Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez has kept Leverkusen in the hunt near the top of the table with his extraordinary goalscoring exploits. - © © imago / Eibner

Hinrunde review: top 10 matches - part II

24.12.2015

It is Christmas come early for Bundesliga fans as bundesliga.com looks back at some of the best matches from the Hinrunde, the first half of the season. After you have seen our selection, tell us about your favourite fans of the 2015/16 campaign to date via our Twitter account: @Bundesliga_EN #BL2015

Click here for part one

Of the 153 top-flight matches played so far this term, some have inevitably stood out more than others. In the second of a two-part feature, bundesliga.com looks back at the Top 10 games of the first half of the season...

Matchday 10: Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4-3 VfB Stuttgart

Fixtures between these teams may have averaged over three goals per game down the years, but few people would have expected this match to produce the fireworks it did - especially as the score was 0-0 at half-time. Struggling Stuttgart had earned only their second win of the season the previous weekend, while Leverkusen were on a four-game unbeaten run, without having hit the heights of the 2014/15 campaign. However, die Werkself produced the goods when it really mattered, and overturned a two-goal deficit to take all three points, with a certain Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez scoring his second Bundesliga goal.

Matchday 12: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 FC Schalke 04

As ever, there was plenty at stake going into the 87th edition of the world-renowned Revierderby, with Dortmund looking to increase the gap over their arch-rivals to nine points. Eventually Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proved the difference in a typically fierce, passionate encounter, netting the decisive goal to take his season tally to 14 and counting.

Matchday 14: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 3-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Gladbach slipped back into some bad habits away to Hoffenheim, with defensive lapses allowing the hosts to race into a 3-1 lead. Yet the resilience coach Andre Schubert instilled into the side shone through eventually, with USA international Fabian Johnson producing one of his best displays of the season to lead the fightback, netting a late equaliser to preserve the Foals' unbeaten run under their new boss. Indeed, that comeback could well have given the Foals the belief to do the following on Matchday 15...

Matchday 15: Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 FC Bayern München

In a battle between the clubs with the two longest active unbeaten streaks, Bayern were looking to get the better of a Gladbach side who were yet to suffer their defeat under Schubert. The Foals took four points off the Bavarians in the previous campaign, but considering Pep Guardiola had never suffered a loss in the first half of any season as Bayern head coach, the hosts knew they would have to produce an outstanding performance. The Foals duly did so, proving that Bayern are not invincible after all.

Matchday 16: Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Having been knocked out of Europe during midweek, Gladbach slipped their first loss of Schubert's reign as Leverkusen put on an attacking masterclass to pick up a crucial victory over their fellow top-four aspirants. Chicharito was at the heart of all the hosts' moves and became the first Mexican to score a Bundesliga hat-trick, taking his tally during an impressive purple patch to 14 goals scored in 12 appearances in all competitions.