A beam from Marco Reus and a penalty from Erling Haaland are enough for BVB against Mainz to take the lead at least until Sunday. Freiburg strikes back against RB Leipzig, Hertha surprises Frankfurt and Union shows again home strength against Wolfsburg.
Borussia Dortmund – FSV Mainz 05 3: 1 (1: 0)
With the ninth home win in a row, Borussia Dortmund has taken the league lead in the Bundesliga for at least one night. When their exceptional striker Erling Haaland returned, BVB defeated FSV Mainz 05 3-1 (1-0) and will definitely be first by Sunday afternoon – should Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich (3.30 p.m. / DAZN and in the live ticker on ntv.de.) tie in the top game, also beyond.
BVB captain Marco Reus (3rd) confirmed his reputation as an expert for the 1-0 with an early dream goal, the Mainz team only found their way into the game late and have now lost three league games in a row. Haaland converted a penalty kick to his eighth goal of the season (54th). In the 87th minute, Mainz made it exciting again through Jonathan Burkardt, before Haaland (90th + 4) made everything clear again.
At BVB there was relief: Haaland was actually back after three games due to an injury break (thigh bruise), and that right in the starting line-up. “Erling really wanted”, reported coach Marco Rose at Sky, “but he is not yet 100 percent and not yet free of pain.” Thomas Meunier and Manuel Akanji, who had returned home from international matches, were also able to play.
The early tour also heated the majority of the 63,812 spectators. Stefan Bell had not cleared a cross from Meunier, Reus shot powerfully from 15 meters into the upper right corner of the goal. Haaland hadn’t touched the ball at this point, but the league’s best defense had already been overturned in their 5-4-1 with the lonely Karim Onisiwo in the lead.
The game threatened to fall asleep afterwards. Dortmund took possession of the ball at times beyond the 80 percent risk, Mainz did not succeed in any noteworthy offensive action until half-time – let alone a shot on goal. Haaland, on the other hand, had a spectacular double chance, the returning Mainz captain Moussa Niakhate cleared his head on the goal line (45th + 2).
Afterwards, too, BVB tried to put an early end to the game. According to video evidence, referee Daniel Schlager (Rastatt) punished a handball by Silvan Widmer, Haaland pushed for his 48th Bundesliga goal in the 49th game. It was good for the encounter that the Mainz team were forced to take the offensive. The guests’ first chance followed promptly: Onisiwo overtook BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, but also scored the goal (62nd). Shortly afterwards, BVB central defender Mats Hummels headed the ball to the post (66th). The Dortmund team remained clearly superior, but had to tremble briefly after the Mainz goal.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Hertha BSC 1: 2 (0: 1)
Hertha BSC has found some rest after turbulent weeks. In the groundbreaking duel at Eintracht Frankfurt, the team of coach Pal Dardai deservedly won 2: 1 (1: 0) and overtook the Hessians thanks to a significantly improved performance in the table. Marco Richter (7th) and substitute Jurgen Ekkelenkamp (63rd) ensured the third win of the season and thus also strengthened Dardai’s position, who is back in the saddle after several poor appearances.
Eintracht failed to improve the surprise victory at Bayern Munich (2-1), Goncalo Paciencia (78th, penalty kick) could only shorten. It was the first home defeat for Oliver Glasner’s team since June 2020. It was a special game for Hertha’s sports director Fredi Bobic. After the inglorious farewell, he returned to Frankfurt and saw a game there at the beginning in which the Berliners acted much more courageously than last. With the first chance, Richter rewarded Hertha for the courageous start.
Afterwards, the guests remained the better team in front of 32,000 spectators, showed themselves to be vicious in the duels, but missed a higher lead several times. Krzysztof Piatek (18th) failed at the strong SGE goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, Santiago Ascacibar (37th) pushed the ball just past. Only Sam Lammers (25th) and Kristijan Jakic (28th) made Eintracht dangerous in a short good phase. Hardly anything was to be seen of the strong performance two weeks ago in Munich, the Hessians made an alarming number of mistakes defensively.
Glasner reacted to the weak first half and brought Daichi Kamada, among others, who immediately revived the offensive. With significantly more momentum, the Frankfurters pressed on the equalizer, Djibril Sow (52nd) and Evan Ndicka (60th) left the best chances. Hertha, led by the strong Suat Serdar, remained committed against it – and remained dangerous with the few counterattacks. In the urge phase of the Glasner-Elf, Ekkelenkamp expanded the lead with his first ball contact. After Paciencia’s connection, things got turbulent again in the final phase. Marvin Plattenhardt failed with a free kick on the well-reacting Trapp (86th).
