Lewandowski saves Bayern, Ingolstadt upset Frankfurt
February 18, 2017
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Bayern Munich
(Ibisevic 21' - Lewandowski 90+6')
The defending champions escaped Berlin with a dramatic point after Robert Lewandowski scored the equalizer with the last kick of the game. Hertha Berlin took the lead in the first half when Marvin Plattenhardt picked out Vedad Ibisevic at the near post with a free kick from the left wing. The defense did their best to keep the 1-0 lead despite Bayern's 16 shots in the game. But Bayern always seem to get the last word, and when Peter Pekarik took down Kingsley Coman in second half stoppage time, they did just that. The ensuing free kick saw Arjen Robben free at the top of the penalty area, and after his shot was blocked, substitute Lewandowski tipped home the point-saving equalizer. Bayern collected their 50th point of the season as a result while Hertha remained locked in sixth place.
Hamburg 2-2 Freiburg
(Hunt 15', Gregoritsch 57' - Philipp 23', Grifo 72')
Hamburg picked up another crucial point in their survival quest but it should have been two more. Forward Bobby Wood was a late scratch from the starting line-up after injuring his thigh in the warm-ups, and unlikely goal machine Kyriakos Papadopoulos came off in the first half due to injury as well. But Aaron Hunt raised the spirits of the home fans with a tremendous back-heel goal for the opener. Freiburg quickly found an answer as Nils Petersen picked out Maximilian Philipp for the equalizer.
Second-half substitute Michael Gregoritsch restored Hamburg's lead when he tapped in a sharp pass from Gotoku Sakai. But Freiburg levelled once again when Vincenzo Grifo combined with Petersen and scored from close range. Hunt had a chance to score the winning goal when he drew a penalty in the 87th minute, but Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow saved Hunt's effort to keep the score level. The result has allowed Hamburg to avoid the relegation zone for the second straight week and they have collected seven points in their last three league games.
Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Wolfsburg
(Bruma o.g. 20', Piszczek 48', Dembele 59')
No fan section? No problem for Dortmund as they handled Wolfsburg in Signal Iduna Park. Jeffrey Bruma made the attending Dortmund fans happy in the first half with an own goal off a Lukas Piszczek cross. Piszczek doubled Dortmund's lead shortly after the break, capitalizing on a ball from Ousmane Dembele that bounced through traffic in the penalty area. Dembele finished off the game with a powerful header from a corner. The victory bumps Dortmund up to third place, their highest table position since November of last year.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Ingolstadt
(Bregerie 26', Groß 69' pen.)
Ingolstadt completed a solid upset in a sloppy game at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt. Roman Bregerie gave the visitors the lead after heading in a Pascal Groß corner, the third straight game for Frankfurt in which they conceded the opening goal. Things got worse for the hosts when David Abraham was sent off with a straight red card after planting his left boot into the side of Dario Lezcano. Playing with 10 men, Frankfurt had a chance at the equalizer when Ingolstadt goalkeeper Martin Hansen took out Ante Rebic for a penalty. But Makoto Hasebe could not convert the spot kick or the follow-up chance after Hansen saved the penalty. Ingolstadt then got a penalty of their own when Michael Hector committed a clumsy foul on Matthew Leckie, one that Pascal Groß put away. Leckie was set off as well to level the player count for the teams, but Frankfurt could not muster a comeback . The result knocked Frankfurt down to fifth place as Ingolstadt climbed closer to safety.
Mainz 0-2 Werder Bremen
(Gnabry 16', Delaney 23')
Winless in the six games leading up to their tip to Mainz, Werder Bremen came up with a big victory in Mainz. Serge Gnabry scored his eighth goal of the season, heading home a corner after Mainz left him unmarked. Thomas Delaney gave Bremen the two-goal lead in the first half after curling a free kick over Mainz's wall. Despite the victory, Bremen have remained in the relegation zone as Mainz have passed up a chance to get closer to mid-table.
Hoffenheim 2-0 Darmstadt
(Kramaric 64', 90+3' pen.)
Hoffenheim are back in the top four after beating Darmstadt 2-0 on Saturday in Sinsheim. Andrej Kramaric, Julian Nagelsmann's first substitute off the bench, scored both goals for the hosts. He finished off a well-placed through pass from Marco Terrazzino to open the scoring in the second half and scored a penalty just before fulltime after Darmstadt's Hamit Altintop fouled Sebastian Rudy in the penalty area.
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