Another weekend, another round of Bundesliga action is in the books. And it seems like truly, the Bundesliga title race is pretty much already decided after upstarts Leipzig slip-up yet again. Meanwhile, Bayern's Robert Lewandowski hit a huge milestone as die Roten cruised to yet another comfortable win.
Let's take a look at what happened all across Germany this past weekend.
1. Game, set, title for Bayern?
Die Roten have won the past four titles - a feat that no one had ever achieved before. And they're en route to make it an unpcecedented five. Like Juventus over in Serie A, the Bavarian titans have dominated Germany's football landscape for the past few seasons, and right now they are looking simply unstoppable.
Stats back them to defend their title, too, especially considering they now have a double-digit lead over RB Leipzig:
10 - A ten-point advantage with ten matchdays to go has never been squandered in #Bundesliga history. Decision? @FCBayernEN pic.twitter.com/U33HFxUOmm
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 13, 2017
2. Lewandowski in Beast Mode...
136 games. That's how long it took for Robert Lewandowski to hit a century of goals, which he achieved with his brace against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Polish international scored 30 in the league last season - becoming the first player since Dieter Muller in the 1976/1977 season to hit that benchmark - which earned him his second Torjägerkanone prize in just three seasons.
3. A turning point for Hamburg?
Perhaps. They are the only side not to be relegated from the Bundesliga, and after that 8-0 humiliating loss to Bayern, have rebounded quite admirably to pick up back to back wins.
And this weekend, they achieved something they have failed to do all season:
1 - @HSV win for the first time in the #Bundesliga 2016-17 after trailing (previously L12 D1). Comeback. #HSVBMG pic.twitter.com/ZvPE4vNyQq
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 12, 2017
4. Anthony Modeste = Ingolstadt's Kryptonite
Ingolstadt surely must be sick of facing Koln's Anthony Modeste by now. The French international is third in the rankings for the Torjägerkanone prize and has developed an interesting knack for scoring against Ingolstadt, who were founded in 2004 and achieved promotion in 2015:
6 - @AModeste15 scored all of @fckoeln_en’s 6 #Bundesliga goals against Ingolstadt. Update. #FCIKOE
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 11, 2017
5. Saving goals...and providing them too
Rene Adler has been instrumental in Hamburg's revival, as he has been directly involved in two out of his team's three goals in their past two games.
2 – Rene Adler has been directly involved in two of @HSV last three competitive goals vs. BMG (2 assists). Playmaker. #HSVBMG pic.twitter.com/5GQAD4TkAs
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 12, 2017
That is noteworthy, but not anything what will make anyone sit up and necessarily take pause. What will, however, is this interesting fact:
He's a goalkeeper!
How the battle for the Torjägerkanone is shaping up
Dortmund's Aubameyang netted over the weekend, but is still facing some serious competition from last season's winner. And Koln's Anthony Modeste, who is just three behind, certainly wants to have a say in this race for as long as possible:
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Key assist providers
Here is how the assist-providers stack up after 24 rounds. Thomas Muller may not be scoring (unfortunately), but he's still proving that he is a team player as these numbers show:
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Bundesliga Matchday 24 rankings: Bayern widen lead after Leipzig slip-up yet again, and Hamburg hope to continue mini-revival
Here's how things are shaping up in the Bundesliga after 24 rounds...will there be more changes after matchday 25 this coming weekend?
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 30 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 75 | 20 | +55 | 80 | DWWWW | |
| 2 | Bayern München | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 87 | 37 | +50 | 66 | WWLLW | |
| 3 | Stuttgart | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 63 | LWWDW | |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 69 | 34 | +35 | 59 | WWWDW | |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 58 | 35 | +23 | 57 | DWLWW | |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 45 | WLDDL | |
| 7 | Freiburg | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 53 | -11 | 40 | DWLWL | |
| 8 | Augsburg | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 49 | -1 | 39 | LWLDW | |
| 9 | Hoffenheim | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 53 | 60 | -7 | 39 | WLWLL | |
| 10 | Heidenheim | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 34 | LDWDD | |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 50 | -12 | 34 | WLDLL | |
| 12 | Borussia M'gladbach | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 53 | 60 | -7 | 31 | LLWLD | |
| 13 | Wolfsburg | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 50 | -15 | 31 | WLLWL | |
| 14 | Union Berlin | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 50 | -24 | 29 | LLLDW | |
| 15 | Mainz 05 | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 31 | 48 | -17 | 27 | DWWDW | |
| 16 | Bochum | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 34 | 60 | -26 | 27 | LDLDL | |
| 17 | Köln | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 23 | 53 | -30 | 22 | LLWDL | |
| 18 | Darmstadt 98 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 30 | 72 | -42 | 17 | WLLDL |