SC Freiburg – RB Leipzig 1: 1 (0: 1)
SC Freiburg is also mixing up the Bundesliga in the new stadium. After falling behind, the Breisgauer won 1: 1 (0: 1) against RB Leipzig and are the only team in the elite class to remain unbeaten. Woo-Yeong Jeong (64th) scored for Freiburg at the competitive game premiere in the new arena. Emil Forsberg (32nd) was successful with a foul penalty for RB.
The Leipzigers, who lag far behind expectations, have been unbeaten in four games, but have been waiting for an away win for seven encounters. The dress rehearsal for the mammoth task in the Champions League on Tuesday at Paris St. Germain went wrong for a long time.
The admitted 20,000 spectators saw a lot of speed in the game in the first few minutes. After a couple of good approaches from Leipzig, Jeong should actually have put Freiburg in the lead in the 12th minute. Until the middle of the first half, both teams fought a duel on equal terms. After half an hour it got hot. The reason was the controversial decision of referee Daniel Siebert (Berlin), who pointed to the point after a contact between SC defender Philipp Lienhart and RB striker Christopher Nkunku – Forsberg transformed. Streich saw the yellow card as well as his colleague Jesse Marsch.
Until the end of the first round, things continued to be high. Both teams gave each other nothing. Nkunku hit the bar (42nd), SC striker Lucas Höler hit the post (45th). The break lead for the Leipzig team, who missed Brian Brobbey, Marcel Halstenberg, Marcelo Saracchi and Dani Olmo, was flattering. At the beginning of the second round, the hosts, who had to do without Lukas Kübler and Jonathan Schmid, increased the number of strokes again. The SC pushed for an equalization. In the 49th minute, the Breisgauer vehemently demanded a penalty after an alleged foul on Höler, but Siebert did not give it. After just under an hour, it became unusually quiet in the stadium because rescue workers were on duty in the stands in the event of an emergency. During this phase Jeong hit his head after a cross from Vincenzo Grifo.
Union Berlin – VfL Wolfsburg 2: 0 (0: 0)
VfL Wolfsburg’s winless series continues after the international break. The offensive too harmless Champions League participant lost at Union Berlin with 0: 2 (0: 0). Coach Mark van Bommel’s team has been waiting for a win for six competitive games. In the Bundesliga there are four games in a row without success.
Storm tank Taiwo Awoniyi (49th) with his sixth goal of the season and Sheraldo Becker (83rd) shot the Köpenicker for the third triumph in a row. VfL does not have long to digest the third league bankruptcy one after the other: On Wednesday (6.45 p.m. / DAZN), Red Bull Salzburg is waiting in the premier class for the trend-setting away game. Union has been unbeaten in 21 home games.
Little happened in the An der Alten Försterei stadium at the beginning. The first better chance had Nmecha (11th), whose header Union defender Robin Knoche cleared a good distance from the line. Union then tried again and again to drive over the fast Awoniyi counterattack to relieve pressure, but so far only Wolfsburg has been really dangerous. Nmecha found Dodi Lukebakio (25th) at the far post from the full sprint, but the ex-Berliner failed because of the aluminum – it was the only big chance in the first round.
Immediately after the start of the second half, the hosts succeeded in what did not work before: After a brilliant combination via Julian Ryerson, Max Kruse, the Japanese Genki Haraguchi Awoniyi staged in the penalty area – and the Nigerian executed ice-cold. Wolfsburg ran now. Weghorst (68th) failed, however, immediately after his substitution with the best chance of equalizing the guests, twice against the strong parrying Union goalkeeper Andreas Luthe.
SpVgg Greuther Fürth – VfL Bochum 0: 1 (0: 0)
The black home series continues: SpVgg Greuther Fürth also missed their first Bundesliga victory in the local Ronhof in the 21st attempt. The team of coach Stefan Leitl lost the basement duel against fellow promoted VfL Bochum with 0: 1 (0: 0) and remains bottom of the table with only one point from eight season games. While the Franconians have their backs to the wall early on, VfL has gained some breathing space with their second win of the season and now seven points.
Previously, SpVgg had lost 15 times in 20 home games in the upper house and had five draws. VfL left the relegation zone at least temporarily through the winning goal by Anthony Losilla (80th) with a header from close range after a presentation by Eduard Löwen.
Before the break, 10,586 fans saw a game that didn’t have much in common with top division football. The effort was not denied to the staid climbers, but playfully nothing went together in the first half on both sides. Error after error lined up. Goal scenes or even goal chances were therefore absolutely in short supply.
In the 49th minute, Marco Meyerhöfer forced Riemann to make the first parade. Shortly afterwards, the Bochum-based Danilo Soares was just able to disturb Cedric Itten. Fürth acted more purposefully and temporarily settled in the VfL half. Bochum had to survive a few dicey moments and almost took the lead on the first counterattack in half-time – but the substitute Takuma Asano only hit the outside netting when he was free (67th). Only Losilla redeemed the Westphalia.