Goals, goals, and more goals was the theme of matchday 26. In fact, none of the nine matches played between Friday, March 19th and Sunday, March 21st finished as a dull scoreless draw, and in seven of those ties, three or more goals were scored between both teams. The highest scoring fixtures saw seven, while the lowest-scoring match saw one as RB Leipzig got back to winning ways following their draw from last round.
Let's have a look at what took place over this weekend's round of fixtures.
Top five teams in the Bundesliga up to March 22
Here's how the top five sides in German football's top flight look heading into the international hiatus
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Robert Lewandowski grabbed a brace as Bayern mauled Stuttgart 4-0, while Erling Haaland's heroics were enough to spare Dortmund's blushes against Cologne. And not to be outdone, Andre Silva was also on target, netting twice as Eintracht Frankfurt cruised to a 5-2 win over Union Berlin
Top Bundesliga headlines
Gladbach finally end awful streak: Die Fohlen may have just been dumped out of the Champions League, but Marco Rose's men finally ended their losing run. Gladbach came into their clash with Schalke on a seven match losing streak across all comps, and in fact, hadn't won a game since beating Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal on February 3rd.
Fortunately, perhaps, they were pitted against a team who've won just one game all season, and had no problems easing to a comfortable 3-0 win at their opponents' expense. Unfortunately for Schalke, that result cuts them further adrift and means that any hopes they harbor of avoiding the drop grow slimmer with each passing round.
Haaland to the rescue...again: Dortmund needed their Norwegian star to bail them out this weekend. Twice. Otherwise, they would have suffered what would have been a rather embarrassing loss to a relegation-threatened Cologne side who've won just five times all season. Haaland struck early to give them a 1-0 lead, only for fellow youngster Jude Bellingham to give Cologne a free penalty via handball. Die Schwarzgelben again needed the powerful striker to save their blushes late in the match as they were losing 2-1 for much of the second half, and he again came through in the 90th minute.
The draw keeps them in fifth spot heading into the international break and still in the hunt for a European football berth, while Cologne are in 16th, just one point out of the drop zone.
RB Leipzig rebound in style to set up crucial clash: Die Roten Bullen drew last weekend, but they recovered well this time around to move to four points behind Bayern. It wasn't easy, as Arminia Bielefeld threw everyone and then some behind the ball in a desperate bid to try to grind out a point, but Julian Naglesmann's men finally got the win they needed. But will the international break interrupt their rhythm or will they come back ready to go in what will be their biggest game of the season?
Top Bundesliga matches: April 3-4, 2021
The Bundesliga will now go on hiatus for the latest installment of international fixtures, but here are some of the top games you'll want to catch once the season resumes on Saturday, April 3rd:
Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke: Leverkusen have seen things gone awry, but fortunately for them, they'll be welcoming the worst-performing team in the Bundesliga. Schalke have gone through four managers and now have their fifth on the bench. And it hasn't helped them one iota. They've still won just one game all season, and things don't seem that they'll be improving anytime soon. For all intents and purposes, Schalke look set to be featuring in the 2.Bundesliga next term, and the players already look resigned to that fate, so Leverkusen could use this as a great chance to get some much-needed points on the board and get their push for European football back on track.
Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt: While Frankfurt are looking good to secure Champions League football for the first time in club history, Dortmund aren't out of the running just yet. Four points divide the two sides, and die Schwarzgelben could narrow this to one if they can pick up a vital win once the international hiatus ends in April. Frankfurt, who were once the most in-form side in not just Germany, but in Europe, have seen their form hit a bit of a snag lately, and the hosts, who've won three of their last five games, could exploit that as they're in dire need of some much needed points.
Mainz vs Arminia Bielefeld: Mainz have won three of their last five as they're desperately trying to put as much distance between themselves and the bottom two as possible. They're not out of the woods just yet, but if they can beat their upcoming visitors, they will be able to move ever so closer towards survival. Meanwhile, Arminia Bielefeld will be looking for the same thing. They've won just one of their last five, sit in 17th spot, but could claw their way out of the drop zone and jump as high as 14th if they win and the teams ahead of them also don't pick up victories in their respective matches. Even if everyone ahead of them does win their games, Bielefeld obviously still will want to win this match if they want to have any shot of avoiding the drop at the end of this season.
RB Leipzig vs Bayern Munich: This is THE match of the season. Second vs. first. Without a shadow of a doubt, this match WILL decide the title race this season, and if Leipzig can win, Bayern will certainly be not feeling as confident of winning a ninth straight league crown. But if die Roten do win, Leipzig can pretty much forget about winning what would be their first ever top flight league title since their inception in 2009.
Make sure you don't miss out on these key games and stay on top of all the action by checking out our bespoke Bundesliga match page.
