Matchday 24 - Bulletins
Cologne - Bayer 04 Leverkusen extended their winning run to four with victory over SC Paderborn in the final fixture of Matchday 24, while FC Bayern München moved 11 points clear at the top of the standings on Saturday.
Monday 9 March
As ever, we're bringing you all the reaction from the latest weekend of Bundesliga football.
MATCHDAY 24 RESULTS:
VfB Stuttgart 0-0 Hertha Berlin
FC Augsburg 1-0 VfL Wolfsburg
FC Schalke 04 3-1 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
SC Freiburg 0-1 SV Werder Bremen
Hannover 96 1-3 FC Bayern München
Hamburger SV 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
1. FSV Mainz 05 2-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1. FC Köln 4-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
SC Paderborn 07 0-3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
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Royal Blues realistic
Roberto Di Matteo knows he and his team have a mountain to climb after their first-leg defeat, but although they are down, they are not out - yet. You can catch our
here, but we'll be back with more live updates on Friday when we build up to Matchday 25 and Stuttgart's trip to Leverkusen. We'll see you on the flip-side.
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Schalke in Madrid
The Royal Blues are in the Spanish capital ahead of their fixture with Real Madrid in the Champions League tomorrow. Coach Roberto Di Matteo has already held is pre-match press conference, and had the following to say:
Sommer unfazed
Gladbach goalkeeper
was likewise keen to look on the bright side after his team let a two-goal lead slip away to Mainz on Saturday, addressing his followers on Twitter:
"Dear fans, sometimes you just have games like the one in Mainz. Now we need to put it behind us and keep going on Sunday at Borussia Park."
#NeverGiveUp
Paderborn may have lost five out of seven matches since the turn of the year, and currently find themselves in the relegation play-off spot, but defender
is determined to stay positive.
"The only way to do things is to get up more often than you're knocked down,"
he said on Twitter, accompanying his rallying cry with the hashtags #NeverGiveUp and #KeepGoing.
Watch and learn
Hertha Berlin are back in the saddle today following their goalless draw with Stuttgart on Friday, with the club posting a Vine of their latest training session:
Draxler on the comeback trail
Here's to hoping Julian Draxler won't be out for too much longer!
'We have to win, no matter how'
Bayern stars Manuel Neuer and Rafinha, meanwhile, are already looking ahead to Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg clash against Shakhtar Donetsk:
New pitch for Hertha
Hertha Berlin have just sent out this tweet showing the Olympiastadion with a brand new pitch, which will stage its first Bundesliga game on Saturday when the capital club host Schalke 04.
Bart Simpson a Royal Blue
Schalke 04, who have just touched down in Madrid, can rely on a famous supporter when they face Real in the Champions League tomorrow:
A welcome sight
Bayern München captain Philipp Lahm (c.) returned to full training today where the 2014 World Cup winner teamed up with his club-mates. Read the full story
!
Birthday boys
A very happy birthday to former Bayern striker Roy Makaay, who turns 40 today, and 1899 Hoffenheim's Swiss midfielder Pirmin Schwegler, who celebrates his 28th birthday!
Schalke heading to Madrid
Roman Neustädter and Co are about to fly off to the Spanish capital where they will be hoping to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the Champions League last-32 second leg at holders Real Madrid tomorrow.
Bayern München, meanwhile, will play host to Shakhtar Donetsk at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, looking to reach the next round after their goalless draw in Ukraine last month:
Ujah's apology
An emotional Anthony Ujah has apologised to Hennes, Köln's honorary goat and club mascot, for a rather over-exuberant celebration after his goal against Frankfurt. "He's been my best friend ever since I've moved to Cologne," the Nigeria striker said. Hennes forgives you, Anthony...
Happy Monday!
After notching only five goals in their previous 11 home games, 1. FC Köln shot four past Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday, the promoted side's victory giving them a crucial three points in their battle against relegation and a good start into the new week.
