The most curious of play-offs

Play-offs have come to dominate the end-of-season over the years. Most of them are for positive outcomes - deciding who gets promoted, gets one of the Europa League spots, things like that - and they're going on all over the place.

England has them for promotion places in all the leagues, right through the system. Turkey has the top four playing off for the championship and fifth through eighth going for the final Europa League spot. But it's northern Europe where they really go mad for a play-off, and it's not always a positive thing to be involved.

In the Eredivisie, the top two get Champions League football, third and fourth go into the Europa League. The final Europa spot is played for between the sides finishing fifth to eighth. At the bottom, only one club is relegated automatically. The next two go into an eight-team competition along with the teams finishing second through to seventh in the Eerste Divisie. In Belgium, they play off for everything - the championship, a Europa League place and relegation. The relegation play-off consists of a five-match series between the bottom two, the loser of which is relegated, the winner of which goes into a further four-game series with the clubs finishing second to fourth in the second division.

But the real killer is the Bundesliga relegation play-off. The bottom two in the German top flight are relegated. The team finishing sixteenth goes into a one-off two-legged tie with the side finishing third in 2.Bundesliga. Really, it should be stacked in favour of the top-flight side. They've got the better paid and - so it should follow - better standard of player. They've been playing better quality opposition all season long. On the flip-side, you have a team from the second tier that, by defnition, have been winning more often than their first division rivals and therefore carry more momentum and positivity into the end-of-season showdown. Whichever is the case - if either are at all - there is no room for error.

What happened in this year's German league was that Hertha BSC - thanks largely to FC Koln's incompetence - dragged themselves up into sixteenth on the final day. Fortuna Dusseldorf needed a draw in the last round of fixtures to make it to third in a highly competitive 2.Bundesliga. Fortuna were one of six clubs who, with just a month or so remaining in the league, had a real chance of winning the division. Barely a handful of points separated the front-runners all season until that final month when Greuther Furth and Eintracht Frankfurt pulled away and each of them drove the others on in a gripping contest.

And so to the Olympiastadion in the German capital on Thursday night. It was clear which of the scenarios described above was in effect. Fortuna were bright, breezy and created plenty. Hertha's additional quality came to the fore briefly when Roman Hubnik put them ahead in the 19th minute, but the unease, the lack of confidence and the just plain brittle defence that haunted them all season soon came back. First, they stood and watched as Thomas Broker swept through to equalise and were similarly static as Adrian Ramos got in the way of another swift attacking move and turned the ball into his own net. It remained 2-1 to full-time and it's back to Dusseldorf on Tuesday for the return leg. Hertha are in a huge hole and with the away goals rule in effect they have to score at least twice - something they've done just 12 times in all competitions this season. Fortuna are favourites from here and should they complete the job, Germany will stand alone in Europe as having a league not featuring a club from the capital.

It's a cruel game sometimes, and the German relegation play-off is perhaps the cruellest of them all.

TW3 #10

The weekend in review.

Cup joy for Lyon, 1-0 winners over Quevilly who will forever be called 'plucky', and Olympiakos who sealed a league and cup double.

League joy for Porto where their win over Marítimo and Benfica's draw with Rio Ave meant that the gap is out to six points. With Porto shading the head-to-head record, they cannot now be caught in the final two games. League joy for Basel who beat Lausanne while Luzern could only draw with Grasshopper. No joy for Christian Gross, offed by Young Boys after defeat to embattled Servette.

Almost impossible to interrupt league joy for Ajax. A win over FC Twente - who slump to sixth as a result - leaves the Amsterdammers six points clear of Feyenoord who move up to second. But with a goal difference superior to the tune of 24, it's pretty much a done deal. Quite a start to the managerial career of Frank de Boer. At least one, maybe two, of the top six will miss out on European football for next season. There's a hell of a scrap on for second, third and fourth. The final European spot is decided by play-offs.

So close to league joy that you can almost smell it in France. Montpellier scraped past Toulouse on Friday night and sat back while PSG took on Lille and lost. The gap is out to five points now, as big as it's been all season, but four games remain.

Three games and three points; so goes the equation in Italy. Juventus remain unbeaten and beat lowly Novara easily. Milan did likewise in Siena, maintaining the status quo. Behind them, four teams - Lazio, Napoli, Inter and Udinese - are locked on 55 points in the scramble for third.

European places are settled in Germany. Dortmund are champions, Bayern are second, Schalke - who bade a home farewell to Raúl - are third. Gladbach are fourth and go into the Champions League qualifiers. Levekusen and Stuttgart go into the Europa League. Hertha were battered by Schalke and now must win their final game to stand a chance of staying up through the relegation play-off. Koln will go into that play-off with any other outcome, the opponents being Fortuna Dusseldorf, Paderborn or St Pauli. The latter two play each other next week, Fortuna against mid-table MSV Duisburg.

Delayed league gratification in Spain. El Real comfortably beat Sevilla and then hoped Rayo could take something from their home game with Barcelona. They couldn't, emphatically so. 7-0 it finished. And so we go to Wednesday and El Real's trip to the Basque country and Marcelo Bielsa's Athletic. In the race for third, Málaga beat Valencia by a goal to nil to go level on points. Wins for both Sporting Gíjón - 3-0 away to Espanyol - and Zaragoza - 2-0 over Athletic - kept their survival hopes alive for now. Another win for Villarreal will end it for both. On Tuesday, the Yellow Submarine go to Gijón.

Derby joy for Wisła Kraków and Manchester City. The former doesn't really ignite the race for the Ekstraklasa title - that's a five-way scrap between Legia, Slask, Ruch, Lech and Korona - but, coupled with Lechia's win over Widzew Łódź, confirms Cracovia's relegation. It didn't help that Cracovia finished with nine men. Vincent Kompany and some strangely negative tactics from Alex Ferguson helped City to a win over their neighbours United and leaves the EPL title race on a knife-edge.

Finally, title joy for the Brisbane Roar, recipients of one of the worst calls in refereeing history. With the game locked at 1-1 and in the fifth of four minutes of added time at the end, a complete airshot in the box from Roar striker Besart Berisha ended with him falling over and claiming a penalty. To the incredulity of most of the 50,000+ in the ground, it was given. You know it's a dodgy call when the recipient of the penalty runs off celebrating like Marco Tardelli. After a bit of a scuffle, for which Perth defender Billy Mehmet was booked for slapping Berisha, the man 'fouled' slotted home the spot kick to win the title for his side. The referee Jared Gillett is a Brisbane man. The final was played in Brisbane. Gillett's other half works for the Roar. Why the A-League put him in charge is a mystery. Not for one moment are we suggesting it was anything other than an error, but when you have the opportunity to nip conspiracy theories in the bud, why not take it? It's as much to be seen as being beyond reproach as actually being it. Needless to say, the head of the refereeing board backs his man to the hilt, reckoning that even after replays, he saw enough contact - we saw none, incidentally - to warrant the penalty. Rubbish.

Still lots to play for around the leagues and a busy midweek schedule to come.

TW3 #9

Protests. Two of them this weekend and for very different reasons. Sevilla fans weren't taking the fact their game at home to Levante was held back until 10:30 - meaning it finished the following day - so that TV could analyse every last second of the clasico that went before it. With banners such as "stop the game, Mou is talking", a shower of tennis balls rained down onto the field in scenes reminiscent of those at FC Basel when their game was held back because Roger Federer was playing tennis. Heaven help us if the World Snooker Championships ever takes precedence over a football game. You could really hurt someone with a cue ball.

A protest of a different sort in Genoa where they're in all sorts of trouble at the wrong end of Serie A having spent a fair wedge to get there. Supporters launched fireworks onto the field which left the referee with no option but to take the players from the field. The Genoa players stayed out to remonstrate with the fans, but a number demanded that the players hand over their shirts as they were not worthy of them. Ten shirts were handed over, Giuseppe Sculli the refusenik. Eventually, the fans were persuaded to return to the stands where they observed the remainder of the game with backs turned to the pitch. Siena ran out 4-1 winners and on Monday morning Alberto Malesani was sacked. To be sacked from a club once in a season is bad. For the same club to sack you twice is perversely impressive. Genoa sit one point and one place above the drop zone.

On to the actual football and that clasico then. Real Madrid won it against a tired looking Barcelona. El Real are not about to drop eight points in the remaining four games and the title will be theirs. Valencia strengthened their grip on third place after thumping woeful, nine-man Real Betis, but are a whopping 33 points behind El Real. Racing are down after losing to Athletic. A win for Granada and a point for Villarreal means that Sporting and Zaragoza are going to join them before too long.

