Augsburg - Wolfsburg 1-1
Augsburg and Wolfsburg shared the spoils in a fiercely-contested 1-1 draw at the WWK Arena, extending the hosts’ impressive unbeaten record to five matches.
The hosts started the contest on the front foot, enjoying plenty of possession inside the Wolfsburg half. Despite their bright opening, Augsburg had little to show for their early endeavours, with Ermedin Demirović seeing a close-range strike expertly thwarted by Koen Casteels.
Wolfsburg looked to gain a foothold in the match after an uninspiring start, and stunned the home faithful by taking the lead against the run of play.
Riddle Baku did well to carve out an inviting cross and Yannick Gerhardt found himself in the right place at the right time to score for a second successive match.
Undeterred by the setback, Augsburg attempted to regain control of proceedings before the interval, but the Wolfsburg rearguard held firm, as tempers flared on both sides in a flurry of yellow cards.
The early exchanges of the second half were dominated by the visitors, but Felix Nmecha saw a header superbly saved by Tomas Koubek as Wolfsburg looked to press home their advantage.
The Wolves were left to rue this missed opportunity, as Augsburg levelled the scores through full-back Robert Gumny, who fired a rebound into the roof of the net beyond Casteels.
Buoyed by the equaliser, Augsburg came agonisingly close to taking the lead minutes later when Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s powerful low strike was parried around the post by the impressive Casteels.
In a game full of momentum shifts, it was Koubek’s turn to save his side with 15 minutes remaining, as he spread himself well to thwart Patrick Wimmer’s driven effort.
Despite the best efforts of both sides, a late winner ultimately proved a step too far, as the defences held firm to secure a deserved point apiece.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg)
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Bayer Leverkusen - Schalke 4-0
Xabi Alonso got off to the perfect start as Bayer Leverkusen boss, overseeing a comfortable 4-0 win over Schalke at the BayArena. A first home win of the season lifted the hosts out of the relegation zone, ending the worst-ever start to a season on their own turf in club history.
With defeat to Porto proving the final straw for Gerardo Seoane, it was the start of a new era for Die Werkself as they welcomed newly-promoted Schalke.
The Alonso philosophy was on display immediately as the hosts dominated possession of the ball in the first half as they probed for an opener. Charles Aranguiz thought he’d found it with a rasping effort from the edge of the area that found the top corner, but the referee’s whistle had already sounded and the Chilean was denied.
Almost all of Leverkusen’s threat was coming down the right, with the deadly double-act of Jeremie Frimpong and Moussa Diaby constantly threatening the visitors’ defence. Rather inevitably, that would prove the route to the opener before the break in spectacular fashion.
Schalke’s defence backed off Diaby’s central run and he unleashed from 25 yards, netting his first Bundesliga goal of the season with a thunderbolt.
Alonso’s men deservedly doubled the lead before half time. Again coming down the right, Diaby utilised the overlapping Frimpong to slot past Alexander Schwolow.
A double substitution and a change of system from Frank Kramer at the break did little to affect proceedings and Leverkusen added a third within 10 minutes of the restart. The same combination would strike once more, as Diaby slotted in Frimpong to double his tally on the day.
With a crucial clash in the UEFA Champions League on the horizon, Alonso began to shuffle his pack and rest his key stars.
One of the introductions, Paulinho, rounded off the scoring within moments of coming on, finishing off the visitors with an emphatic effort. In truth, Schalke never really threatened a goal in a really disappointing performance from Kramer’s men, with the lack of fight on show perhaps the most alarming.
The Royal Blues are now winless in their last 32 top-flight matches away from home (D10, L23), and are without a victory in their last seven meetings with Leverkusen.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)
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Bochum - Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0
Bochum emerged victorious for the first time in Bundesliga action this term, defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 and claim a first clean-sheet league win since January.
Bochum began this clash with the worst eight-game Bundesliga start in history, matching the solitary point a relegated Greuther Furth took from their opening octet last year.
That said, there were quiet signs of improvement, but for Simon Zoller’s overzealous shooting on 17 minutes, with the striker missing the target after being gifted the ball inside the box.
Instead, the opening half-hour’s sole shot on target fell to Frankfurt, with Lucas Alario’s shot from the edge of the box being palmed around the post by Manuel Riemann, after the Argentine forward had earlier sent a shot wide. Bochum rallied to a tepid extent, and saw an effort blocked as the interval loomed, with caution still overriding their gameplan.
The hosts continued to hold their own after the break, forcing Oliver Glasner into a double change after the hour mark. Including the departure of veteran Mario Gotze for Daichi Kamada in the number ten slot.
The move nearly paid dividends, with a more mobile attack sending Rafael Borre through, only for the Colombian to hit the post.
Bochum made them pay, stunning the UEFA Europa League holders 20 minutes from time, as Philipp Forster flighted a corner to Philipp Hofmann, who planted a downward header into the corner of a helpless Kevin Trapp’s net.
His third goal of the season was met with delirium, but an agonising endgame was expected for a side who began the day yet to keep a Bundesliga clean sheet.
Much to everyone’s surprise though, the onslaught was instead Bochum’s in the dying minutes, as Frankfurt collapsed spectacularly.
After his earlier assist, Forster was instrumental on 88 minutes, latching onto a free-kick and finding the net, albeit with the final touch coming off Evan Ndicka.
Moments later, he would finally be an undisputed scorer, converting a shrewd ball from Jordi Osei-Tutu to seal the points in emphatic fashion.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Philipp Forster (Bochum)
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Mainz - RB Leipzig 1-1
RB Leipzig’s poor away form in the Bundesliga continued in a 1-1 draw with Mainz. The Roten Bullen are now winless in their five away games in the league this season, with only Bochum picking up fewer points on the road than their two.
Sitting level on points following contrasting league results in the previous matchday, the encounter between Mainz and Leipzig started out as a rather one-sided affair, as the visitors dominated possession and kept the home side at an arm’s length in the opening minutes.
A header by Die Roten Bullen midfield ace Amadou Haidara first crashed off the left post, before Mainz raised the stakes and got back into the equation midway through the first period, materialising back-to-back opportunities that were excellently kept out by Leipzig shot-stopper Janis Blaswich.
With the lack of goals at the MEWA Arena an obvious problem for Bo Svensson’s side – a league-low of one home goal to their name – Mainz shifted their attention to the attacking front and registered a second right on the brink of half time.
The final action of the half saw Danish marksman Marcus Ingvartsen picked up a through ball by Anton Stach and he made no mistake with a fantastic first-time inch-perfect shot inside the far post, much to the disappointment of Marco Rose’s men
Despite ending the first period with no shots on target, Leipzig thought they had equalized 10 minutes into the second half, only for Abdou Diallo’s point-blank effort from a set-piece ruled out for offside.
Thereafter, the hosts were bombarded by a host of chances, the best of which saw Christopher Nkunku and Timo Werner both brilliantly denied by Robin Zentner between the posts.
The former, Nkunku, didn’t have to wait long though, latching onto a lofted cross by Marcel Halstenberg which bounced in off the left post 10 minutes before the final whistle to equalise.
A toothless display once again denied the East Germans a much needed victory, as they fail to build upon their impressive 4-0 win over Bochum last weekend. Meanwhile, the hosts are now winless in four straight matches, and still winless at home this new campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Anton Stach (Mainz)