Home advantage
January 28, 2012
Borussia Dortmund beat Hoffenheim 3-1, Bayern Munich won 2-0 against Wolfsburg and in the evening fixture, Schalke beat Cologne 4-1 - that leaves the three sides locked together at the top of the Bundesliga table. In the other afternoon matches, Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1, Hamburg won 2-1 in the capital against Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern drew 2-2 with fellow relegation candidates Augsburg.
Borussia Dortmund took to the field without German international and teenager Mario Götze, but their impressive home form still meant that the 80,720 capacity Signal Iduna Park stadium was sold out for the match against European hopefuls Hoffenheim.
The reigning champions' other midfield playmaker Shinji Kagawa opened the scoring on 16 minutes, after Hoffenheim goalie Tom Starke and midfielder Sebastian Rudy conspired to concede possession sloppily in their own half. Dominant Dortmund extended their lead after half an hour, thanks to local boy Kevin Grosskreutz who volleyed a Jakub Blaszczykowski ("Kuba") cross home from close range. As slick as Dortmund's passing and approach play was, it was overshadowed by Hoffenheim's flat-footed, disorganized defensive efforts.
Ten minutes after the restart, Kagawa and Grosskreutz combined again to put the result beyond any doubt, with the Japanese star latching on to a cheeky backheel from Grosskreutz. Fabian Johnson pulled one back for Hoffenheim shortly after the hour mark but it wasn't enough to turn the tide.
Nervy affair in Bavaria
Bayern Munich were almost able to field their strongest side, only missing Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten with a broken foot. Wolfsburg, under the stewardship of former Bayern head coach Felix Magath, were looking for their first ever win away to Bayern - they went home disappointed.
Striker Mario Gomez had a goal disallowed for offside after roughly a quarter of an hour's play and missed another golden opportunity minutes later. It took almost an hour for the dam to burst, with Gomez bundling home a Toni Kroos free kick at the second attempt. Bayern's victory was workmanlike at best, with the league leaders soaking up a lot of pressure in the closing minutes. Magath's "Wolves" might also feel hard done by after having a penalty appeal for handball turned down minutes before the final whistle. Substitute striker Ivica Olic scored a nifty left-footed lob in stoppage time to secure a rather flattering 2-0 score-line for Bayern. Wolfsburg remain the league's worst performer away from home, having secured just four points on the road all season.
Cologne collapse
Of the title challengers, Schalke faced the toughest challenge in the Saturday evening fixture, traveling to play local rivals Cologne. German international Lukas Podolski rifled a long-range shot into the bottom corner less than five minutes into the match to give the hosts a shock lead, which they held for two-thirds of the match.
Perennial benchwarmer Ciprian Marica, starting his first ever game for Schalke since arriving last summer, leveled the score on 60 minutes. He added another just over 10 minutes later, pouncing on the rebound after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's header hit the post. Shortly thereafter, Cologne defender Miso Brecko was sent off for a professional foul on German youngster Julian Draxler; Huntelaar converted the penalty kick.
Cologne's defensive implosion concluded when an unmarked Marco Höger knocked in a Huntelaar cross from close range. Schalke's three goals scored in open play all came from crosses against an increasingly disjointed Cologne back line.
Relegation scraps
Bottom-of-the-table Augsburg, playing host to fellow relegation candidates Kaiserslautern, opened the Saturday scoring after just four minutes of play, with Dutch defender Marcel de Jong rifling home an indirect free kick from the edge of the area. Kaiserslautern defender Florian Dick equalized with a close-range header twenty minutes later, with another goal coming from a set piece. Moments after the restart, visitors Kaiserslautern took the lead, again thanks to a close-range finish from Florian Dick. Striker Stefan Hain, returning from a lengthy injury, came off the bench and made an immediate impact, equalizing for Augsburg with his first touch of the ball after just 20 seconds on the pitch.
In the German capital, Hertha Berlin dropped deeper into the relegation dogfight while Hamburg secured three big points in their bid to turn their season around. Hamburg's Marcell Jansen put the guests ahead from close range midway through the first half. Moments before the break, Croat Mladen Petric headed home a second for Hamburg, exploiting a Hertha back line that already appeared to be thinking about the half-time oranges.
Hertha looked far stronger in the second half, and the club's top scorer Pierre Lasogga converted a dangerous near-post cross to give the Berliners a glimmer of hope 10 minutes before full time. Still, the match finished 2-1 Hamburg.
Honors even in Bremen
Fifth-placed Werder Bremen played out a 1-1 draw at home against sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, with Bremen taking the lead through veteran goal machine Claudio Pizarro after 30 minutes. Leverkusen's Stefan Reinartz scored from a corner after 57 minutes, capitalizing on some suspect goalkeeping from Bremen's Tim Wiese.
On Friday evening, Hanover 96 broke an eight game winless streak with a 1-0 triumph over Nuremberg, courtesy of an early goal from Norway's Mohamed Abdellaoue and a solid defensive effort in the second half.
In Sunday's matches, surprise title challengers Borussia Mönchengladbach travel to Stuttgart, while at the other end of the table, Freiburg and visitors Mainz will fight for Bundesliga survival.
Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Nicole Goebel