linton Maina (13th) and Sargis Adamyan (14th) missed the first good opportunities. A little later the fans were already screaming for goal, but Davie Selke was blocked at the last moment by Keven Schlotterbeck (18th).
Things didn’t go any further at this rate, but with the exception of a few moments, Cologne had the action under control. Bochum only became dangerous after a corner in the first half, but Erhan Masovic missed (22′). It became increasingly heated, the duels were intense – only shortly before the break there was another playful highlight: a deflected shot from Cologne’s U21 national player Eric Martel (45th + 1) went just wide.
In the second half, FC got off to a better start again, but the goal came from the other side. Passlack’s shot deflected into the goal. Schultz brought fresh forces to at least force the equalizer. Substitute Faride Alidou (69th) hit the post. Cologne fought against the defeat with a lot of effort – and was rewarded with a crazy finish.
FSV Mainz 05 – Darmstadt 98 4:0 (1:0)
FSV Mainz 05 continued its race to catch up in the bottom of the table and gave Darmstadt 98 what was probably the decisive blow in the relegation battle. Table 16. won 4-0 (1-0) and extended its lead over the bottom team to nine points.
In bright sunshine in front of 33,000 fans, Andreas Hanche-Olsen (32nd), Brajan Gruda (60th) and Jae-Sung Lee (80th, 84th) scored for the Zero Fives, who remained unbeaten in the third game in a row and are now 23rd points consolidated the relegation place. Darmstadt, on the other hand, did not win in the 21st attempt in a row, and with six game days before the end of the season, the promoted team’s relegation is getting closer and closer.
Before the “next final,” FSV coach Bo Henriksen announced that his team wanted to “attack, attack, attack.” Lilien coach Torsten Lieberknecht, on the other hand, emphasized “how greedy” his boys are. The 50-year-old was able to rely, among other things, on top scorer Tim Skarke, who got fit in time after muscular problems.
The game began with a top-class chance from Darmstadt native Jonathan Burkardt. The Mainz striker, who met his former club in a competitive game for the first time, was denied by Lilien keeper Marcel Schuhen (5th). Both teams tried to set the needle right from the start. The Mainz team did this better, often outplaying their high-pressing opponents and repeatedly closing in on the visitors’ goal.
The lively flow died down in the middle of the first half, a sharp free kick from Nadiem Amiri (29th) was the exception. But then another free kick from the Leverkusen loanee gave Mainz the half-time lead: Amiri’s cross found its way to Hanche via Lee -Olsen, who scored his first goal of the season from close range.
With their backs against the wall, Lieberknecht made a change in the second half and brought in two new offensive forces in Aaron Seydel and Gerrit Holtmann. Although the bottom team made an effort, there were no compelling opportunities. Mainz acted cleverly defensively – and followed up after a mistake by the Darmstadt defense. Burkardt intercepted a catastrophic back pass from Bartol Franjic and fed Gruda, the home-grown player hit the ball into the corner with his left. The lilies remained harmless, Lee made everything clear.
SC Freiburg – RB Leipzig 1:4 (0:3)
Led by the outstanding Lois Openda, RB Leipzig remains fully in the race for a place in the Champions League. Thanks to Openda’s double pack of goals and assists, the Saxons won 4:1 (3:0) at SC Freiburg and are therefore unbeaten in five games.
Amadou Haidara after 62 seconds, Openda (18th/44th) and Benjamin Sesko (54th) scored for Leipzig, who were able to redeem themselves for their disappointing zero against FSV Mainz 05. Freiburg have been waiting for a three-pointer for five home games – also because Lucas Höler missed a penalty (41st). Substitute Vincenzo Grifo’s goal (59′) was not enough.
For outgoing SC coach Christian Streich it was the first home game since his announced departure at the end of the season. The 58-year-old (“We have to play the perfect game to have a chance”) will be replaced by former captain Julian Schuster from next season. Streich’s counterpart Marco Rose had a bottle of red wine from Austria with him as a present for the SC coach. “It’s my favorite wine,” said Rose shortly before kick-off on Sky: “He’s certainly a guy and a coach who will be missed in the Bundesliga.”
The 33,200 spectators had barely sat down before the SC was already behind. The entire Freiburg defense, including goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, didn’t look good when Openda prepared the goal. The hosts, who were missing Matthias Ginter and Philipp Lienhart among others, had their hands full even after falling behind. Leipzig, who had to make do without Yussuf Poulsen, were clearly the better team.
The goal from Openda, who prevailed on a counterattack against Lukas Kübler, came as no surprise. The Belgian should have only increased the score for seven minutes, but this time he was denied by Atubolu. With a two-goal deficit after half an hour, SC was well served. Even in the last minutes of the first half everything revolved around Openda. First, the 24-year-old caused a hand penalty that Höler hit the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, Openda scored again in Freiburg’s pressure phase. His 21st goal of the season was presented to him on a silver platter thanks to SC defense chief Yannik Keitel’s mistake.
At the start of the second round, Streich brought in two new players in Grifo and Kiliann Sildillia. The coach also switched from a three-man defense to a four-man defense. That had an effect, the first few minutes belonged to the SC. Nevertheless, it was Sesko who scored on the other side after preparation work from Openda. Grifo shortened the score a little later and Freiburg then pushed for more goals. Roland Sallai hit the crossbar seconds after being substituted on (76′).