Dortmund sealed their second successive championship with a 2-0 win over Gladbach. Bayern came from behind to beat Bremen with Franck Ribéry scoring a last-minute winner, but it mattered not with Dortmund's win. Bayern will finish second, Schalke and Gladbach are fighting for third while Stuttgart need a series of events to go their way to pip Gladbach for fourth. Lautern won for only the fourth time this season, a 2-1 win in Berlin against Hertha, a result that leaves Hertha in deep trouble. The problem for Lautern is that Koln's point against Stuttgart was enough to condemn them to 2.Bundesliga football next season. They'll be replaced by Greuther Fürth whose point against FSV Frankfurt on Friday was enough to seal promotion and they're joined by Eintracht Frankfurt who beat bottom side Alemannia Aachen on Monday.

When is a championship not a championship? When it's mired in the increasingly odd world of Swiss football. Basel took an unassailable 16-point lead in the standings after a 3-0 win over Sion, but refused to celebrate as second-placed Luzern are appealing against a decision regarding two competition points they feel should be theirs after the Sion ineligibility row. Basel have said they'll only celebrate when they're out of range even should the points be reinstated. Meanwhile Young Boys and FC Zurich have been refused licenses to operate next season, joining Servette and Neuchatel Xamax in that regard. Seven second-tier clubs are also subject to the same penalty.

Sint-Truiden were relegated from Belgium's top flight after losing the fourth game of their play-off with Westerlo. The fifth game will not now be needed, Westerlo having won three of the first four. Anderlecht opened up a five-point gap in the championship play-offs by beating Club Brugge. Five games remain there. In the Turkish championship play-offs, Galatasaray were beaten by Fenerbahce, closing the gap to two points with four games to go. Besiktas and Trabzonspor cannot win it - it's a straight fight between Gala and Fener. Ajax need one more win for a second successive Eredivisie title as the top five all won. They're six clear of AZ, but one point covers second to fifth in the chase for Champions League football. A draw for Heerenveen at home to Vitesse sees them drop back. The French title race rumbles on as Montpellier and PSG both won - the Parisians 6-1 at home to Sochaux - leaving the gap at two points. Zenit's lead in Russia was trimmed to 12 points after a draw with Kuban Krasnodar, but with just four games to go, one more point will do it. They're at home to second-placed Dinamo Moscow next week as well.

Marking your card #6

What we'll be looking out for this weekend. We feel quite sure there's a big game going off somewhere on Saturday evening. Errmmm.... errrr.... Oh, it'll come to us. Onward...

Lots of things can be resolved in Germany this weekend. A win for Dortmund over Gladbach in the big Borussia derby will seal the championship for the second year running for the Schwarzgelb no matter what FC Bayern do at Bremen. Gladbach need a win to secure at least fourth place and the Champions League qualifying berth and Schalke, away to Augsburg, need a win to be safe in that top four. Anything other than a win for Lautern will condemn them to relegation and even that might not be enough if Koln get anything out of their game against Schalke. In the division below, Greuther Fürth just need a point for promotion and play away at FSV Frankfurt tonight. Eintracht Frankfurt need a win to seal an immediate return to the top flight and are also away, to Alemania Aachen on Monday. Paderborn, Fortuna Dusseldorf and St Pauli are all still in the mix for third and the promotion play-off against the 16th placed team in the Bundesliga which looks like being either Hertha BSC or Koln.

Ajax opened up a six-point gap at the top of the Eredivisie last week, not a decisive lead, but one big enough to make one think they're almost home. Four games to go here and everyone else is looking for them to slip up at home to Groningen this weekend. Twente are away to Excelsior, Feyenoord - all of a sudden in third place - got to Den Haag, AZ have VVV at home, PSV - outside the European places now - play NEC at home and Heerenveen host Vitesse. With only one down automatically, one of Excelsior and De Graafschap - at home to Heracles - look doomed. There's a point between them.

Still six games remaining in Ligue 1 which means nobody from 12th down can consider themselves safe. Auxerre are beginning to be cut adrift though and look like one of the three to go down. The top two look clear, Montpellier leading from PSG, and they are both at home this week to Valenciennes and Sochaux respectively. A midweek loss for Lyon has all but ended their hopes of Champions League football and locked with Toulouse for fourth. Lille run in a lonely third.

If Genoa beat Siena on Sunday, Cesena will be relegated from Serie A even if Cesena manage to beat Palermo. Novara - away to Napoli this week - also need to start picking points up before it's too late. A point continues to seperate Juventus and Milan at the top. Milan are at home to Bologna this weekk while Juve have the game of the round, at home to Roma who still have chances to make the Champions League places.

Another big game in Turkey this week with Fenerbahce going to Galatasaray. A win for the latter and they'll have an almost decisive lead.

Spain now and if Villarreal beat Real Sociedad and Granada beat Getafe, Racing will be relegated. Even if not, it's a long road back for Racing who host Athletic on Sunday. Sporting Gíjon and Zaragoza also remain deep in the mire and are at home to Rayo and away to Mallorca respectively.

And that's it for this week.

Oh no, wait. There's the small matter of Barcelona v Real Madrid on Saturday. The Catalans are four points behind. Both come off Champions League defeats. A draw will probably do for El Real. Nothing but a win will suffice for Barcelona. It will probably be a pissy, whiny bitch-fest, but some football could break out. Strap in.

Us? Well we're off to Huddersfield v Scunthorpe, so you don't have to. Enjoy the game wherever you end up.

TW3 #8

The weekend's football was largely overshadowed by the tragic death of Piermario Morosini in a Serie B clash between Livorno, with whom he was on loan from Udinese, and Pescara. The Lega Calcio immediately cancelled the rest of Italian programme for the weekend - Milan and Genoa learning this during their pre-match warm-up - with nobody in the mood for a game. Questions are being asked. There is a rigourous testing regime in place, but all the screening in the world isn't going to help, especially if pitchside treatment isn't up to scratch or ambulance staff are prevented from accessing a stricken player by a badly parked traffic officer's car.

Morosini has been talked about in glowing terms in the aftermath and seems a genuinely liked person. Not that he'd had it easy. Both his parents died when he was still a teenager, his severly disabled brother committed suicide in between. And yet at no point does it appear to have affected him negatively, rather to spur him on. If anyone had the right to dwell on things and wear 'why always me?' t-shirts, it was Morosini. That he took such a philosophical outlook on things only serves to increase the sense of tragedy. He leaves behind a physically handicapped sister, but just when you thought you couldn't respect Antonio di Natale any more, he goes and pledges to ensure she's looked after. When tragedy strikes, real heroes emerge. Di Natale has always been a footballing hero. He's so much more than that now.



Football does pale in light of that, but it did go on as it always will, the unstoppable behemoth that it is. We'll have a whizz round the leagues very quickly.

Cup joy for both Marseille and Benfica. Brandao's extra-time goal settled a dull Coupe de le Ligue final in St Denis while a late Javier Saviola strike snatched glory for Benfica just after Zé Luís had equalised for Gil Vicente. In Ligue 1, Montpellier still lead despite losing to Lorient as PSG were held by bottom club Auxerre.

Dortmund won the big derby in Germany at the home of their rivals Schalke. Bayern and Mainz struggled to a goalless draw, opening the gap out to eight and almost certainly ensuring that the salad bowl remains at the Westfalenstadion. Gladbach hammered sorry Koln - without a manager after offing Stale Solbakken in the week - to all but seal a place in the Champions League qualifiers. In 2.Bundesliga, Greuther Fürth and Eintracht Frankfurt are all but promoted. It would take a monumental collapse to deny either as with Fortuna beaten by Dynamo Dresden on Monday night, Greuther need one point, Eintracht two.

AZ losing to PSV and Twente drawing with NAC has allowed Ajax to pull out a six-point gap at the top of the Eredivisie. Zwolle will be promoted after a 0-0 draw with FC Eindhoven sealed the Eerste Divisie title. In Spain, wins for the top two left everything as was, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both moving on to 41 league goals for the season.

Unseemly goings-on in Turkey where Didier Zokora accused Emre Belozoglu of racially abusing him during the Fenebahce v Trabzonspor game. Emre coughed to it and apologised, in fairness. In the big game, Galatasaray triumphed over Besiktas and remain five points clear.

The Champions League semi-finals take centre stage in midweek while Lega Calcio have confirmed that Italian football resumes next weekend.

