Matchday 20 was a rough one for most of the top sides, but this latest batch of Bundesliga fixtures saw several teams rebound after defeats. Meanwhile, the normally relatively calm (at least publicly) Carlo Ancelotti shockingly lost his head and reacted angrily to opposing fans, whilst more records were set. Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the facts, stats, and talking points from matchday 21.
It's a common gesture known worldwide to express one's displeasure (although in some nations, it does not really mean anything). In the Western world, however, showing someone your middle finger...well, anyone over the age of ten should know what that famed "one-finger salute" stands for.
We have all seen countless footballers do it, and get into trouble. Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti could find himself facing disciplinary action after German broadcaster ARD reported that the Italian tactician had flipped off home fans. When asked, he admitted, "Yes, I made the gesture because I was spat on".
Here's some footage of the incident:
ㅗ뻐큐머겅ㅗ @FCBayern pic.twitter.com/BeY62umz35
— 석류 (@4priljii) February 19, 2017
The reason for Hertha Berlin fans' ire? They were leading 1-0 until a prolonged extra-time allowed Bayern to snatch a late, late equalizer. And many teams feel that die Roten get favorable treatment. Opposing fans even have a nickname to the time added on during a match - Bayern-Dusel - which translates to as "Bayern luck".
Speaking of that late Bayern goal, its goalscorer set a new record in the process:
96th – @lewy_official (@FCBayernEN) scored the latest #Bundesliga goal since detailed data collection 2004/05 (95:59). Thrill. #BSCFCB pic.twitter.com/NiEGRtvACJ
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 18, 2017
Last round ended with the Bundesliga all-time goal tally standing at 49,999. So it was only a matter of time that someone would get to write his name in the history books to score goal no. 50,000.
Certainly, top marksmen like Anthony Modeste or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have loved to be the one to set that milestone. However, as luck would have it, it was Augsburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen to kick off round 21, meaning that whoever scored in that game would get that special fact added to his CV?
So who was the lucky player? It was a member of the Bayer Leverkusen squad, and we can bet he won't forget this one for a while:
50 000 - @KimoBellarabi (@bayer04_en) scored the 50 000th goal in #Bundesliga history. Milestone. #fcab04 pic.twitter.com/vSJ3TcAgsX
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 17, 2017
Curious to find out who scored the other milestone goals before then? Have a look:
- 10,000 - Buffy Ettmayer - Stuttgart - 26th January 1974
- 20,000 - Kurt Niedermayer - Stuttgart - 1st October 1983
- 30,000 - Frank Neubarth - Werder Bremen - 6th April 1994
- 40,000 - Thomas Broich - Borussia Moenchengladbach - 20th September 2005
- 50,000 - Karim Bellarabi - Bayer Leverkusen - 17th February 2017
- 60,000 - ???
Who knows who will score the 60,000th Bundesliga goal, but in looking at the past 50,000, it has taken, on average about a decade to reach each 10,000. So, if one believes in patterns, it is likely then the 60,000th goal will happen sometime in the late 2020's (2027, 2028, et al).
Or who knows? Perhaps it may happen earlier!
Heading into their Europa League tie with Fiorentina, Borussia Moenchengladbach had every reason to be fancying their chances against the Viola. They were on a three-match winning streak in the Bundesliga, and this nifty stat certainly appeared to tip the tie in their favor:
7 - @borussia_en have lost none of their 7 international home matches against clubs from Italy. Perfetto. #BMGFIO pic.twitter.com/QqP98KLicV
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 16, 2017
Unfortunately for them, that record came to an end, as their Italian visitors had other plans. Federico Bernadeschi's effort was enough to give the Gigliati a slim advantage, and they followed this up with a 2-1 loss to RB Leipzig.
And Thorgan Hazard's missed spot-kick set a rather unwanted precedent:
3 - For the first time in history @borussia failed 3 penalties in a row in the Bundesliga. Treasure.
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 19, 2017
Next up is the return leg against Paulo Sousa's side, and fans will hope that the team will be able to turn things around at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will need to find his scoring boots soon, as Koln's Anthony Modeste pulled even with the Gabonese star thanks to his goal in a 1-1 draw with Schalke:
Here is how the assist-providers stack up after 21 rounds:
Here's how things are shaping up in the Bundesliga after 21 rounds...will there be more changes after matchday 22 this coming weekend?
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![]() | Manchester United | Apr 15 3:00pm | Granada | ![]() |
![]() | Slavia Praha | Apr 15 3:00pm | Arsenal | ![]() |
![]() | Borussia M'gladbach | Apr 17 9:30am | Eintracht Frankfurt | ![]() |
![]() | Wolfsburg | Apr 17 9:30am | Bayern München | ![]() |
![]() | Bayer Leverkusen | Apr 17 12:30pm | Köln | ![]() |
![]() | Arsenal | Apr 18 8:30am | Fulham | ![]() |
![]() | Borussia Dortmund | Apr 18 9:30am | Werder Bremen | ![]() |
![]() | Manchester United | Apr 18 11:00am | Burnley | ![]() |
![]() | Getafe | Apr 18 3:00pm | Real Madrid | ![]() |
![]() | Leeds United | Apr 19 3:00pm | Liverpool | ![]() |