Sunday 8 March
Aubameyang at the barbers
What might Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's hair look like by the time that Dortmund-Hoffenheim cup tie rolls around on 7 or 8 March? While you mull that over, we'll bid you adieu, but don't forget to catch up with us again tomorrow, when we'll have more reaction from the weekend that was and build-up to the midweek action in the Champions League and Europa League. Ta-ra.
It Was time to cut #Haircut by @barber_ge ✂️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ein von Aubameyang (@aubameyangpe) gepostetes Foto am 8. Mär 2015 um 12:43 Uhr
DFB Cup draw made
The other big news from today was the draw for the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup, which was made this evening and there's no doubting the tastiest of the four ties. Dortmund face Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg entertain Freiburg and minnows Bielefeld take on Gladbach, but the standout game comes from the BayArena, where Leverkusen host Bayern.
Bayer back on course
After a weak first-half performance, Bayer 04 showed their ruthless side at Paderborn to record a somewhat flattering 3-0 win and move back into the UEFA Champions League places. Here's our
.
Billy Goats' day
After an end-to-end affair, Köln produced their best performance at home all season to romp to a 4-2 win against Frankfurt. Here's our match report from the RheinEnergieStadion.
Köln - Frankfurt line-ups
We've got the all-important team news from Köln's RheinEnergieStadion...
Eager Eagles
Eintracht Frankfurt travel to Köln this afternoon looking for only their third away league win of the season. The Billy Goats, meanwhile, have own just once on home soil since returning to the Bundesliga last summer.
Schweinsteiger thanks fans
Bayern midfield star Bastian Schweinsteiger had warm words for the Bundesliga pacesetters' faithful after the
at Hannover.
High-flying Bremen
Pep shifts focus to Shakhtar
Bayern were made to work hard for the points in an eventual
away to Hannover 96, but now that's out of the way, Pep Guardiola's men can put all their energy into Wednesday's winner-takes-all meeting with FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League...
Welcome back!
Good morning Bundesliga fans old and new. League leaders FC Bayern München were the big winners on Saturday afternoon, but there were also important victories for FC Augsburg, SV Werder Bremen and FC Schalke 04. As usual, we'll be bringing you all the reaction to the weekend's action as well as the build-up to today's fixtures. Eintracht Frankfurt travel to Köln, before SC Paderborn 07 look to stop the rot at home to in-form Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Don't go anywhere!
Saturday 7 March
Mainz fightback
The evening game was a humdinger at the Coface Arena, as Mainz fought back from 2-0 down to secure a
at Gladbach, with Shinji Okazaki scoring his first goal in eight games.
BVB staying positive
Their four-game winning run may be over following their
at Hamburg, but BVB are not too downhearted:
Rocking Robben
How about this for a statistic: Arjen Robben has now featured in 100 Bundesliga wins and it's taken him just 126 matches to do so. That makes him the fastest player to reach a century of wins in Bundesliga history.
Late game line-ups:
One more game to come this Saturday evening, and here are the teams...
Hannover - Bayern
Line-ups:
The teams are arriving for the 15:30 kick-offs, and here are the line-ups:
Hamburg - Dortmund
Schalke - Hoffenheim
Augsburg - Wolfsburg
Freiburg - Bremen
Schalke arriving
You can follow Schalke's journey to the Veltins Arena...
Set fair
With the clock ticking down towards another exciting afternoon of Bundesliga action, pictures from around the grounds are filtering through and it looks like the weather is playing its part in providing perfect conditions up and down Germany (note the 'Royal Blue' sky above the Veltins Arena).
Still to come
Just to refresh your memories of what is still to come this weekend:
Good day for a game of football
Perfect weather for football in Freiburg!
Perfektes Fußballwetter in Freiburg! #scfsvw #werder
A photo posted by SV Werder Bremen (@werderbremen) on Mar 7, 2015 at 3:54am PST
Landmark victory?
In a season of superlatives for Arjen Robben, the next landmark could be reached this afternoon...
Five in a row?
Borussia Dortmund have finally discovered their form...