Marking your card #5

Herewith the highlights of the coming weekend around Europe.

Biggest game of the weekend is the Ruhr derby as Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund make the short trip to Gelsenkirchen to take on rivals Schalke. Dortmund built up a six-point buffer by beating FC Bayern midweek and the Bavarians are at home to Mainz awaiting a slip-up by the Schwarzgelb. And if it's derby action you want, try Galatasaray travelling to face Besiktas in the Turkish league. Slightly more tame than that is the game on Sunday in Vienna between Rapid and Austria.

Saturday is League Cup final day in France and Portugal as Lyon take on Marseille - the Olympique derby - at the Stade de France and Benfica meet Gil Vicente in Coimbra. Marseille go into it in stinkingly rotten form and Lyon are huge favourites to take the first silverware of the year. Benfica are even stronger favourites in their final.

Inter travel to Udine in a big clash in terms of the minor European placings. Udinese have just gone off the boil a little lately while Andrea Stramaccioni has had a solid start to his Inter career, already taking more points in four games than Claudio Ranieri did in his last ten.

The Eredivisie became a lot more clear-cut after the midweek matches. PSV are at home to AZ in the one clash between the top six. Twente are at home to NAC, Heerenveen go to Nijmegen and Feyenoord face their feeder club Excelsior at De Kuip. Anyone hoping for a slip-up from leaders Ajax will be disappointed - they're at home to De Graafschap.

The top two in Spain are both in action on Saturday ahead of Champions League assignments midweek with Real Madrid at home to Sporting Gíjon and Barcelona with the marginally tougher assignment of playing away at Levante.

And in English non-league football, Fleetwood Town can confirm their promotion to the football league with a win over Lincoln City at Highbury tonight. They will win that. Lincoln are rubbish.

Enjoy the game wherever you end up.

TW3 #7

That was the (mid)week that was. And what a midweek. So much going on, we'll rattle through as best we can.

Where to start? France, probably, where third-tier Quevilly made it through to the final of the Coupe de France by beeating Rennes. The Ligue 1 side were ahead early on through Julien Féret, but couldn't find a second. Karim Herouat equalised midway through the second half and, with the game heading for extra-time and Quevilly under massive pressure, they broke quickly and Anthony Laup slid one past Benoit Costil for a sensational late win. They take on Lyon in the final on the 28th of this month after they beat Gazelec Ajaccio on Tuesday. In Ligue 1, Montpellier eased past an increasingly shambolic Marseille side 3-1 to take a three-point lead in the standings over PSG.

On Tuesday, Barcelona took Getafe apart at a stroll to move within a point of Real Madrid who had a derby clash at the Calderon the following day. A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped the leaders past their city rivals with a 4-1 win. Atléti were level, briefly, but El Real were rarely in serious danger of dropping points. The battle for the league rolls on. Valencia were also big winners, 4-1 over Rayo, and move back to third with Málaga in action on Thursday.

A potentially decisive clash in Dortmund saw BvB place one hand on the championship plate with a 1-0 win over nearest challengers Bayern. Despite the Schwarzgelb dominating the first half, the sides turned round at 0-0, Robert Lewandowski with the best chance as he crashed a thunderous header off the post with Manuel Neuer - the ex-Schalke keeper getting dogs abuse all evening from the local fans - well beaten. Bayern were better after the break, but Dortmund still created the better chances and went ahead as a short corner routine ended with Lewandowski getting a vital touch onto a Kevin Grosskreutz shot. Arjen Robben was playing the big Pole onside and later had a tame penalty easily saved by Roman Weidenfeller, the keeper atoning for his brain explosion that caused him to give it away in the first place. Neven Subotic played the Martin Keown role in reminding Robben of what he'd done and the Dutchman's night got worse when he missed an alomst open goal from all of a couple of yards. Lautern lost again and are nine points from the relative safety of the relegation play-offs with four games remaining.

In Serie A, Milan went back to the top after Sulley Muntari's early goal was enough to beat Chievo, but a late winner from the ageless Alessandro del Piero helped Juventus beat Lazio and return to the summit a day later. Inter beat Siena and move within three points of Udinese in fourth, though Roma and Napoli sit in between.

It was a good midweek for Ajax, 5-0 winners over 10-man Heerenveen who had goalkeeper Brian Vandenbussche sent off early on. Theo Janssen converted the resultant penalty and Ajax strolled to a win. PSV lost at Waalwijk to leave themselves and Heerenveen seven points off Ajax with five games to go and all but out of the race. Feyenoord were held 0-0 by Roda JC and are six points back from the Amsterdammers while AZ and Twente drew 2-2, Emir Bajrami with a late equaliser for the Tukkers, leaving them three and five points adrift.

A surprise defeat for Manchester United at Wigan sees the latter pull themselves out of the relegation places in England for the first time since September. It's also caused a frisson of intrigue at the top, but United's lead over city rivals City remains at five points - a gulf. With QPR winning as well as Wigan, it was a bad midweek for Bolton and Blackburn who were both beaten and both slip into the bottom three along with the doomed Wolves.

Finally to Scotland where it's congratulations to Ross County on making it to the SPL for the first time. Playing in the Highland League up until 1994, they've slowly been building towards this, coming via a Scottish Cup Final in 2010. Not in action this week, their promotion was confirmed when Dundee were held at home by Queen of the South. This isn't a case of cashed-up Gretna or a financial basket-case like Livingston. It's been slow, steady progress and more power to their elbow for that.

TW3 #6

Rounding up last weekend's action.

Game on in Spain. Real Madrid were held by Valencia at the Bernabeu while Barcelona beat Zaragoza with something to spare. The gap is down to four with a game between the two contenders to come. Suddenly, games for El Real against city rivals Atlético and Athletic look potential deciders. Málaga go above Valencia who drop to fourth, but Levante refuse to go away in teh chase for that final Champions League place. Performance of the week though belongs to Rayo Vallecano. The perennially cash-strapped club thumped Osasuna 6-0, Michu with a couple. There's a full midweek programme this week with that Madrid derby the highlight. Barca are at home to Getafe.

Porto have taken charge of the Liga Zon Sagres after beating Braga 1-0, Hulk the goal-scorer, and seeing Benfica lose by the same scoreline to Sporting the following day. Ricky van Wolfswinkel got the Sporting goal from the penalty spot early on and Luisao was sent off in teh last minute. Porto lead by four from Benfica who remain a point ahead of Braga.

Juventus, still unbeaten, move back to the top of Serie A after beating Palermo 2-0 and seeing former player Amauri grab a late winner for Fiorentina in Milan. Zlatan had given the Rossoneri the lead, but Stevan Jovetic squared it up and Amauri struck with a minute to go. There's a midweek round of fixtures here too with Juventus at home to Lazio who remain third after Stefano Mauri's stunner helped them to a 3-1 win over Napoli. Milan are away to Chievo.

The gap at the top of the Bundesliga remains three points after routine wins for both Dortmund and Bayern. The two meet on Wednesday at the Westfalenstadion with Dortmund reporting that they've had 450,000 applications for tickets for the 81000 capacity ground. It should be a cracker. At the bottom, Lautern are toast.

Wins for Montepellier and PSG in Ligue 1 leaves the latter at the top on goal difference with their game in hand against Marseille to come on Wednesday. Lille lose pace after defeat in Brest which brings Lyon within striking range for third place and the final Champions League place.

Silverware in Holland where PSV beat Heracles 3-0 in the cup final in Rotterdam and in Scotland where Celtic finally got over the line after thumping Kilmarnock. There are midweek games in the Eredivisie with AZ v Twente and Heerenveen v Ajax the highlights. PSV are away to Waalwijk and Feyenoord at Roda JC. In the Ukraine, Shaktar won the big game and go ahead of Dynamo on goal difference.

Marking your card #4

A busy Easter schedule and here are our picks of what to look out for.

Starting in the Ukraine. The top four face each other this weekend with Metalist away to Dnipro on Monday, but the top two, the two big boys, play on Saturday as Dynamo travel to Donetsk to face Shaktar. Three points separate them with Donetsk playing catch-up (channelling our inner Henry Kelly there). This game is huge.

A similar thing happens in Portugal as well. Porto go the quarry in Braga with the hosts two points behind the leaders. Benfica, sandwiched between the two, are in derby action at the Alvalade against fifth-placed Sporting Clube de Portugal. Tasty.

The big game in Germany sees leaders Dortmund go to a resurgent Wolfsburg. With Bayern at home to Augsburg and having rediscovered their mojo, any slip-up by BvB will be sized upon.

