Hoffenheim 1-4 Leverkusen
Bochum 2-1 Schalke
Cologne 0-0 Karlsruhe
Bremen 1-1 Monchengladbach
Hannover 3-3 Stuttgart
Eintracht 0-2 Wolfsburg
Hertha 2-1 Bayern
Dortmund 1-1 Energie
Hamburg 2-0 Arminia
New leaders in Germany where Hoffenheim's iffy form finally sees them knocked off their lofty perch after a tubbing from Leverkusen - their first defeat at home all season. Leverkusen are now right in the mix at the sharp end, but their up and down form must be frustrating their fans and management alike. If only they were able to go on something like a run. Patrick Helmes got two, opening the scoring just three minutes in, with Simon Rolfes and Gonzalo Castro getting the others. Hoffenheim had just Sejad Salihovic's penalty to show for it and Ralf Rangnick now faces his first major test in charge in attempting to stop the rot. With Hoffenheim messing it up, Hertha emerged as the new leaders after they beat Bayern 2-1. Deploying Josip Simunic as Luca Toni's shadow - an odd tactic as the big Italian striker is more than capable of messing up without the presence of a burly Croatian marker - it was Andriy Voronin again who proved the difference, scoring both goals. Miroslav Klose did equalise for Bayern on the hour, but Voronin's second 13 minutes from time was enough. Jurgen Klinsmann tried his usual substitutions, bringing on Tim Borowski who has dug him out of many holes already this season, but perhaps there's more to management than just sending for Borowski when you're in trouble.
That leaves Bayern in fourth as Hamburg won at home to Arminia to go third. Hamburg struggled in the attacking third without Mladen Petric, but went ahead through Piotr Trochowski's booming 30-yard free-kick. Bielefeld had a great chance to draw level from the penalty spot, but Frank Rost saved from Artur Wichniarek and, five minutes later, Ivica Olic headed across goal for Paolo Guerrero to score.
Schalke lost again, this time to Bochum - just their third win of the season which pulls them out of the bottom three. Schalke went ahead when Kevin Kuranyi was johnny on the spot as Daniel Fernandez spilled Halil Altintop's free-kick right at his feet. After the same two combined to go close on the half hour, Bochum responded with a goal of their own from former Schalke man Mimoun Azaouagh. Christoph Dabrowski put Bochum ahead on the hour and they held on for the win despite Christian Pander striking a post with a free-kick. Bochum are now one of three clubs on 17 points, but go ahead of both Energie and Karlsruhe on goal difference. They both drew, Karlsruhe 0-0 Cologne where not much happen and Energie 1-1 away at Dortmund - a much better result. Cottbus went ahead through Atan Cagdas, reacting quickest when Ervin Skela's shot came back off a post. Alex Frei equalised from the penalty spot five minutes later when Cagdas gave away a silly foul. Despite dominating possession, Dortmund didn't test Gerhard Tremmel often enough and they couldn't force a winner. Just to cap it all, Lee Young-Pyo managed to get himself sent off in stoppage time for a crude challenge on Savo Pavicevic. Gladbach also drew, but remain four off the pace at the bottom after a 1-1 draw with Bremen. Werder had over 30 efforts on goal compared to just six for Gladbach, but only had Claudio Pizarro's 76th minute goal to show for their dominance, the Peruvian heading home from Mesut Ozil's corner. The lead lasted just three minutes when Marko Marin's free-kick was turned home by Michael Bradley.
Hannover's draw with Stuttgart moves them ahead of Eintracht, losers at home to Wolfsburg. For the second straight week, Stuttgart featured in a six-goal thriller. Mario Gomez put them ahead early and Martin Lanig doubled the lead on 22. Kiri Stajner got one back before the break and Jacek Krzynowek equalised shortly after it. Five minutes from time, Hannover thought they'd won it with Mikael Forssell's goal, but two minutes later, Tomas Hitzlsperger smacked home another one to split the points. Wolfsburg had the better of the game at the Commerzbank Arena, but struggled to convert pressure without the prolific Grafite up front. Edin Dzeko filled in and put Felix Magath's side in front on nine minutes and their second goal on 66 minutes came after a spell of Eintracht pressure with chances wasted. Marcel Schaefer's free-kick was adjudged to have been handled in the box and Zvjezdan Misimovic converted the penalty.
No comments:
Post a Comment