Parking the bus
Surely not an omen for today's game...Borussia Dortmund have parked the bus smack bang in the middle of Hamburg.
Morning, morning!
Tune in!
Big match in the north
Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund are both ready for their big clash in northern Germany today. It goes without saying that the Imtech Arena is sold out...
Friday 6 March
LINE-UPS!
Here are the teams for tonight's Matchday 24 opener between Stuttgart and Hertha. We'll be back after the game with post-match reaction from the Mercedes-Benz-Arena.
Tune in
India aren't playing in the Cricket World Cup right now, so if you're in the sub-continent, why not check out VfB vs. Hertha?
Badstuber chimes in
The Bayern players are getting creative on the team bus to Hannover. Here's Holger Badstuber's effort:
Freiburg test
This fixture would have been billed as a relegation six-pointer less than two months ago, but Viktor Skripnik's Bremen go into Saturday's clash with Freiburg closer to fourth place than 16th.
Heading for Hanover
Dante and Co. are up against out-of-sorts Hannover 96 on Saturday afternoon.
Die Roten
have failed to win any of their last seven matches in the league...
Perfect preparation
FC Bayern appear to be in jovial spirits after coming through their final training session ahead of their trip to Hanover on Saturday.
Ilkay's silky skills
German international Ilkay Gündogan has been in sensational form of late, playing an integral part in Borussia Dortmund's recent upswing and it seems his excellent control of the ball has filtered down onto the training pitch based on this trick shot into a rubbish bin.
Peter Stöger on...Eintracht Frankfurt's strengths
1. FC Köln do, however, boast a strong back line. Only the top five teams in the Bundesliga standings have conceded less goals than the Billy Goats in the current campaign, but Stöger was quick to outline exactly what his charges need to keep their eyes open for against the Eagles.
Peter Stöger on...Eintracht Frankfurt's vulnerability
In his pre-match press conference, 1. FC Köln head coach Peter Stöger outlined where he felt his side could get at visitors Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday afternoon. However, to capitalise on the Eagles' weaknesses, the Billy Goats will have to put an end to their poor form in front of goal which has seen them scoring at a rate of less than a goal a game in their last seven outings.
Double digits beckons
Fresh from seeing a Katy Perry concert with Alvaro Dominguez, Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer is hoping he'll have the eye of the tiger when the Foals travel to Mainz on Saturday.
Lucien Favre on...1. FSV Mainz 05
After making a great start to the 2014/15 Bundesliga campaign, Mainz now find themselves just three points adrift of 17th-placed SC Freiburg, but Gladbach boss Lucien Favre is not taking anything for granted.
Lucien Favre on...squad selection
Ahead of Borussia Mönchengladbach's away tie with 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday evening, head coach Lucien Favre is keeping his cards close to his chest in terms of his squad choices. Alvaro Dominguez is the only player unavailable for selection.
Pep Guardiola on...winning titles
"The Bundesliga title remains the most important. We're fighting to defend our titles and to win, but you need fire in your bellies to do that. The Bundesliga season will finish when it finishes and we have our hands on the
Meisterschale
. We can't drop our performances. Dost, Schürrle, De Bruyne and Caligiuri are all in great form."
Pep Guardiola on...thinking ahead
"Tomorrow's encounter against Hannover is the most important game right now, we're not thinking about Shakhtar. You can't compare Hannover and Donetsk. Hannover are all about man marking and Donetsk cover the space. It's what I always say, I said it before Braunschweig as well and you saw why, but the next game is always the most important."
Pep Guardiola on...Medhi Benatia's fitness and form
"When we play well I never spare a thought for our rhythm. My players are young, sleep and eat well. We perhaps were lacking rhythm in the game against Wolfsburg, but the only times we play poorly are when we don't cover ground. The strain professional footballers experience is all a mentality issue."
Early bird gets the three points?
That's what Hertha Berlin will be hoping. Pal Dardai's charges are getting in one final training session before their clash with VfB Stuttgart under the Friday night lights in an encounter between the two top-flight sides to have suffered the most defeats so far this season.