A week off for the Eredivisie as it's cup final day in the Netherlands. Heracles are long odds to beat PSV, but the chances of Almelo's plastic pitch hosting European football next season may rest on the Eindhoveners making it to the top four. The top two in the Eredivisie make it to the Champions League, the next two go to the Europa League and one of the next four join the latter through the play-offs. With a genuine top six vying for those four top places, nothing is guaranteed.

More derby action in Poland's Ekstraklasa, this time in Łódź where Widzew are away to ŁKS. Given the lack of action in previous derby, especially the recent one in Warsaw, stick the farm on 0-0.

Finally, to MLS and a derby of sorts in an all-Canadian affair as Toronto go to Montreal. Just the 542km each way for TFC fans...

TW3 #5

Rounding up last weekend into a neat little package.

What a game in Dortmund on Friday night. Leading 2-0 early in the second half, BvB were looking good for win number 17 from their last 18 games. But Stuttgart turned the game on it's head with a Julian Schieber double helping them into the lead. Back came Dortmund only for a defensive mix-up deep in stoppage time to allow Christian Gentner to snatch a dramatic 4-4 draw. Bayern's fourth win in a row sees them close within three points. Dropped points for both Schalke and Gladbach leave it a two-horse race. Leverkusen, on the fringes of the European places, sacked Robin Dutt after their fourth successive league defeat. Sami Hyypia takes temporary charge. Down in Regionalliga Nord, the Magdeburg fans arrows clearly worked and backed up their goal from last week with two more this week, and it was enough for a win which lifts them off the bottom.

More goalfests in Italy where Inter won their first game under Andrea Stramaccioni by the odd goal in nine in a game that featured four successful penalties and two red cards. Genoa scored three of the penalties - two by Alberto Gilardino - but still came up short. Diego Milito bagged a hat-trick for the Nerazzuri. Genoa responded by sacking coach Pasquale Merino and replacing him with Alberto Malesani who previously coached the club as long ago as last December before being replaced by Merino. There were seven more goals in Roma's game against Novara, Luis Enrique's side running out 5-2 winners. Milan were held by the quietly effective Catania and Juventus were comfortable winners over Napoli. The gap at the top is down to two.
All of that was rather overshadowed by events elsewhere as nine former Bari players were arrested as part of match-fixing investigations, Andrea Masiello admitting to scoring a deliberate own goal after being offered €50,000 to lose a game against Lecce. This one will run and run.

As you were at the top of La Liga as Real Madrid came away from Pamplona big winners. Barcelona beat Athletic shortly afterwards to retain the status quo. El Real's five goals against Osasuna took them to the 100 mark for the season. Valencia dropped more points with a draw at home to Levante who are still right on their heels. Málaga couldn't take advantage with a home defeat to Real Betis where a win would have sent them third. A third straight win for Zaragoza pulls them within four points of safety. The greatest of escapes is still on. Defeats for Sporting and Racing make them look doomed.

In the Eredivisie AZ were held at home by Vitesse which allowed Ajax, who stuck six past Heracles, to go top by a point. FC Twente are two points further back from the Alkmaarders, one point ahead of the next three - PSV, Feyenoord and Heerenveen - who all won.

Benfica beat Braga, bringing the latter's brief leadership of the Liga Zon Sagres to an end. However, it's Porto who now lead the way after a comfortable 2-0 win over Olhanense. Benfica are a point behind, Braga one point further back. Marítimo and Sporting CP look certain to finish fourth and fifth - the Europa League spots - one way round or t'other.

Montpellier weren't in Ligue 1 action, but stay top after PSG were beaten by Nancy. Lille laboured to beat Toulouse to close within four points and give themselves breathing space back to the chasing pack.

Celtic have to wait a week for the Scottish title. Rivals Rangers won as did the hooped half of Glasgow, but one more point will do it for Neil Lennon's men. Olympiakos did seal the deal in Greece, beating Panaitolikos 1-0. Despite Panathiaikos beating Aris by the same score, Olympiakos are ten points clear with three games to go. Manchester United put one hand on their 20th English championship by beating Blackburn as rivals City were held by Sunderland. The gap is five, but it feels like 50 such is the difference in momentum between the two sides.

Midweek sees the intra-continental competitions take over with Champions League and Europa League quarter-final second legs and the Copa Libertadores centre stage - Godoy Cruz v U de Chile looks a cracker - before a packed Easter schedule.

Unbelievable Jeff! #20

Back to Germany for yet another Unbelievable Jeff. Friday night saw Stuttgart go to the Westfalenstadion to take on champions Dortmund. What a game. 1-0 at the break, it ended with eight goals, lots of drama and despite conceding four times, the outstanding player on the pitch was centre-back Mats Hummels. Have a look at the ball for BvB's second and the finish for the third. And on the sidelines, Jurgen Klopp and Bruno Labbadia were almost as entertaining as everything that went on elsewhere.
Game of the season? Something pretty bloody spectacular has to happen to top it. The Bundesliga is bloody great.




Unbelievable Jeff!

TW3 #4

The weekend in a nutshell.

Inter go down in Turin, Ranieri offed as a result though in reality it had long been coming. Milan continue to lead, that man Zlatan with both goals in a 2-1 win over Roma. Cesena are almost down, but it is just a matter of time.

Real Madrid's little wobble is over following a 5-1 thumping of Real Sociedad. Barcelona also won, away to Mallorca, so the gap remains six points with a Clasico still to come. Málaga are the new incumbents of fourth and it could get better yet for the nouveau riche Los Boquerones as Valencia's second straight loss means it's tied on 47 points for third. At the bottom, Zaragoza's second straight win has pulled them level with both Racing and Sporting Gíjon, albeit still six points adrift of Granada and Villarreal. A fighting chance, nothing more.

Montpellier return to the top of Ligue 1 with a win over St Etienne combined with PSG being held 1-1 by Bordeaux. Lille remain third after cruising past Evian. Auxerre are in all sorts of trouble and hit the bottom after defeat to fourth-placed Toulouse.

A good weekend for Ajax in the Eredivisie who continued their great run with a win over PSV. They're a point behind AZ - 1-0 winners over RKC Waalwijk - but Twente fall away after a draw with ADO. Big wins for Feyenoord and Heerenveen see them make up a trio on 51 points with PSV a point further behind Steve McClaren's team.

New leaders in Portugal where Benfica and Porto both drew - Pablo Aimar sent off in a 0-0 draw for the former against Olhanense, the latter pegged back late on by Paços de Ferreira - and Sporting Braga beat Académica to go past them both.

The Belgian regular season has ended and now they go into their play-off frenzy. Anderlecht finished top and Kortijk sneak into the top six who play off for the championship as Cercle Brugge buggered it up against Lokeren and drop into the Europa League play-offs for the teams finishing 7th to 14th. Westerlo and Sint-Truiden play-off to avoid relegation. Clear? As mud.

Celtic have to wait at least a week for the Scottish title after defeat to Rangers in a feisty, tempestuous game, but they will be champions. So will Manchester United, south of the border, after rivals City extended their worrying run of complete inability to win away from home.

The fall-out from the trouble at the Panathiaikos-Olympiakos game saw the Greek FA award the match as a 3-0 to Olympiakos, fine Panathinaikos and order them to play four games behind closed doors. Both sides won this weekend - a 7-2 thumping of Asteras for Olympiakos for whom Kevin Mirallas got three - which leaves Olympiakos ten points clear.

Finally, Germany. Wins for the top three leaves the status quo intact, but a surprise loss for Gladbach at home to Hoffenheim sees them fall away and their season is in danger of fizzling out. They are a long way clear of Leverkusen though, so a top four finish is still very much on. 2.Bundesliga is finally taking shape. Of the top five, only Greuther and Eintracht Frankfurt won - Greuther against an increasingly dismal Lautern, Eintracht 4-0 away to Union Berlin - and they're away and over the hill now.

A busy midweek sees the Champions League quarter-finals hog the headlines and an emotional return to White Hart Lane for Bolton in the rearranged FA Cup tie, the game that was abandoned after Fabrice Muamba's heart attack.

That was the week that was #1

Taking over from the Vague round-up, something a bit more in-depth...

Last week was a European week with Barcelona and that Lionel Messi bloke grabbing all the headlines. That was a shame as APOEL's penalty shoot-out win over Lyon got a bit shouldered out of things and Athletic Club's trip to Manchester United in the Europa League was one of the games of the season. With APOEL reaching the quarters, Arsenal not quite managing to overturn the four-goal deficit against Milan and Chelsea 3-1 down going into this week's return leg against Napoli, Cyprus look likely to have more clubs in the quater-finals than England. Effort.

