Forty goals on dramatic weekend of Bundesliga action
On the face of it, you might think Matchday 27 was much like any other. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund won again, while the league’s bottom three all failed to do so.
That only tells half of the story, however. While Bayern were comfortable 4-0 winners against Union Berlin, Dortmund had to come from two goals down to defeat Hamburg 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park.
The goals continued to flow on Sunday, culminating in VfB Stuttgart’s 5-2 away win at Augsburg, which saw the visitors tighten their grip on a UEFA Champions League qualification spot. All in all, 40 goals were scored this weekend, the most of any matchday so far this season.
All but one game had three goals or more, with Werder Bremen’s crucial 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg being the only exception. By contrast, the most goals came in Stuttgart’s aforementioned win against Augsburg, where Deniz Undav, fresh from his Germany call-up, netted twice.
Watch: Augsburg 2-5 VfB Stuttgart - highlights
Then there was a pair of 3-3 draws, both with huge ramifications in the Bundesliga table. Fittingly, the 100th Rhine derby between Cologne and Borussia Mönchengladbach turned out to be classic, as Eric Martel scored an 84th-minute equaliser.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Heidenheim also scored a late leveller to dent Leverkusen’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League. While survival is looking like a tall order for Frank Schmidt’s side, they certainly aren’t going down without a fight.
Sticking with the race for Europe, the tone for the weekend was very much set back on Friday night, when RB Leipzig racked up five goals against Hoffenheim at the Red Bull Arena. Braces from Brajan Gruda and Christoph Baumgartner wrapped up the three points for Leipzig before the half-time break, in a stunning show of attacking dominance.
Watch: RB Leipzig 5-0 Hoffenheim - highlights
Even in games where the goals weren’t quite as plentiful, the drama continued to flow. On Sunday, both Mainz and Freiburg won 2-1, but it was the manner of their victories that stood out. Paul Nebel scored an 89th-minute winner to ensure his side were victorious in the Rhine-Main derby, before Igor Matanović’s double helped Freiburg come from behind at St. Pauli.
With 40 goals in total, and drama from the first minute until the last, it has been a matchday for the ages. One thing remains crystal clear after this weekend: when it comes to the Bundesliga, entertainment is never in short supply.
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