The fantastic four

Many would have predicted a two-horse race for the Bundesliga title this season, with champions Borussia Dortmund and perennial contenders Bayern Munich expected to duke it out at the top of the table. But, 19 match days into the season, two interlopers have established themselves in the title hunt. Schalke's mixture of youth and experience has begun to blossom after a tricky campaign last season, while Borussia Mönchengladbach continue to confound the form book, despite dodging relegation by the skin of their teeth last time out.

All four of the championship hopefuls picked up three points over the weekend, meaning that Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke are all locked together on 40 points at the top, with Gladbach nipping at their heels on 39.

Dortmund will take the plaudits for playing like champions, dominating proceedings in front of over 80,000 fans against visitors Hoffenheim. The game ended 3-1, despite the absence of Mario Götze, but if anything, that's flattering to the losers, who might have conceded several more.

Borussia Mönchengladbach's 3-0 Sunday evening win in Stuttgart was almost as assured, although it was achieved through a very different style of play. Gladbach's industrious, well-organized defense and midfield worked as a unit to negate Stuttgart's offensive efforts - including those of new signing Vedad Ibisevic, formerly of Hoffenheim. Against tired legs late in the game, Marco Reus and Igor de Camargo pounced to extend the Foals' long-standing one-goal lead. The score-line might have flattered Gladbach, but the three points rarely looked in danger.

Shakier showings go unpunished

There might have been a few more doubts in the minds of Bayern Munich fans at the Allianz Arena against visitors Wolfsburg on Saturday. Apart from a couple of early chances for Mario Gomez, Bayern struggled to make much headway in attack, until Gomez finally broke the deadlock after about an hour. Ivica Olic replaced Gomez late on and scored an audacious left-footed lob in stoppage time, papering over the cracks in a rather laborious win.

Schalke supporters, meanwhile, who traveled to Cologne to face one of their club's most fierce rivals, must have bitten their nails to the quick for the first hour of play. Lukas Podolski smashed in a long range goal early on and Cologne's defense ably held on for two-thirds of the match, despite Schalke dictating the play. In the closing phase, however, the hosts hit the self-destruct button, conceding three goals from crosses, another from a penalty, and losing a defender in the process. Cologne goalie Michael Rensing was furious with his side's collapse after the 4-1 defeat, but neutrals enjoying the tight fight at the top of the table probably saw matters differently.

One might argue that Gladbach, and possibly Schalke, lack the depth and quality in their squads to sustain a push for the league title. Still, with eight points separating fouth-placed Gladbach and fifth-placed Werder Bremen, Germany's top candidates to qualify for Champions League football next season certainly seem to have emerged.

Six of the worst

At the other end of the table, the Bundesliga's six bottom sides were pitted against each other on match day 19. Hamburg and Mainz, perhaps the two most surprising members of the relegation dogfight, were the big winners of the weekend. Hamburg traveled to the capital and won 2-1, with Hertha Berlin left to rue conceding the softest of goals to Croat international Mladen Petric moments before half time.

Mainz, meanwhile, raced to victory within 20 minutes against visitors Freiburg. Mainz led 3-0 against a 10-man Freiburg less than halfway through the first half. Freiburg rallied admirably after their disastrous start, even having the better of the game in the second period - the match finished 3-1.

That defeat puts Freiburg bottom of the table, replacing Augsburg, who scrapped it out for a 2-2 draw against visitors Kaiserslautern. Despite scoring a point apiece, Augsburg and Kaiserslautern still occupy the drop zone.

Best of the rest

For all the talk about the "fantastic four" in the German media, Saturday also pitted fifth-placed Werder Bremen against sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen. Robin Dutt's side fell behind to hosts Bremen after another goal from the red-hot Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro, but capitalized on some suspect goalkeeping from Tim Wiese to equalize from a corner in the second half. The match finished 1-1.

Just behind Bremen and Leverkusen, hoping to secure European qualification for the second consecutive season, Hanover managed to break an eight game winless streak on Friday, scraping to a 1-0 home win against Nuremberg.

While Bayern, Dortmund, Schalke and Gladbach are breaking away in lock-step at the front of the pack, the rest of the Bundesliga remains tantalizingly close. A meager seven points separates eighth-placed Hoffenheim and bottom-of-the-table Freiburg.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Spencer Kimball