Onto matters domestic and in Spain, the one-horse races for first, second and third places all remained exactly that, even if Valencia - in a lonely third - could only draw with Mallorca, chucking a two-goal lead away in the process. More pain for Villarreal against Getafe on Monday night. Their survival hinges on finding three clubs worse than them. Fortunately Racing, Sporting and Zaragoza combine to fit that bill rather well. The only real race is for fourth and Málaga have that spot this week, Athletic conspiring to lose at Osasuna.

Napoli were stunning on Friday night in Serie A, thumping six past Cagliari. They conceded three though, a hat-trick for Joaquin Larrivey. Cagliari responded by sacking manager Davide Ballardini and re-hire former boss Massimo Ficcadenti who himself was sacked by the club four months ago. Clear? Milan won again to extend their lead at the top with Juventus - still unbeaten - only drawing in Genoa. Inter got back to winning ways against Chievo, but Ranieri is still on thin ice. The bottom three look done already, but Novara dented Udinese's Champions League hopes with something of a shock win.
Wins for the top two in France leaves that battle as it was, but both pull clear of third-placed Lille who were beaten by Lyon. St Etienne sneak into fourth after a win over VA. Four points cover the bottom seven meaning squeaky bums all round. In Ligue 2, Monaco finally pulled themselves out of the bottom three. It's still too early to talk of a resurgence.

The Eredivisie had one of it's bonkers weeks. Ajax went top briefly after a win of RKC Waalwijk, but AZ returned there in the late game on Sunday after beating Graafschap. PSV lost 3-1 at NAC Breda and fired Fred Rutten. Twente went and lost to NEC to stuff their chances of going top. Heerenveen also won to remain fifth, but a draw for Feyenoord sees them lose pace in sixth. AZ lead by three from Ajax, but one point covers second to fifth.

Porto stuffed up in the Liga Zon Sagres, drawing at home to Academica. Benfica's win over Paços de Ferreira and Braga's win over Leiria brings them both within a point. Sporting are a yawning eleven points further back in fourth.

Galatasaray are miles ahead in Turkey, likewise Basel in Switzerland. Olympiakos have opened up a bit of a gap in the Greek Super League after Panathinaikos were beaten by AEK. Legia opened up a bit of a gap in the Ekstraklasa after Slask were beaten by Korona. Warsaw derby next week.

Finally, Germany. Dortmund were held in Augsburg to a goalless draw, but remain four points ahead of Bayern, 7-1 winners against an increasingly shambolic Hoffenheim. Gladbach could only draw with Freiburg and they lose ground; Schalke move within a point of the Foals by beating Hamburg. But it's 2.Bundesliga where the real fun is. Three points covers the top five, still. Paderborn were held 0-0 by Bochum, the only ones in the top five not to win. Greuther beat Alemannia to remain top by a point from Eintracht Frankfurt who stuck five past Hansa. Then come Fortuna, 3-1 winners over Erzebirge. All that heaped pressure on St Pauli to win on Monday night and they did, 1-0 over Karlsruhe who remain in deep trouble at the wrong end.

Mainz equal record, but Dortmund hang on: Bundesliga reviews

Hannover 0-1 St Pauli
Monchengladbach 1-1 Wolfsburg
Hamburg 2-1 Kaiserslautern
Mainz 4-2 Hoffenheim
Nurnberg 2-1 Schalke
Freiburg 3-2 Cologne
Stuttgart 1-2 Eintracht
Leverkusen 2-2 Bremen
Dortmund 2-0 Bayern

Mainz remain top of the Bundesliga after beating Hoffenheim and also equal the record for consecutive wins at the start of a season. They're seven from seven now and stay three points clear of Dortmund in second, the pair of them already well clear of the pack. Lewis Holtby was in superb form once again and threaded a through ball for Adam Szalai to run onto in the second minute. He was onside, but Sami Allagui wasn't when the ball was played and the Hoffenheim defence stood still waiting for a flag. It didn't come and Szalai squared for his strike partner, back onside by this point, to sidefoot home. The Villagers were level late in the first half after Mainz uncharacteristically lost possession in centre field, Gustavo Dias going on a long run before playing Demba Ba in to level. With Jogi Low looking on, it wasn't long before Mainz were back in front, a looped ball forward for Szalai to run onto and finish. Ten minutes later, Holtby - he still qualifies for England, y'know - squared into the Hoffenheim box only for Dias to divert the ball in at the near post for 3-1. Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back with a stunning free-kick five minutes later, but any hope of a Hoffenheim comeback was thwarted when Josip Simunic pulled Holtby down in the box and, as last man, was sent off. Andre Schurrle put the penalty in the top corner and that was that. Dortmund stay behind after beating Bayern for whom Mario Gomez is morphing into the new Luca Toni. Three chances in the first half from a combined total of less than twelve yards were all spurned and Dortmund made them pay. Five minutes after the break, Lucas Barrios turned the ball in after a long throw caused panic in the Bayern rearguard. On the hour, Nuri Sahin curled in a wicked free-kick which gave Hans-Jorg Butt no chance and Bayern were defeated. They've been forced to forego the annual trip to the Oktoberfest in favour of extra training as a result. Ribéry and Robben can't come back quickly enough.

Hannover stay third despite losing at home to St Pauli, just their second defeat of the season. The one goal came early, Marius Ebbers heading in at the end of a quick break in just the sixth minute. The newly promoted side were comfortable after that, moreso when Karim Haggui was sent off ten minutes from time. Third they may be, but already eight points behind the leaders. Leverkusen are up to fourth after a home draw with Bremen. A bright opening saw chances at either end, but Leverkusen took the lead through Patrick Helmes, a confident finish at the near post, after quarter of an hour. Marko Marin was proving a handful for the Leverkusen defence and he won a free-kick shortly after the break which he teed up for Hugo Almeida to blast through a crowd scene to level before Marin himself put Bremen ahead, finishing a move involving Wesley, Almeida and Aaron Hunt who provided the inch-perfect cross. An entertaining game finished with as a probably fair draw as Eren Derdiyok first ran powerfully through the defence and then showed some great footwork to get round the last couple of men before giving Tim Wiese no chance with the finish. Bremen remain marooned in 13th.

Stuttgart stay bottom of the pile with just that one win - bizarrely or perhaps typically for the Bundesliga, a 7-0 victory - after defeat to improving Eintracht. Inevitably, Theofanis Gekas was on the scoresheet, the diminutive Greek hotshot sneaking in at the near post as the Stuttgart defence played musical statues to put the Frankfurters 1-0 up. Chris supplied the ball for that and he made it two with twenty minutes left, heading in from a corner. Stuttgart got one back through Pavel Pogrebnyak, mopping up after Eintracht keeper Ola Nikolov spilled a routine save, but that came after Stuttgart were reduced to ten, Mathieu Delpierre sent off. Schalke are still just a point above Stuttgart after yet another loss, this time away at Nurnberg. Felix Magath was defiant, placing the blame solely on his players. That may be fair enough, but he overhauled the squad himself in the summer, 15 players coming in and 21 leaving. This is his side, but no, it's not his fault. It can't be; he's brilliant. Manuel Neuer has hinted he may seek to leave with Magath responding that he's changed the squad to help him out, to offer him European football. It looks a long way off. After a goalless first half, the second started badly for the Royal Blues as Jermaine Jones picked up a second yellow for following in on the keeper and was duly sent off. The arguments threatened to boil over in the dug-outs, but Jones can have little complaint despite trying to pull out of it. He caught him, it warranted a booking and he'd already picked up a stupid one earlier in trademark fashion. Nine minutes later, Mike Frantz slid in to convert Julian Schieber's cross to put Nurnberg ahead. Jefferson Farfan set up Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the equaliser quarter of an hour from time, but Schalke had a big hand in their own downfall ten minutes later. A woeful backpass could only be directed behind by Neuer and, from the corner, Andreas Wolf powered a header into the roof of the net. Big problems in Gelsenkirchen.

