After a two month enforced hiatus, the Bundesliga finally returned at the weekend. And its return did not disappoint. A total of 27 goals were scored in the nine games that took place; Borussia Dortmund certainly played their part with a 4-0 win over rivals FC Schalke 04 in the Revierderby. Elsewhere, RB Leipzig’s title quest took a surprising turn as they were held by mid-table Freiburg. Bayern Munich took full advantage of the slip with a 2-0 victory of Union Berlin. Wolfsburg, Hertha Berlin, Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen also picked up key wins in the Bundesliga’s return to action.
Borrusia Dortmund Hit Four Past Schalke In Revierderby
Going into the return of fixtures, it was clear that form was out of the window and preparation, instead, would be the key. And it soon became even clearer that certain sides had prepared better than others. Dortmund, in particular, looked their usual selves; The slick passing soon became natural once more, as did their goalscoring touch.
The former champions went onto score four past a rusty Schalke side. The first came from the goal machine himself, Erling Haaland who dispatched Thorgan Hazard’s cross to continue his impressive goalscoring run in the yellow of Dortmund. The floodgates then began to open. Raphael Guerreiro made two on the stroke of half time; Hazard then added a third just after the break to ensure victory. But three wasn’t enough for Dortmund; they added insult to injury with a fourth and Guerreiro’s second in the 63rd minute to conclude a Revierderby smashing.
It was a fine return to action for Dortmund as they dispatched Schalke with ease to continue their title pursuit and win the Revierderby.
RB Leipzig Suffer Damaging Blow To Title Pursuit
The return to action was never going to be easy, and the break took its toll on Leipzig who failed to win on their return to action. The title-chasers simply struggled to break down the resolute brick wall of the Freiburg defence. And, in the end, they were perhaps lucky to come away with a point. Freiburg, despite the pressure, took the lead in the 34th minute via a Manuel Gulde flick. From then on, it was all-out defence from the away side. Leipzig probed but simply could not make a breakthrough. But, as the clock struck the 77-minute mark, Yussuf Poulsen’s header found the back of the net to equalise.
Freiburg, however, didn’t give up and but for VAR’s intervention, they would have gone home with all three points. VAR made its return to football to deny Robin Koch the winner.
Leipzig will certainly be hoping to dust off their goalscoring boots by next week after scoring just once in 17 attempts to come away with a draw; the result leaves them seven points adrift in the title race.
LWOF Bundesliga Predictions
LWOF’s original predictions are in bold on the left, while the actual results are on the right.
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Schalke – Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Schalke
FC Augsburg 0-2 Wolfsburg – FC Augsburg 1-2 Wolfsburg
Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-1 Paderborn – Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-0 Paderborn
Hoffenheim 2-0 Hertha Berlin – Hoffenheim 0-3 Hertha Berlin
RB Leipzig 3-0 Freiburg – RB Leipzig 1-1 Freiburg
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-3 Borussia Monchengladbach –
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
Cologne 1-1 Mainz – Cologne 2-2 Mainz
Union Berlin 0-4 Bayern Munich – Union Berlin 0-2 Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen – Werder Bremen 0-4 Bayer Leverkusen
Up next, match week 27 of the Bundesliga kicks off with a bang as Hertha Berlin take on Union Berlin on Friday 22nd of May. The match week then comes to a conclusion with Cologne vs Dusseldorf on Sunday 24th of May. See below for next week’s fixtures in full.
Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin
Monchengladbach vs Leverkusen
SC Paderborn vs Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Schalke vs FC Augsburg
Mainz vs RB Leipzig
Cologne vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
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