Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo scored an important late goal in a 1:1 draw on Friday against hosts FC Augsburg. The match’s other goal came just 8 minutes into the match, when Augsburg’s Arne Maier curled a cross that was headed in by Dion Beljo. Beljo’s goal was his second in the current term, and Maier’s assist was his first of the season. Augsburg have scored 11 goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches in the league this season, second only to Bayern in that regard. The draw leaves Stuttgart in the relegation playoff position going into the rest of the weekend’s contests. Hosts Mainz and visitors Bayern both have something to play for when they meet on Saturday. Bayern, of course, are closing in on yet another league title, but are looking over their shoulders at Dortmund, who are just 2 points back in the table. Mainz, for their part, are still in the hunt for European competition, and are currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of 9 matches. Dortmund will make another attempt to overtake Bayern at the top of the table when they host Frankfurt in Saturday’s late game. The visitors are coming off a 1:1 comeback draw against Gladbach last weekend, while the hosts are coming off a 3:3 draw against Stuttgart. Frankfurt, however, are on a 7-match winless streak, which has endangered the club’s chances of qualifying for European competition, while Dortmund have won their last 8 consecutive league home matches. The game will also feature a return home for Frankfurt’s Mario Götze, who made a total of 219 appearances for Dortmund, having come through the academy there. Götze was also part of the team that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jürgen Klopp. The remaining spots at the top of the table will not be decided until Sunday, which features Union Berlin traveling to Gladbach, Leipzig traveling to Leverkusen, and Freiburg hosting Schalke. DFB Cup semi-finalists Freiburg could climb back up to fourth place, at least for a couple of hours, if they can beat Schalke, who are suffering with both injuries and relegation danger. Gladbach very much need a win to keep their slim European hopes alive, and now know they will lose club striker Marcus Thuram this summer. Thuram is now on the verge of scoring his 50th Bundesliga goal, but has already confirmed he will not renew his contract after this season. Leipzig will have to overcome the league’s most in-form club in Leverkusen, and have enjoyed a recent resurgence with wins over Hertha and Augsburg. Leverkusen’s current streak of 7 unbeaten matches is their best run in more than 2 years.
By Rich M
Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo scored an important late goal in a 1:1 draw on Friday against hosts FC Augsburg. The match’s other goal came just 8 minutes into the match, when Augsburg’s Arne Maier curled a cross that was headed in by Dion Beljo. Beljo’s goal was his second in the current term, and Maier’s assist was his first of the season. Augsburg have scored 11 goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches in the league this season, second only to Bayern in that regard. The draw leaves Stuttgart in the relegation playoff position going into the rest of the weekend’s contests. Hosts Mainz and visitors Bayern both have something to play for when they meet on Saturday. Bayern, of course, are closing in on yet another league title, but are looking over their shoulders at Dortmund, who are just 2 points back in the table. Mainz, for their part, are still in the hunt for European competition, and are currently enjoying an unbeaten streak of 9 matches. Dortmund will make another attempt to overtake Bayern at the top of the table when they host Frankfurt in Saturday’s late game. The visitors are coming off a 1:1 comeback draw against Gladbach last weekend, while the hosts are coming off a 3:3 draw against Stuttgart. Frankfurt, however, are on a 7-match winless streak, which has endangered the club’s chances of qualifying for European competition, while Dortmund have won their last 8 consecutive league home matches. The game will also feature a return home for Frankfurt’s Mario Götze, who made a total of 219 appearances for Dortmund, having come through the academy there. Götze was also part of the team that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jürgen Klopp. The remaining spots at the top of the table will not be decided until Sunday, which features Union Berlin traveling to Gladbach, Leipzig traveling to Leverkusen, and Freiburg hosting Schalke. DFB Cup semi-finalists Freiburg could climb back up to fourth place, at least for a couple of hours, if they can beat Schalke, who are suffering with both injuries and relegation danger. Gladbach very much need a win to keep their slim European hopes alive, and now know they will lose club striker Marcus Thuram this summer. Thuram is now on the verge of scoring his 50th Bundesliga goal, but has already confirmed he will not renew his contract after this season. Leipzig will have to overcome the league’s most in-form club in Leverkusen, and have enjoyed a recent resurgence with wins over Hertha and Augsburg. Leverkusen’s current streak of 7 unbeaten matches is their best run in more than 2 years.
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By Rich M
Kenneth Schmidt is a 20-year-old center-back for Sport-Club Freiburg. Schmidt was born on June 3, 2002 and spent his youth career playing for FC Emmendingen until 2017, when he joined Freiburg’s youth academy. His senior career continued at SC Freiburg II beginning in 2020, where he has since made 47 appearances. He has been on the roster of the senior squad since 2023, and has also made 4 appearances for Germany’s U18, U19, and U21 squads since 2019. By Rich M.
Schalke picked up an important 3 points on Friday with a 5:2 home victory over Hertha Berlin. Schalke came into the match 1 point and 1 spot behind Hertha, but began the scoring just 3 minutes in, when Tim Skarke curled a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. His goal was followed just 11 minutes later, when Marius Bülter picked up a cross from Skarke and headed the ball in from close range. Hertha’s Steven Jovetic finally narrowed the lead in the extra time at the end of the first half, but Schalke extended their lead again in the 48th minute, thanks to a goal from Simon Terodde. Schalke’s Bülter scored again in the 78th minute to make the score 4:1, but Hertha narrowed the lead again in the 84th minute with a goal from Marco Richter. The final goal came 2 minutes into extra time, when Marcin Kaminiski curled in a free kick. The loss now leaves Hertha at the bottom of the table, while Schalke occupies the relegation playoff spot going into the rest of the weekend’s matches. The club occupying the other relegation spot, VfB Stuttgart, will host Dortmund on Saturday. Both teams need to pick up points: Dortmund to overtake Bayern in the table, and Stuttgart to escape relegation danger. Stuttgart moved off the bottom of the table last weekend, thanks to a win over Bochum, but are still adjusting to new coach Sebastian Hoeneß. Dortmund are also coming off a victory last weekend, over Union Berlin, but remain 2 points behind league leaders Bayern. Dortmund have more Bundesliga wins away at Stuttgart than at any other club, including 7 of their last 8 visits. Bayern will host Hoffenheim on Saturday. Bayern are coming off a UEFA Champions League loss to Manchester City, and have picked up just 1 goal in their last 3 games. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, have finally turned the corner from a 14-game winless streak, having collected consecutive victories over Hertha, Bremen, and Schalke. Union Berlin remain close behind Bayern and Dortmund in the table and will host Bochum on Sunday. Although Union lost to Dortmund last time out, the club enjoys a 4-point cushion over 5th-place Freiburg, and have won 9 of their last 13 home matches. Bochum are just 3 points above the relegation zone, and had a 3-game unbeaten streak broken by Stuttgart. The club also has the worst goal differential in the league, and a loss could drop them back into the relegation zone. Bochum did, however, win the reverse fixture earlier this season. The final match of the weekend occurs later Sunday when Wolfsburg host Leverkusen. The latter are currently the most in-form club in the league. |
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