Schalke thumped the current basement club Köln 5-1 this weekend.
Schalke last week was almost painful to watch. They started well against Stuttgart on Match-day 1 but basically gave up after they conceded the first goal. A strong Stuttgart side ripped them apart. Schalke was by no means convincing this weekend. However, Köln, as we all know, is seemingly a disaster waiting to happen almost every season.
With the score at 1-1, Lukas Podolski and co gave up and just allowed Schalke to run, rather walk, over them. Bayern, meanwhile, was primarily saved by the referee. However, the win was deserved as contrary to popular (anti-Bayern) opinion as they were marginally the better side.
Jerome Boateng played the bullish Patrick Helmes onside. Helmes sent the ball past Manuel Neuer with a header from close range. The Bayern fans must have felt a sense of déjà-vu. However, the linesman ruled the goal out for offside. Knut Kircher, the referee on the day, later admitted that he should have allowed the goal to stand.
Bayern’s defence seems to have improved massively. That was perhaps the best chance Wolfsburg had in the entire match. Bayern’s back four snuffed out almost everything else that came their way. The midfield and the attack (especially Mario Gomez) looked out of tandem again.
Schweinsteiger improved this week though and tried to make things happen even though he was caught offside more often than not. Gomez probably had about ten touches on the ball. During Louis Van Gaal’s days, sometimes the fans would be desperate to see Miroslav Klose come on. It seemed that everyone knew that Klose could make things happen except Van Gaal.
Jupp Heynckes seems to harbour the same feeling about Ivica Olic. Heynckes took all off 86 minutes to finally bring on the ‘energizer-bunny’. Olic ran his heart out and played a huge part in setting up Luis Gustavo for the winner in injury time.
While the Bayern boys all jumped on each other, Heynckes must have felt relieved. An attack of Bayern’s calibre would have gone goalless for all of 180 minutes had Gustavo not scored. Bayern needs to improve in time for their clash against Zurich. Also, the debate concerning Thomas Mueller’s best position and Toni Kroos’ contributions will rage on in the coming weeks unless things change.
Another interesting debate is raging in Leverkusen currently. Robin Dutt is seemingly confused about how to handle the Simon Rolfes- Michael Ballack fiasco. Rolfes and Ballack apparently had a bit of a spat recently. He played Ballack against Bremen. The former German captain didn’t really have an impact.
Dutt introduced Rolfes for the final minutes. The Leverkusen captain wasted no time in setting up the winner for Michal Kadlec. Afterwards, Rolfes commented very diplomatically that Leverkusen has a very good team on the pitch as well as on the bench.
Sejad Salihovic meanwhile scored the goal of the weekend, a screamer of a free-kick from 33 metres, condemning an entirely dominant Dortmund side to defeat.
Considering the happenings of the previous weekend, one can only look forward to the next one. The action resumes on Friday with Gladbach taking on Wolfsburg.
With the score at 1-1, Lukas Podolski and co gave up and just allowed Schalke to run, rather walk, over them. Bayern, meanwhile, was primarily saved by the referee. However, the win was deserved as contrary to popular (anti-Bayern) opinion as they were marginally the better side.
Jerome Boateng played the bullish Patrick Helmes onside. Helmes sent the ball past Manuel Neuer with a header from close range. The Bayern fans must have felt a sense of déjà-vu. However, the linesman ruled the goal out for offside. Knut Kircher, the referee on the day, later admitted that he should have allowed the goal to stand.
Bayern’s defence seems to have improved massively. That was perhaps the best chance Wolfsburg had in the entire match. Bayern’s back four snuffed out almost everything else that came their way. The midfield and the attack (especially Mario Gomez) looked out of tandem again.
Schweinsteiger improved this week though and tried to make things happen even though he was caught offside more often than not. Gomez probably had about ten touches on the ball. During Louis Van Gaal’s days, sometimes the fans would be desperate to see Miroslav Klose come on. It seemed that everyone knew that Klose could make things happen except Van Gaal.
Jupp Heynckes seems to harbour the same feeling about Ivica Olic. Heynckes took all off 86 minutes to finally bring on the ‘energizer-bunny’. Olic ran his heart out and played a huge part in setting up Luis Gustavo for the winner in injury time.
While the Bayern boys all jumped on each other, Heynckes must have felt relieved. An attack of Bayern’s calibre would have gone goalless for all of 180 minutes had Gustavo not scored. Bayern needs to improve in time for their clash against Zurich. Also, the debate concerning Thomas Mueller’s best position and Toni Kroos’ contributions will rage on in the coming weeks unless things change.
Another interesting debate is raging in Leverkusen currently. Robin Dutt is seemingly confused about how to handle the Simon Rolfes- Michael Ballack fiasco. Rolfes and Ballack apparently had a bit of a spat recently. He played Ballack against Bremen. The former German captain didn’t really have an impact.
Dutt introduced Rolfes for the final minutes. The Leverkusen captain wasted no time in setting up the winner for Michal Kadlec. Afterwards, Rolfes commented very diplomatically that Leverkusen has a very good team on the pitch as well as on the bench.
Sejad Salihovic meanwhile scored the goal of the weekend, a screamer of a free-kick from 33 metres, condemning an entirely dominant Dortmund side to defeat.
Considering the happenings of the previous weekend, one can only look forward to the next one. The action resumes on Friday with Gladbach taking on Wolfsburg.
