Cologne comeback
February 6, 2011
It looked like a safe match for Bayern Munich - by halftime, they deservedly held a 2-0 lead against Cologne with both Mario Gomez and Hamit Altintop scoring against a weak Cologne side.
But after the break, Cologne battled back and 10 minutes into the second half, Christian Clemens scored their opening goal. But the man of the match was Slovenian international Milivoje Novakovic who struck twice for Cologne, giving his side a rather unexpected 3-2 victory in the end.
"We saw a completely different team in the second half," Cologne striker Lukas Podolski said, summing up the match. "The way we turned the game around with the fans behind us was sensational."
"We couldn't manage to find our game again at the beginning of the second half," said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm. "We have given away some important points and that really hurts."
With the loss, Bayern now drop from third place to fifth in the Bundesliga table. Dortmund, who drew 0-0 with Schalke on Friday, remain out of reach; they're 12 points clear of runners-up Leverkusen and a comfortable 15 points ahead of Bayern.
Hamburg derby called off
Sunday's only game ended in a disappointing goalless draw between Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburg, who missed the chance to level with Bayern Munich on points.
The tie extends Freiburg's undefeated streak to seven games. The team sits in sixth place on the table, just two points behind Bayern, who are in the last spot to qualify for the Europa League next season.
Meanwhile Hamburg's two teams, Hamburger SV and St. Pauli, were scheduled to play earlier on Sunday before authorities decided to postpone the match because of a waterlogged pitch. Officials were to announce a new date in the following few days.
"I'm baffled at why this game can't take place after two days of rain in Hamburg," said St. Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski. "I'm absolutely disappointed. We wanted to play this derby, despite our own personal concerns, and take the points home with us."
Fans of the neighboring teams clashed with each other and police in the streets of Hamburg on Saturday night, shortly after the decision to call the game off was made. Police said fans threw stones, bottles and fireworks, and that 45 people were taken into custody and one arrested.
Last-minute equalizer
Leverkusen on Saturday gave away their chance to edge closer to the top by losing 1-0 to Nuremberg. Christian Eigler scored the goal but was later sent off for a second booking.
Mainz looked like the winner against Werder Bremen but in stoppage time Claudio Pizarro managed the equalizer, saving Bremen from what would have been their third straight defeat. Mainz are now third in the table behind Dortmund and Leverkusen.
Also on Saturday, Hanover joined Mainz on 37 points thanks to a 1-0 victory against Wolfsburg. Steve McLaren's men should have equalized after Diego was fouled in the box. But the Brazilian jumped straight up and demanded that he take the spot-kick, ahead of designated penalty-taker Patrick Helmes. Diego got his wish, and then hit the crossbar.
In the day's other games, Hoffenheim beat Kaiserslautern 3-2 and Stuttart defeated Mönchengladbach 3-2 thanks to Timo Gebhart netting a penalty three minutes from stoppage time.
Authors: Andrew Bowen (Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Mark Hallam