Wolfsburg's winning run came to an end, but they did get a point from their trip to Gladbach. Thomas Kahlenberg put the opener away for Die Wolfe as Gladbach complained about a foul in the build-up, probably accurately, but Thorben Marx levelled it midway through the second half with a diving header. Hamburg got back to winning ways against Lautern who were ahead after Ivo Ilicevic was upended after a great run to the edge of the Hamburg box down the left wing. Srdjan Lakic put the free-kick in the top corner, leaving Frank Rost rooted to the spot. Chances flowed and the frames of both goals were rattled before Hamburg finally took one of the many chances presented them, Gojko Kacar with a bullet header in the 70th minute from Ze Roberto's cross. The game continued in open fashion and both keepers made excellent saves to keep it 1-1, but six minutes from time, a Lautern attack broke down, Kacar launched it long for Jonathan Pitroipa who squared for Eric Choupo-Moting to nudge in a winner. Freiburg remain fifth after a good win over Cologne who even the ever-optimistic Lukas Podolski now admits are in a relegation fight. Jan Rosenthal had Freiburg two up in little more than ten minutes, the first coming off the back of a lovely turn on the edge of the box and a fine low finish, the second a brilliant 30-yard volley as Cologne failed to clear their lines. Just eleven minutes later, Cologne were back in it as Youssef Mohamad was quickest to react to a parried save. It was all square five minutes after half-time when Adam Matuschyk latched onto a loose ball and lashed it in from twenty yards. The winner came in the 70th minute when Papiss Demba Cissé beat the offside trap and lobbed the keeper when one-on-one.

The table still has an odd look to it as we head to the international break, but Mainz and Dortmund are already threatening to make a break for the hills.

Bundesliga round 7 previews

Hannover v St Pauli
Hamburg v Kaiserslautern
Mainz v Hoffenheim
Monchengladbach v Wolfsburg
Freiburg v Cologne
Nurnberg v Schalke
Stuttgart v Eintracht
Leverkusen v Bremen
Dortmund v Bayern

All bow at the altar of Thomas Tuchel. Everyone really needs to stop referring to Mainz's ascendancy to the Bundesliga summit as a surprise and just deal with the reality - they're a bloody good side, a well-drilled unit who know their roles and seem to enjoy each other's company, coached by a burgeoning genius who is clearly having the time of his life. Last week, Bayern were turned over at the Allianz and the contrast between the world-weary Louis van Gaal and the carefree Tuchel could not be clearer. Even when Bayern got back level, it didn't perturb the bowl-cut merchant unduly. He knew what his side could do and had absolute faith in their ability to do the job. And they did. This week, a win over Hoffenheim - early leaders who are on a rocky run at the moment - will set a new record of wins at the start of the season. Nobody has won the first seven of a Bundesliga season before. Typically, Tuchel is downplaying that possibility. And rightly so as opposite him will be Ralf Rangnick, another wily customer. Hoffenheim still have plenty of talent, but are acquiring a knack of turning that into average results. This should be a belter. We're taking Mainz to edge it.

Bayern face Dortmund and the other manager clearly having a whale of a time, Jurgen Klopp. His team play with a verve and a swagger and no club anywhere has spent a better €350,000 than BvB did on Shinji Kagawa. Sevilla somehow managed to beat Dortmund in midweek despite being very much second best on the night and Bayern are looking a bit sluggish just as the Spaniards have been in La Liga. Without Ribéry and Robben, Bayern struggle to create, those responsibilities falling on the unlikely shoulders of Mark van Bommel, a role that just doesn't sit well. While pretty much everyone is happy for Mainz and what they've done so far, one club must hate them - Hannover. Any other season, them being in third place after six matches would be the story. They kick off the weekend in the Friday night game, at home to St Pauli. It's been an encouraging start for the Hamburg side and their away form is pretty good. Hannover haven't just been knocking over stiffs - the thrashing of Bremen was particularly impressive. Win this, and they go second. It's hard to see them not doing that.

Leverkusen take on Bremen without Michael Ballack and Stefan Kiessling. Eren Derdiyok has been impressive up front for Bayer in Kiessling's absence and was on target again in midweek away at Atlético Madrid. Bremen can't string two results together at the moment and were thrashed in Milan by Internazionale in the Champions League. Not the first time they've conceded four this season and, while it's unlikely to happen here, probably not the last as Bremen struggle for consistency. Schalke got a morale-boosting win in midweek as their sorry campaign staggers onward. Nurnberg are the opposition this week, but the new-look front line of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Raul are finally beginning to click for the Royal Blues. Hamburg have lost their last two, as have Lautern. Something has to give here. Wolfsburg's shift back to the trusted diamond formation and two up top - Grafite restored alongside Edin Dzeko - has seen them turn their form around. Steve McClaren had success at Twente by not changing anything. Perhaps he should have done the same here rather than impose a new system. Anyway, the error has been corrected and now they're looking like the challengers we expected them to be. They go to Gladbach this week hot favourites to make it four-in-a-row. Stuttgart remain bottom and were sent straight back to earth last week, shipping four against Leverkusen after beating Gladbach 7-0 the game before. It asks the question just to how bad Gladbach are as Stuttgart were abysmal last week. Eintracht are also struggling, but they're nowhere near as terrible as their league position suggests or as Stuttgart are. Freiburg have had a decent start and will start favourites at home to Cologne.

Mainz roll on: Bundesliga reviews

Cologne 1-1 Hoffenheim
Bayern 1-2 Mainz
Eintracht 2-0 Nurnberg
Schalke 2-2 Monchengladbach
St Pauli 1-3 Dortmund
Stuttgart 1-4 Leverkusen
Bremen 3-2 Hamburg
Wolfsburg 2-1 Freiburg
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Hannover

Nobody predicted Mainz were going to do anything this season, but nobody seems to have told them. While they won their first five games, they were perhaps games they'd have fancied winning anyway. However, going to Munich for round six, even if the champions were without their two best players - Franck Ribéry joining Arjen Robben on the sidelines - surely this was where Mainz's fun ended. Not so. Thomas Tuchel's reputation grows day by day and they had much the better of this one. Sami Allaqui back-heeled them in front on the quarter hour and it looked like staying 1-0 up to half time, but a horrendous own goal squared it up. A long ball forward from Mark van Bommel seemed straightforward for Mainz keeper Christian Wetklo, but Bo Svensson needlessly involved himself and diverted past his goalkeeper and into the net. They didn't fold though and, despite moments of pressure from the champions largely from van Bommel, got they're deserved winner when Adam Szalai blasted one in with 13 minutes to go.

Bremen won a thrilling north German derby. They built up a 2-0 lead by the time half an hour had gone, first with a Guy Demel own goal, turning Marko Marin's driven cross over Frank Rost and into the far corner, and a Hugo Almeida header as the Hamburg defence disappeared. The big change Armin Veh made in the second half was introduce Jonathan Pitroipa and he made an immediate impact. He set up Ruud van Nistelrooy for a tap-in to pull one back and then blasted in an equaliser from 20 yards three minutes later. Bremen were indebted to Per Mertesacker for keeping it level with some important interventions and he was rewarded when Marin set up Almeida for a second, tapping in at the back post to settle an end-to-end contest.

Dortmund are still second after beating St Pauli and making it five in a row, but not until after the Hamburg side had given them a real shock. Shinji Kagawa looks more and more like an absolute steal at €350,000 and he set up Kevin Grosskreutz for the opener after 17 minutes. BvB had threatened to rip St Pauli apart, but they got back level with a really nice finish from Rouwen Hennings, but the second half was all Dortmund. Kagawa got himself on the scoresheet five minutes after the restart and Grosskreutz's second sealed another impressive win, but St Pauli can take a lot from this. If Mainz being top is a shock, then what is Hannover in third? They circled the wagons to hold off Lautern after Mohammed Abdellaoue had headed them in front on the half hour. Hannover had one attack of note in the second half as Lautern pounded on the door time and time again. They couldn't find a finish and the Hannover defence really earned their money in closing out a hard-earned win.

Wolfsburg are back to form and it's the Brazilian connection that's doing it. If you're playing Die Wolfe, conceding free-kicks anywhere inside your own half is an open invitation to Diego to plant the ball wherever he wants. Twice in this one, it was onto the head of his countryman Grafite. He headed Wolfsburg ahead in the 25th minute, but Freiburg were level through Papiss Demba Cissé levelled nine minutes from half time after a real goalmouth scramble. Shot after shot rained in, Simon Kjaer and Diego Benaglio somehow managing to keep them all at bay, but Freiburg were allowed one shot too many. Cissé should have put his side ahead after the break, but missed a completely open goal, putting the ball wide. Grafite was again played in by Diego to win it on the hour. Hoffenheim have lost their way a bit and were, in the end, grateful for a draw from the Friday game in Cologne. Lukas Podolski blasted a left-footed drive in for the opener quarter of an hour in and the sides both had many chances throughout the first half, but it remained 1-0. Nine minutes after the break, Demba Ba muscled his way in to equalise and he had a glorious chance to put the Villagers ahead, but it was spurned and the game remained level.

