Bundesliga SRL Round-Up | Schalke 04, TGS Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig fall to shock defeats
A stunning weekday in the Bundesliga SRL and it was a day for shocks as not one or two but three sides touted to win all lost. Sometimes that’s how football is and as Schalke 04, Hoffenheim, and RB Leipzig found out it can certainly be cruel because that effectively ended a few hopes and dreams.
Augsburg 2-0 Paderborn
Another tough night for Paderborn and their run of dreadful form continued with what can only be called as an unhappy afternoon. The away side had six shots on goal in the first half but they failed to get even a single one on target. That trend would continue in the second half despite them creating quite a few chances for their attackers to take. Yet, a staunch Augsburg back-line combined with the fact that nobody had their shooting boots on for the away side made a tough first half even worse.
Augsburg did not help their chances of winning this game after a haphazard opening half which saw them fire just two shots on goal finding 50% on target. That would change dramatically in the second period as they took six more and put two more on target. The major difference would be the fact that both their shots on target in the second half found the net and that ended any contest. Paderborn failed to respond to that and while they took two more shots on goal, the away side would, unfortunately, end the game without a shot on target.
Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-1 Schalke 04
David Wagner and his men need a reboot and they need it fast. Clearly the former Huddersfield coach has managed to squeeze whatever he can out of his current side and their latest run of form proves that fact. One win in their last four surrounded by three losses meant that Dusseldorf’s shocking run of form saw had many pegged them as favourites to win. And they put up an impressive first half showcase to help that case and ended the opening 45 minutes ahead after a 41st minute goal.
Schalke had produced something in that first half with six shots on goal but their first one on target came in the second half via the equaliser. The goal arrived two minutes after the restart and that really irked the hosts as their response proved. Scoring the equaliser would apparently be the biggest mistake the Royal Blues would ever make as Dusseldorf made them pay for it by taking eight more shots. While they only four on target, two of them would hit the net and ensure that the hosts walked away as deserved winners.
TSG Hoffenheim 1-3 FC Koln
A tough match-up for both sides but a quick glance at the first half and nothing would tell you that based purely on form the bookies had Hoffenheim to win. Instead, Koln produced what can only be called a stunning performance in the first half as they ensured that their season would finish on a massive high. They allowed the hosts to just five shots in the opening half and while Hoffenheim did score the opener, it would be the first and last they scored tonight.
Instead, Koln found their groove and started creating moves that had Hoffenheim in tangles and that eventually saw them score not once but twice before the break. You would hope that things would change for the Die Kraichgauer and it did as for exactly ten minutes, the hosts had their heads up high and caused Koln problems. Then the away side simply had to produce their first move and their lead was now tripled. The scoreline wouldn’t change before the end of the game although not for a lack of trying on Hoffenheim’s part. But Koln proved to be resolute in defense as they were in offense which meant that the two more shots the hosts had would be for nothing.
RB Leipzig 0-1 Hertha Berlin
It was simple, a win and RB Leipzig would have erased all their bad form and at the same time brought themselves back into the title race. It was literally that simple for the hosts especially with them playing at home and with Bayern Munich only four points away. Yet, sometimes the simplest things are the hardest and nothing proved that more than tonight for Leipzig. They were the better side but only on paper and Hertha Berlin took care of that overconfidence in the first half.
A goal in the 36th minute meant that Leipzig would go into the break behind but it wasn’t like the hosts were playing magnificent football. If anything, Hertha had been the better side and that certainly wouldn’t change in the second half. Instead, Leipzig retreated back into their shells and Hertha would go onto to give them a shellacking of their lives. Eleven shots in the second half were fired at the Leipzig goal and if Hertha were a little bit more clinical then the scoreline could have been a lot worse.
Union Berlin 1-2 Mainz 05
Life has been good for Union Berlin in what has been their first spell in the top flight in the club’s history and it has been rather impressive. Few would’ve expected the club to stay up in such harsh climates but Berlin proved to be a stauncher and tougher opponent than most people believed them to be. But the Berlin side were prone to their own mishaps and this game proved that as much as despite a dominating first half, Berlin walked into the half-time break behind by a goal.
That, somehow, marked the end of the game because, despite all their efforts, Berlin would never find the strength to push ahead and take the lead. Instead, Mainz added to their tally twenty minutes into the second half and Berlin would have been forced to settle for a heavy loss but a late rally gave them some hope. The hosts even equalised via an 85th minute strike but despite two more shots in added time, time and everything else was against them.
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