Football is a game of goals. No team knows this fact better than BVB at the moment.
Hanover knows how to earn results from matches with minimum amount of possession. They would rather be under-dogs than favourites. They were playing BVB on the back of a 0-0 draw with Standard Liege in the Europa League, a game they were expected to win. Dortmund dominated for 85 minutes. Football, however, happens to be a game of ninety minutes.
Two goals in the last five minutes saw Dortmund lose a game again, a game which they should have wrapped up much earlier. Dortmund isn’t playing poorly. They are not suffering from the label of ‘Bundesliga Champions’. Dortmund’s main problem at the moment is compensating the loss of Lucas Barrios. As many chances as Barrios seems to miss, he does get many goals. The same cannot unfortunately be said about Robert Lewandowski.
Köln and Leverkusen took to the pitch in the Rhine derby. Leverkusen had lost to Chelsea, 2-0, in the Champions League. Had they taken their chances, the game could have easily finished at 1-1. They were perhaps expecting an easy win. Köln though happens to be one of the most unpredictable teams in the Bundesliga.
Lukas Podolski was on fire as Köln humiliated Leverkusen, 1-4. Joachim Loew was in the crowd for this one. Andre Schürrle, who is trying to overtake Podolski on the wing in the national side, featured for Leverkusen. While Podolski showed all his good sides and his talent, Schürrle was left frustrated time and time again. His night ended with a red card for a nasty tackle.
Speaking of red cards, five were shown by Bundesliga referees this week. Schürrle got one as mentioned. Marwin Hitz was also shown a red card for talking his way into trouble in Wolfsburg’s match against Hoffenheim. As Felix Magath had used up all his substitutes, Makoto Hasebe took over matters in between the posts.
Tim Wiese was sent off for a professional foul outside the box after only 17 minutes against Nuremberg and slapped with a three-match ban. Sebastian Langkamp and Artur Sobiech were the other two players to be dismissed. Sobiech lasted just seven minutes on the pitch after coming on as a substitute for Hanover against BVB.
Manuel Neuer meanwhile received a torrent of abuse from Schalke fans who were at his feet less than six months ago. Some of the banners hung in protest of Neuer’s move to Bayern were truly disgraceful. Jupp Heynckes was quite unhappy with the treatment his player received from the fans of his former club. Neuer somehow managed to remain calm.
As far as Bayern is concerned, they easily navigated their way to another win (0-2) and another clean-sheet in the process. Nils Petersen scored his second Bundesliga goal in the match as he deputized for the injured Mario Gomez. Bayern has a perfect away record this season and continues to top the standings.
The only team to defeat Bayern so far is Gladbach. They beat HSV 0-1. Michael Oenning subsequently lost his job. Rumours indicate that Marco Van Basten or Huub Stevens might take over the stuttering HSV.
This Saturday sees Bayern take on Leverkusen in the biggest Bundesliga fixture of the weekend before BVB, Leverkusen and the Bavarians head off on Champions League duty.
The last time Bayern met Leverkusen, they thrashed them 5-1. The last thing Leverkusen needs is another thrashing but can they avoid defeat against an almost flawless Bayern side which is yet to reach its peak?
Two goals in the last five minutes saw Dortmund lose a game again, a game which they should have wrapped up much earlier. Dortmund isn’t playing poorly. They are not suffering from the label of ‘Bundesliga Champions’. Dortmund’s main problem at the moment is compensating the loss of Lucas Barrios. As many chances as Barrios seems to miss, he does get many goals. The same cannot unfortunately be said about Robert Lewandowski.
Köln and Leverkusen took to the pitch in the Rhine derby. Leverkusen had lost to Chelsea, 2-0, in the Champions League. Had they taken their chances, the game could have easily finished at 1-1. They were perhaps expecting an easy win. Köln though happens to be one of the most unpredictable teams in the Bundesliga.
Lukas Podolski was on fire as Köln humiliated Leverkusen, 1-4. Joachim Loew was in the crowd for this one. Andre Schürrle, who is trying to overtake Podolski on the wing in the national side, featured for Leverkusen. While Podolski showed all his good sides and his talent, Schürrle was left frustrated time and time again. His night ended with a red card for a nasty tackle.
Speaking of red cards, five were shown by Bundesliga referees this week. Schürrle got one as mentioned. Marwin Hitz was also shown a red card for talking his way into trouble in Wolfsburg’s match against Hoffenheim. As Felix Magath had used up all his substitutes, Makoto Hasebe took over matters in between the posts.
Tim Wiese was sent off for a professional foul outside the box after only 17 minutes against Nuremberg and slapped with a three-match ban. Sebastian Langkamp and Artur Sobiech were the other two players to be dismissed. Sobiech lasted just seven minutes on the pitch after coming on as a substitute for Hanover against BVB.
Manuel Neuer meanwhile received a torrent of abuse from Schalke fans who were at his feet less than six months ago. Some of the banners hung in protest of Neuer’s move to Bayern were truly disgraceful. Jupp Heynckes was quite unhappy with the treatment his player received from the fans of his former club. Neuer somehow managed to remain calm.
As far as Bayern is concerned, they easily navigated their way to another win (0-2) and another clean-sheet in the process. Nils Petersen scored his second Bundesliga goal in the match as he deputized for the injured Mario Gomez. Bayern has a perfect away record this season and continues to top the standings.
The only team to defeat Bayern so far is Gladbach. They beat HSV 0-1. Michael Oenning subsequently lost his job. Rumours indicate that Marco Van Basten or Huub Stevens might take over the stuttering HSV.
This Saturday sees Bayern take on Leverkusen in the biggest Bundesliga fixture of the weekend before BVB, Leverkusen and the Bavarians head off on Champions League duty.
The last time Bayern met Leverkusen, they thrashed them 5-1. The last thing Leverkusen needs is another thrashing but can they avoid defeat against an almost flawless Bayern side which is yet to reach its peak?
