Bundesliga SRL Round-Up | Borussia Dortmund win, RB Leipzig lose as Bundesliga title race heats up
With just two games left, Borussia Dortmund moved up to second position with a win over FSV Mainz. But RB Leipzig, the run-away leaders earlier in the season, fell to a shock loss which saw them drop down the table to third place. But with Bayern Munich yet to play, everything is slowly shaping up.
FC Augsburg 1-2 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
This game was only going to go one single way and the final result proved to shock absolutely nobody with Hoffenheim walking away with a win. The away side went into the game in better form and a better league position with Augsburg losing three out of their last five games. But this still put up a decent fight in the opening half despite fading away towards the end.
The second half was a carbon copy of the first although Augsburg pulled one back after Hoffenheim scored twice, including one three minutes into the second half. While the hosts did look like they might grab the equalizer, nothing went their way and they walked away with another loss. The stats proved as much with Hoffenheim creating 72 dangerous attacks as compared to 59.
Borussia Dortmund 3-0 FSV Mainz 04
A dominating game from the side in contention for a title with Borussia Dortmund sweeping aside Mainz despite a brave performance from the away side. The hosts walked into the game with just one loss (and three wins) in their last five games with Mainz struggling to do the same. It proved on the field with Dortmund scoring two goals before the end of the first half.
Things didnât change in the second half although Mainz did put up more of a fight. They forced the Dortmund goalkeeper into five saves with all but two coming in the second half. But their potential for dangerous attacks increased with 47 although Dortmund did produce 65 in comparison.
SC Freiburg 2-0 Hertha Berlin
There seemed to be nothing Hertha Berlin could do in the first half with Freiburg dominating the game and the scoreline. They punished any mistake the away side made and eventually caused problems to the scoreline, netting two goals in the space of six minutes. Berlin, in comparison, did next to nothing to hurt their hosts with just five shots in total in the first half.
Freiburg, on the other hand, had 10 shots on goal. Nothing changed in the second half with the away side crumbling but somehow, Freiburg struggled to find the net again. They fired 11 shots on goal with five on target and forced five saves but couldnât improve their scoreline. Despite that everything went their way with 60 dangerous attacks as compared to Berlinâs mere 39.
RB Leipzig 1-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf
A dismal start to the first half from Leipzig saw them struggle to create anything but Fortuna Dusseldorf was unfortunately sailing in the same boat. However, somehow the away side managed to net two goals in the final ten minutes of the half to walk into the second half with a lead. That combined with a half time pep talk did see things change for Leipzig.
But unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing the hosts could do to breach Dusseldorfâs goal for the first forty minutes of the second half. Then four minutes before full-time Leipzig managed to pull one back and nearly got themselves a second but that simply never worked. It wasnât the greatest showing however and Dusseldorf stood tall and held onto their lead.
Union Berlin 1-1 SC Paderborn 07
About as one-sided as a game could get and yet, somehow Paderborn walked out with a point. The away side were dominated in nearly every single department on the statistics board but they managed to equalise in the second half and walked away with a point. The first half struggled for action but Union Berlin, the better side in the opening 45, walked into the break with a lead.
That did not last for long after the restart with Paderborn scoring seven minutes into the second half from only their fourth shot on goal. They would take only three more before the game was over as compared to Berlinâs 13 on goal and six on target. But shockingly, despite only spending 44% of their time in dangerous attacks, Paderborn produced 66 dangerous attacks as compared to Berlinâs 56.
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 VFB Wolfsburg
A simple 1-0 win was more than enough to push Borussia Monchengladbach into a Champions League spot with the German giants overcoming Wolfsburg. The away side put up quite a defensive fight but never had an offensive one despite 63 dangerous attacks. Instead, they came to absolutely nothing with just seven shots on goal and one on target from Wolfsburg.
In comparison, Gladbach managed 60 dangerous attacks but instead hit double figures for shots and found the target five times, with one goal. That came in the dying embers of the first half and while Wolfsburg put up a fight late in the second half, it was too little too late.
