Bundesliga SRL Round-Up | Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach win big and more
An action packed Saturday in the Bundesliga SRL and it was a goal-fest despite the fact that we had six games on show. Both Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach have been on a roll and it proved as much with them scoring ten goals, before a battle between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern Munich 3-0 SC Freiburg
Bayern Munich walked into the game as favourites but one look at the first half would have never proved that. Instead, the hosts had just two shots on goal with the away side taking more than double but unfortunately, Freiburg failed to find the net. That saw their fortunes change in the second half as the Bavarians walked out and dominated the game from the restart.
They had four shots in the opening 15 minutes and found the net once before taking five shots in the next 15 minutes and doubled their lead. The hosts added another seven minutes later and that was game with Freiburg taking their first shot of the second half in the 82nd minute. It was too little, too late by then although, with 65 dangerous attacks as compared to 57 for Bayern, they gave the hosts a test.
Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-3 Augsburg
The first half told us a story that we truly wanted to hear and it was magnificent. 15 shots on goal from both sides and yet somehow we bore witness to just the one goal. It came late in added time but with six shots on target, you would have expected more. And more arrived, with the second half bringing us not one, not two, not three but six goals.
Dusseldorf opened the scoring minutes after the restart and doubled their lead but Augsburg cut it in half less than ten minutes later. Yet the hosts were on a roll and they added two more in the space of three minutes to push the score to 4-1. But with 54 dangerous attacks as compared to the hosts 51, Augsburg managed to put on a late show. They scored two goals in the space of six minutes but it was too little too late for them score the winner.
Hertha Berlin 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
As football games go, this was far from exciting but instead rather weird. Bayer Leverkusen, the away side, had 70 dangerous attacks as compared to the 49 that Hertha produced. Add to the fact that the away side had seven shots on target, as compared to six by the hosts, double the attempts on goal that Berlin had and walked into the game in better form.
Yet the final scoreline read Hertha 3 Bayer Leverkusen 0. It proved that dominating everything sometimes just doesn’t work with the hosts making the most of the second half. They also made the most of their chances, putting six of their eight shots on target. That includes the three goals they scored and as luck would have it, they all came against the run of play.
FC Mainz 05 2-2 Werder Bremen
As 2-2 draws go, this was perhaps the most exciting one of the lot. The first half saw a lot of action with seven shots taken before the 30th minute, and finished with a goal scored by either side. Not much changed in the second half although it did see Bremen walk out and open the scoring. Their lead didn’t last for too long with Mainz restoring parity seven minutes later.
But that was all the goals this game had and yet the action continued. We saw three yellow cards handed out, eleven more shots taken by both sides and yet no goals scored. Shocking we know but the fact that Bremen produced 52 dangerous attacks as compared to 58 by Mainz, showed that the away side made the most of their chances.
Paderborn 0-7 Borussia Monchengladbach
The game had a boring start. Two yellow cards, for Monchengladbach, and a shot on goal in the first 15 minutes meant that many had this game pegged. But then Paderborn went down to ten men and that opened up the floodgates for the away side. It was all the invitation they needed and the scoring started less than two minutes later as Gladbach opened their account via a penalty.
Another goal, in added time, ended the first half although Paderborn did put up a decent fight towards the end of the first half. It would mean next to nothing however, in the second half with Gladbach netting five more goals after the restart. That’s 5 goals scored from 11 shots with the hosts managing just the one in return. The fact that the away side spent 66% in dangerous attacks as compared to the 34% that Paderborn spent proves the scoreline.
RB Leipzig 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
A match between two title contenders so it’s no shock that it ended as a draw. But the fact that not one but four different stats, including the scoreline, ended up level freaked a few people out. It had a lively start to the game and with both teams walking in with the same last four records, few were surprised about that. Dortmund took an immediate lead, against the run of play, and then proceeded to hound the hosts.
But with Leipzig netting just before half-time, the second half was set up brilliantly. And yet, neither side took advantage of that fact with the first shot on goal coming only in the 80th minute. By then it was too late and Dortmund struggled to make the most of what little chances they did get. The game ended with both teams level on the scoreline, on shots taken, attempts on target, off-target and even saves forced.