Early bird...Hertha have already arrived at Stuttgart's stadium! 30 minutes of breaking a sweat.
For he's a jolly good fellow
Having collected just two points from a possible 18 since the turn of the year, VfB Stuttgart's birthday boy Timo Werner will be hoping to celebrate turning 19 in style by helping his side pick up three potentially pivotal points against Hertha Berlin.
Pep faces the press
FC Bayern München head coach Pep Guardiola will be answering questions from the assembled press at 11:30 CET/10:30 GMT so stay tuned for all the best snippets from the Spanish mastermind.
Juan battling for starting berth
FC Bayern's 4-1 win over 1. FC Köln last weekend was the first time this season that summer signing Juan Bernat failed to make an appearance in a Bundesliga outing for the record titleholders. However, the Spaniard appears to be undeterred as he looks to win back his place for the trip to Hanover.
Familiar faces
Having previously played under Huub Stevens at Hertha Berlin, Pal Dardai is now set to go toe-to-toe with his former head coach as he looks to get one up on the Dutch tactician in a relegation six-pointer.
HaHoHe
Hertha Berlin could move eight points clear of their hosts with a victory this evening. Hopefully left-back Marvin Plattenhardt and Co. got a good night's rest as the capital city side go in search of picking up back to back wins for the first time in the current campaign.
Thursday 5 March
That's all folks!
Our live Bundesliga updates have concluded for the day, but make sure you check back with us from Friday morning as the countdown to Matchday 24 begins in earnest. Stay tuned!
Freshly laid
Matches between Schalke and Hoffenheim are always entertaining affairs - the fixture averages three goals per game to date - and everything seems to be in place for another exciting spectacle when the sides meet on Saturday. Taking advantage of the retractable pitch at their Veltins Arena stadium, the Royal Blues have laid a pristine new turf in time for kick-off:
Benatia in the final stretch
There was further good news for FC Bayern München after the club announced that centre-back Medhi Benatia had returned to first-team training. Head coach Pep Guardiola is unlikely to rush the Moroccan back into action, but it looks like it won't be long before he's back in contention.
Thiago and Holger
Holger Badstuber is delighted to see Thiago Alcantara back in Bavaria as the 23-year-old midfielder continues his recovery from knee ligament troubles.
Kehl's up next
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sebastian Kehl is next to face the assembled press to share his pre-weekend opinions...
Rolling quotes
The pre-match press conferences are coming thick and fast in the Bundesliga so stay tuned for all the best snippets from the men in charge in Germany's top flight.
Hannover's hard graft
Hannover 96's squad have had their nose to the grind stone in anticipation of welcoming league leaders FC Bayern München to the HDI Arena on Saturday.
Schmidt's call to arms
1. FSV Mainz 05 head coach Martin Schmidt appeared to be in a bullish mood ahead of his side's league fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday evening.
"With passion, courage and 100% commitment, we're also capable of taking something off of UEFA Champions League hopefuls like Gladbach"
Jürgen Klopp takes the stand
Coming up the best quotes from Jürgen Klopp's pre-match press conference ahead of Borussia Dortmund's Saturday afternoon showdown with Hamburger SV.
Say cheese!
With their place in the DFB Cup quarter finals booked, FC Bayern München appear to be in jovial spirits ahead of their Matchday 24 clash with a Hannover 96 side who are currently struggling for form.
Ray of hope for Stuttgart
Historically speaking bottom-of-the-table Stuttgart have reason to believe that they could end their run of eight home games without a win on Friday night. Three points is a must for Huub Stevens' charges, who could fall further adrift at the foot of the table should they not emerge victorious.
Stevens: 'We're concentrating on what is important - and that is preparing for the game against Hertha'.
Hello and welcome to the latest round of bundesliga.com's updates ahead of Matchday 24. If you want to keep on top of everything which is happening in and around Germany's top flight this weekend, make this your first port of call.