Stuttgart are in a world of trouble and looked all at sea against Leverkusen. They were aleady 2-0 down when Mauro Camoranesi was sent off for a professional foul. Sami Hyypia had headed in the opener and Arturo Vidal slid in for the second after great work from Eren Derdiyok in the build-up. Zdravko Kuzamanovic pulled one back with one of those free-kicks which floats beyond everyone and sneaks in the far post, but the respite was brief. Hanno Baltisch grabbed the third, Barnetta and Derdiyok were immense throughout and the latter was again at the heart of things in setting up substitute Sidney Sam for the fourth. The Stuttgart defence was awful. Schalke got a point, rescuing Felix Magath's unbeaten home Bundesliga record. Gladbach hit them hard, Filip Daems converting a penalty on the quarter hour after Marco Reus was felled in the box. Michael Bradley wasn't picked up with a late run into the box just before the break and the American slammed the second home. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar pulled one back early in the second half before Gladbach were reduced to ten, Roel Brouwers sent off for a wild lunge on Huntelaar. It looked like Gladbach would hold on, but Raul popped up to stab his first Bundesliga in to rescue a draw with three minutes to go. Finally, Eintracht got back to winning ways with a solid performance against Nurnberg. Theofanis Gekas, despite his diminutive status, is pretty good in the air and headed the opener in the 17th minute, coming away from goal and really extending the neck muscles to give it the power to get over the line. Nurnberg had their chances, but Brazilian defender Chris slid in to seal the points with a couple of minutes left to haul Frankfurt away from bother.

Schalke off the mark: Bundesliga reviews/previews

Hannover 4-1 Bremen
Mainz 2-0 Cologne
Hoffenheim 1-2 Bayern
Leverkusen 2-1 Eintracht
Dortmund 5-0 Kaiserslautern
Monchengladbach 1-2 St Pauli
Hamburg 1-3 Wolfsburg
Nurnberg 2-1 Stuttgart
Freiburg 1-2 Schalke

Schalke got off the mark in the first midweek round of fixtures, bouncing back from last weekend's derby disappointment. They left it late though, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar getting on the end of a deep cross in the last minute. Freiburg started the brighter, almost prising an opening in the first minute, but Ivan Rakitic put Schalke ahead in the ninth after Huntelaar's shot wasn't held. Demba Cissé levelled it midway through the second half as Freiburg continued to pile forwards, but they remained vulnerable at the back and Huntelaar nipped in. To make matters worse, a stray elbow in stoppage time saw Ivica Banovic booked for the second time and he was duly sent off. They remain bottom, but level on points with Eintracht and Stuttgart, both of whom lost. More late drama accounted for the Frankfurters, Patrick Ochs sent off and Arturo Vidal converting the penalty in second half stoppages. Earlier, Lars Bender converted a great cross to give Leverkusen the lead in the ninth minute, but just nine more had elapsed when Theofanis Gekas headed in an Ochs cross. After sticking seven away at the weekend, hopes were high for Stuttgart at Nurnberg, but it didn't come to pass. Indeed, the bubble burst in just the third minute, Julian Schieber latching onto a perfect through ball to tuck in the opener. Nurnberg had Andreas Wolf sent off midway through the second half and Cacau equalised with five minutes to go, giving Stuttgart hope. Hope that was extinguished in stoppage time as the ten men found a winner, Javier Pinola finishing a quick counter-attack. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, pull away from that end of the table and look altogether better after a 3-1 win over Hamburg. Diego Benaglio has his mojo back after a wobbly start to the campaign and pulled off two top drawer saves to keep his side in it and, inevitably, Edin Dzeko went up the other end to finish off Wolfsburg's first real attack of the game. The electric pace of Eljero Elia created the equaliser for Eric Choupo-Moting and it remained level to the break. Hamburg started the second half the brighter, but Grafite, who had been quiet to the the point of anonymous, popped up with two quickfire goals to win it. His first came from Marcel Schafer's teasing cross with twenty minutes to go and eight minutes later, he got his second of the game and the season, a solo effort finished from a tight-ish angle.

Mainz strengthen their place at the top with their fifth win from five. Lewis Holtby got both goals for Thomas Tuchel's men as Cologne were brushed aside. They had to wait until 18 minutes from time for the opener, a free header for Holtby from a free-kick and he couldn't miss from that close in to the goal. The second, in the last minute, was a composed finish off a long ball up the middle. Dortmund are up to second after their fourth straight win, thumping Lautern at home. Lautern were pretty awful, but held out for half an hour when Lucas Barrios broke through and finished from the left hand side of the penalty area. Seven minutes later, Kevin Grosskreutz curled in a beautiful second and so it remained to half time. Chances continued to flow in the second half, but it took twenty minutes for the third goal to arrive, Mats Hummels heading in as the Lautern keeper went walkabout. Robert Lewandowski chipped in for number four and Barrios, fittingly, wrapped it up, sliding in for the fifth. Hoffenheim were beaten despite going ahead inside 45 seconds, Vedad Ibisevic stealing in to stun the Bavarian giants. Thomas Muller levelled on the hour, a parried save falling kindly for him and Daniel van Buyten won it in the last minute with an unconvincing prod.

St Pauli got back to winning ways against Gladbach whose week just got worse and worse following the 7-0 stuffing they copped last weekend. They did lead midway through the first half though, Juan Arango reacting quickest as a header was just parried. Gerald Asamoah had been on the field barely two minutes when he headed St Pauli level and he was heavily involved in the incident that led to the penalty that put them in front, Carsten Rothenbach upended in the box by Roel Brouwers. Florian Bruns converted and Gladbach's woe was complete when Mohamadou Idrissou was sent off in stoppage time for a second booking. Bremen languish in 14th after being well beaten by Hannover. It started badly, Clemens Fritz throwing a leg at a wayward header and diverting it into his own net. Torsten Frings levelled it from the penalty spot after some wrestling in the box at a set piece but the second half was all one way. Eight minutes of it had elapsed when Bremen were caught in possession in midfield and the ball was shipped forward to Didier Ya Konan who waited for Tim Wiese to commit before slotting it past him. Christian Schulz made it three ten minutes from time with an opportunistic strike and the rout was completed in the last minute when Mohammed Abdellaoue sprang the offside trap and nicked in ahead of the defence. It could and maybe should have been more.

Hoffenheim kick us off this coming weekend with a trip to Cologne on the Friday night while Mainz take their unbeaten record to Munich to face Bayern. Dortmund are in Hamburg to face St Pauli as they look to pick up any scraps Mainz offer them.

Cologne v Hoffenheim
Bayern v Mainz
Schalke v Monchengladbach
Stuttgart v Leverkusen
Eintracht v Nurnberg
St Pauli v Dortmund
Bremen v Hamburg
Wolfsburg v Freiburg
Kaiserslautern v Hannover

Derby disaster for Schalke: Bundesliga reviews

Eintracht 0-1 Freiburg
Bayern 0-0 Cologne
Bremen 0-2 Mainz
Stuttgart 7-0 Monchengladbach
Wolfsburg 2-0 Hannover
Kaiserslautern 2-2 Hoffenheim
St Pauli 1-1 Hamburg
Schalke 1-3 Dortmund
Leverkusen 0-0 Nurnberg

Let's not beat around the bush here. Schalke got boned on their own midden in the Ruhr derby. 3-1 is bad enough, but it could and probably should have been twice that. Dortmund had a perfectly good goal wrongly rubbed out by an over-eager offside flag early in the first half and BvB created chance after chance throughout. They'd rattled the woodwork as well before Shinji Kagawa opened the scoring with a dipping shot from range. Kagawa got the second after great work from the impressive Kuba Blaszczykowski down the right and the Japanese striker poked in a flying volley. Schalke's evening got worse when Robert Plestan picked up two bookings in the space of four minutes and he had no grounds for complaint about either. Robert Lewandowski headed in a third, his first for the club, before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar pulled one back. It flattered the Royal Blues. They were rubbish and being this rubbish has cost them one heck of a lot of money.

