By Rich
Hannover 96 earned on Friday its 1st win in 8 matches against nearby rival VfL Wolfsburg. Hannover’s first goal came in the 31st minute when 19-year-old Linton Maina scored his first Bundesliga goal off a cross from Ihlas Bebou, and Bebou then immediately scored his own goal off a penalty. As the 2nd half began, Hannover goaltender Michael Esser successfully fended off a volley of Wolfsburg attempts before Wout Weghorst finally scored Wolfsburg’s only goal, on a penalty in the 81st minute. Weghorst is, incidentally, Wolfsburg’s top scorer so far this season, with 5 goals, 4 of which have come in his last 6 appearances. Wolfsburg remains 3 points ahead of Hannover in the table though, thanks in part to their top scorer, Bebou, who now has 3 goals this season. The weekend’s big match, however, is Saturday’s contest between Borussia Dortmund and visiting FC Bayern München. Dortmund are undefeated in the Bundesliga this season and are also the league’s highest-scoring club, but Bayern have won 4 of their 5 away matches this season, and have won 3 of their last 5 visits to Signal Iduna Park. Saturday’s match is also a clash of personalities: both Lucien Favre and Niko Kovac will be coaching their first Klassiker and the 1. Bundesliga’s leading scorer, Dortmund’s Paco Alcácer, will try to hold off Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 3 goals against Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Another match to watch on Saturday will be the meetup between SV Werder Bremen and visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach. Just 3 points separate the 2 clubs near the top of the table, and Gladbach’s Thorgan Hazard is among the league’s top scorers. Hazard has scored 7 goals in his last 7 matches, exactly as many as his older brother Eden, of Chelsea. Looking ahead to Sunday, RB Leipzig will host a struggling Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey has only scored 1 goal so far this season, but Bailey recently said he does not regret joining the club early last year, and despite the low goal count has either shot or crossed every 14 minutes he’s been on the pitch. Also on Sunday, Schalke travels to Frankfurt, whose Luka Jovic has averaged 1 goal every 68 minutes of play. After losing their first 5 matches of the season, Schalke appears to have turned a corner, with summer signing Mark Uth finally beginning to find the net.
Hannover 96 earned on Friday its 1st win in 8 matches against nearby rival VfL Wolfsburg. Hannover’s first goal came in the 31st minute when 19-year-old Linton Maina scored his first Bundesliga goal off a cross from Ihlas Bebou, and Bebou then immediately scored his own goal off a penalty. As the 2nd half began, Hannover goaltender Michael Esser successfully fended off a volley of Wolfsburg attempts before Wout Weghorst finally scored Wolfsburg’s only goal, on a penalty in the 81st minute. Weghorst is, incidentally, Wolfsburg’s top scorer so far this season, with 5 goals, 4 of which have come in his last 6 appearances. Wolfsburg remains 3 points ahead of Hannover in the table though, thanks in part to their top scorer, Bebou, who now has 3 goals this season. The weekend’s big match, however, is Saturday’s contest between Borussia Dortmund and visiting FC Bayern München. Dortmund are undefeated in the Bundesliga this season and are also the league’s highest-scoring club, but Bayern have won 4 of their 5 away matches this season, and have won 3 of their last 5 visits to Signal Iduna Park. Saturday’s match is also a clash of personalities: both Lucien Favre and Niko Kovac will be coaching their first Klassiker and the 1. Bundesliga’s leading scorer, Dortmund’s Paco Alcácer, will try to hold off Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 3 goals against Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Another match to watch on Saturday will be the meetup between SV Werder Bremen and visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach. Just 3 points separate the 2 clubs near the top of the table, and Gladbach’s Thorgan Hazard is among the league’s top scorers. Hazard has scored 7 goals in his last 7 matches, exactly as many as his older brother Eden, of Chelsea. Looking ahead to Sunday, RB Leipzig will host a struggling Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey has only scored 1 goal so far this season, but Bailey recently said he does not regret joining the club early last year, and despite the low goal count has either shot or crossed every 14 minutes he’s been on the pitch. Also on Sunday, Schalke travels to Frankfurt, whose Luka Jovic has averaged 1 goal every 68 minutes of play. After losing their first 5 matches of the season, Schalke appears to have turned a corner, with summer signing Mark Uth finally beginning to find the net.
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