By Rich
Substitute Julian Brandt scored 2 goals on Friday to give Borussia Dortmund a 2:0 victory over hosts VfB Stuttgart, narrowing the gap between the league’s top 2 clubs to 6 points. Brandt entered the match early on, when Gio Reyna had to leave the pitch with an ankle problem after just over a minute of play. Brandt’s first goal came in the 12th minute, when he converted a pass from Erling Haaland into an open goal. Brandt was finally able to double the lead in the 72nd minute, thanks to an assist from Marco Reus. Brandt’s first goal was the earliest goal by a substitute in Bundesliga history, and the brace was his first for Dortmund. Stuttgart’s loss was its 19th consecutive at home, extending its current record, and Dortmund have only lost 2 of their last 11 trips to Stuttgart. Saturday’s contests will feature several derbies as the season enters its final weeks. Augsburg will travel to nearby München, and are coming off a 2:1 victory over Mainz on Wednesday, significantly improving their chances of avoiding relegation. Augsburg also won the reverse fixture back in November, their first win in the Bavarian derby in more than 6 years. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 22 goals in 18 meetings with Augsburg, still needs 11 goals to break his own single-season scoring record. Also on Saturday, Köln will host nearby Mainz, and are anticipating the return of striker Anthony Modeste, who was sidelined with an illness in the 1:0 loss to Union Berlin last weekend, and whose scoring prowess is needed if the club is going to make the European cut. Mainz are sitting comfortably clear of relegation danger and even have a small chance of qualifying for European competition. The big derby on Saturday is, of course, that between the Berlin clubs. Hertha, the hosts of the match, are currently sitting in one of the two automatic relegation spots and desperately need a win if they want to remain in the first league next season. Hertha’s biggest goal threat of the season, Stevan Jovetic, is pushing to start on Saturday after only making it as far as the bench in last weekend’s loss to Leverkusen. If he does start, he will face star Union striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who is the club’s record Bundesliga scorer with 17 goals, including his career-best 12 this season. Union have already defeated Hertha twice this season: once in the reverse fixture and once in the DFB Pokal. Looking ahead to Sunday, several of the clubs in the top half of the table will continue to jockey for position: Leverkusen will travel to Bochum, Freiburg will travel to Frankfurt, and Leipzig will host Hoffenheim.
Substitute Julian Brandt scored 2 goals on Friday to give Borussia Dortmund a 2:0 victory over hosts VfB Stuttgart, narrowing the gap between the league’s top 2 clubs to 6 points. Brandt entered the match early on, when Gio Reyna had to leave the pitch with an ankle problem after just over a minute of play. Brandt’s first goal came in the 12th minute, when he converted a pass from Erling Haaland into an open goal. Brandt was finally able to double the lead in the 72nd minute, thanks to an assist from Marco Reus. Brandt’s first goal was the earliest goal by a substitute in Bundesliga history, and the brace was his first for Dortmund. Stuttgart’s loss was its 19th consecutive at home, extending its current record, and Dortmund have only lost 2 of their last 11 trips to Stuttgart. Saturday’s contests will feature several derbies as the season enters its final weeks. Augsburg will travel to nearby München, and are coming off a 2:1 victory over Mainz on Wednesday, significantly improving their chances of avoiding relegation. Augsburg also won the reverse fixture back in November, their first win in the Bavarian derby in more than 6 years. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 22 goals in 18 meetings with Augsburg, still needs 11 goals to break his own single-season scoring record. Also on Saturday, Köln will host nearby Mainz, and are anticipating the return of striker Anthony Modeste, who was sidelined with an illness in the 1:0 loss to Union Berlin last weekend, and whose scoring prowess is needed if the club is going to make the European cut. Mainz are sitting comfortably clear of relegation danger and even have a small chance of qualifying for European competition. The big derby on Saturday is, of course, that between the Berlin clubs. Hertha, the hosts of the match, are currently sitting in one of the two automatic relegation spots and desperately need a win if they want to remain in the first league next season. Hertha’s biggest goal threat of the season, Stevan Jovetic, is pushing to start on Saturday after only making it as far as the bench in last weekend’s loss to Leverkusen. If he does start, he will face star Union striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who is the club’s record Bundesliga scorer with 17 goals, including his career-best 12 this season. Union have already defeated Hertha twice this season: once in the reverse fixture and once in the DFB Pokal. Looking ahead to Sunday, several of the clubs in the top half of the table will continue to jockey for position: Leverkusen will travel to Bochum, Freiburg will travel to Frankfurt, and Leipzig will host Hoffenheim.
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