Schalke therefore remain on no points, the only side still on that mark after Wolfsburg and Stuttgart broke their ducks, the latter spectacularly so. Pavel Pogrebnyak hit three out of seven as Stuttgart gave Gladbach the mother and father of all thumpings. Pogrebnyak got the first, third and fourth and all three were from close range after defensive or goalkeeping blunders. Georg Niedermeyer headed in from a Mauro Camoranesi corner for the second and Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Matthieu Delpierre and Ciprian Marica all got in on the act. Gladbach offered nothing. Diego got Wolfsburg's opener in the derby against Hannover ten minutes into the second half with an overhead volley but then lost him to injury after he copped a set of studs in the side. Edin Dzeko made it two as the keeper went AWOL to give Steve McClaren his first Bundesliga win. The other derby saw honours shared in Hamburg, Mladen Petric with a stunning late equaliser from a mile downtown after Fabian Boll had driven St Pauli ahead.

Hoffenheim were held by near neighbours Lautern and needed new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson to rescue them. It looked like being an easy day when Gustavo put the Villagers ahead late in the first half, but two goals from Erwin Hoffer turned it round. He headed the first in under a worryingly small amount of pressure while he just threw a foot out for the second and made enough contact with a wayward header to turn it in. They led for just two minutes though as Sigurdsson bent a free-kick round the wall and in the far corner. Those dropped points saw Mainz go above them as they maintained the only 100% record in the league by beating Bremen who can't string two results together. Marcel Risse lashed the first in from an angle ten minutes into the second half and young hot-shot Andre Schurrle - snapped up by Leverkusen for next season - finished off a sweeping move.

Mainz's neighbours Eintracht are struggling a bit, beaten by Freiburg. Both keepers were in outstanding form - Oliver Baumann shading it on points with a string of excellent saves in the Freiburg goal - but Oka Nikolov was finally beaten in the last minute as Freiburg found an extra man in attack, Jan Rosenthal getting upfield to finish a quick counter. Elsewhere, Bayern were held to a goalless draw by Cologne as were Leverkusen at home to Nurnberg.

There's a midweek round of fixtures - an English week - with Bayern's trip to Hoffenheim the pick. Wolfsburg go to Hamburg in another tasty clash while Nurnberg will hope that Stuttgart punched themselves out at the weekend. Schalke go to Freiburg and it's still hard to see them get that elusive win.

Mainz v Cologne
Hoffenheim v Bayern
Hannover v Bremen
Leverkusen v Eintracht
Dortmund v Kaiserslautern
Hamburg v Wolfsburg
Monchengladbach v St Pauli
Freiburg v Schalke
Nurnberg v Stuttgart

Bundesliga round 4 previews

Eintracht v Freiburg
Bayern v Cologne
Bremen v Mainz
Stuttgart v Monchengladbach
Wolfsburg v Hannover
Kaiserslautern v Hoffenheim
St Pauli v Hamburg
Schalke v Dortmund
Leverkusen v Nurnberg

Derby time in Germany this week. The big one sees in-form Dortmund go to Schalke whose season got even worse during the week with a Champions League defeat to Lyon, a game in which Benedikt Howedes put through his own net for the only goal of the game (since credited, generously, to Michel Bastos) and was sent off for kicking Jimmy Briand in the heart. Raul cut an isolated figure last week, but if the pressure is on Felix Magath, he's not showing it. Dortmund looked pretty handy in beating Wolfsburg last week and should enjoy their day out in Gelsenkirchen.

It's derby day in Hamburg as well, St Pauli the hosts for the still unbeaten Hamburg. After a win on opening day, St Pauli have lost their last two while Hamburg remain third despite not being all that convincing while doing it. Wolfsburg, bottom and winless, are at home to Hannover in a Lower Saxony derby. If they're going to get a win anywhere, it really should be here. They need to start defending if they're going to progress though. Hoffenheim continue to lead the way with echoes of the football they played in storming the first half of the 2008/9 season and they face local rivals Lautern this week where another win should be quite straightforward.

Mainz, in second, face Bremen who looked in equal parts awful and brilliant in their Champions League draw with Spurs in midweek. Bayern got a much-needed win in midweek against Roma and need to replicate that form in the league before they find themselves adrift of the leaders. They're at home to Cologne this week and that shouldn't be a problem, even if they are missing Arjen Robben and involved in a seemingly intractable tussle with the KNVB about whose fault it is. Frieburg have had a decent start and go to Frankfurt to face Eintracht who got their first win last week. Stuttgart, at the bottom and playing miserable football, take on Gladbach while Leverkusen - sans the injured Michael Ballack - are at home to Nurnberg.

Big spenders floundering: Bundesliga reviews

Hoffenheim 2-0 Schalke
Dortmund 2-0 Wolfsburg
Hamburg 1-1 Nurnberg
Monchengladbach 0-4 Eintracht
Freiburg 2-1 Stuttgart
Hannover 2-2 Leverkusen
Bayern 0-0 Bremen
Mainz 2-1 Kaiserslautern
Cologne 1-0 St Pauli

Money can't buy you love, so some cheeky sixties popsters sang, and it can't buy you Bundesliga points either. Many have tried, but few succeed. Ask Schalke, Bayern and Wolfsburg. Schalke new boy Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was on show, but his new team were overwhelmed by a hard-working Hoffenheim side, a side who have rediscovered their mojo, on Friday night. Huntelaar's strike partner Raul looked like he'd rather be anywhere other than the outskirts of Sindheim and cut a disconsolate and disinterested figure. Hoffenheim weren't about to show much in the way of sympathy and a short corner late in the first half saw the Schalke defence opened up like a well-cooked mussel for Isaac Vorsah to head in unopposed. The second, which came in the last minute, goes down as a Manuel Neuer own goal. Sedad Salihovic hit a lovely free-kick which left the German number one rooted. The ball struck the post, struck Neuer and bobbled in. Bayern were held to a goalless draw by Bremen for whom Torsten Frings out van Bommelled Mark van Bommel and Marko Marin provided much of the thrust. Bayern looked becalmed. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, are 0-for-3 and already the pressure is on Steve McClaren. Where Die Wolfe were lethargic, Dortmund were effervescent and, after a goalless first 45, got their reward five minutes after the break when Nuri Sahin cracked in a long-range shot right into the top corner which left Diego Benaglio flailing. Quarter of an hour later, Andrea Barzagli and Simon Kjaer were pulled apart far too easily to allow Shinji Kagawa through on goal and he finished with ease.

Hoffenheim remain top then, level on points with the only other 100% side in the league, Mainz. They beat Lautern, back down to earth after the win over Bayern, despite going behind to Srdan Lakic's 20th minute goal after the offside trap was sprung wide open. Mainz were level with 20 minutes left, a long range shot pinballing around the box before Niko Bungert tapped it in from five yards. The winner followed moments later, a wonderful effort from Andre Schurrle which drifted gently through the air as it sailed past the flapping keeper. Hamburg and Hannover both drop points for the first time this season as both were held. Hamburg were ahead against Nurnberg when Joris Mathijsen turned in Eljero Elia's deep corner on the hour, but Nurnberg rescued a point a few minutes from time thanks to Javier Pinola's emphatic penalty. Hannover will feel hard done by to lose a two-goal lead to Leverkusen for whom Patrick Helmes rescued a point in second half stoppage time. Didier Ya Konan put Hannover in front after 20 minutes with a really intelligent finish, opening his body out to create the angle for the shot, and they were two up early in the second half through Mohammed Abdellaoue despite having lost Emmanuel Pogatetz to a second yellow card in the interim. Leverkusen had lost Michael Ballack to a micro-fracture of the shin early in the game, but Eren Derdiyok got them back into it on the hour with a volley from 18 yards. The equaliser had to come and so it did, Helmes rattling a low free-kick in from just outside the box.

Joining Wolfsburg and Schalke on no points at the bottom of the table are Stuttgart, beaten by Freiburg despite going ahead through Pavel Pogrebnyak, the big Russian heading in from close range in the 27th minute. Papiss Demba Cisse levelled it up on the hour, stealing in at the back post to tap in a deep cross. The winner came quarter of an hour later, the ball laid off to Julian Schuster who curled in a beauty from 20 yards. Cologne picked up a vital three points with a 1-0 win over St Pauli for whom the bubble appears to have burst. A thunderous shot from 35 yards came crashing back off the bar and Taner Yalcin was alive to it and poked it home. Eintracht were the big winners of the weekend, sticking four past Gladbach. Benjamin Kohler got the first, getting above the keeper to head in from close range before Theofanis Gekas got the first of his double, Alex Meier teeing him up for a tap-in. Patrick Ochs got number three with a chipped finish before Gekas completed the rout, Halil Altintop playing the diminutive Greek through an increasingly ragged defence.