By Rich
Bayern suffered its first defeat of the season on Friday with a 0:2 loss against Hertha in the Olympiastadion. Hertha’s first goal came when referee Marco Fritz saw Jerome Boateng foul Salomon Kalou, who scored on the ensuing penalty kick in the 23rd minute. That goal was followed just before the half ended when Ondrej Duda gave the hosts a 2:0 lead going into halftime. Bayern did have several near misses in the second half, but were held by Hertha goalkeeper Thomas Kraft. This was Hertha’s first win over Bayern in 15 matches and the victory ties them with Bayern in points at the top of the table going into Saturday’s contests. One of the key contests on Saturday occurs when Gladbach travels to Wolfsburg, when Gladbach will have a chance to move to the top of the table. Wolfsburg defeated Schalke and Leverkusen to start the season, but are winless in their last 3 games, while Gladbach lost to Hertha last weekend and defeated Frankfurt on Wednesday night. The Wolves have more Bundesliga wins over Gladbach than any other club, and haven’t lost at home to Gladbach in 15 years. Gladbach are currently playing without captain Lars Stindl, but may see the return of defender Tony Jantschke, who has been sidelined by a pelvis problem. For Gladbach trainer Dieter Hecking, the return to the Volkswagen Arena may be bittersweet: Hecking led Wolfsburg to a first DFB Cup and Supercup title in 2015. Also on Saturday, FC Schalke 04 will still be looking for their first points of the season when they host Mainz. This is only the second time in Schalke’s history when they have opened a season with 5 losses, but they have won their last 4 Bundesliga matches against Mainz. Mainz have also only won once in 12 trips to Schalke in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim head coach Julian Nagelsmann will face future employers RB Leipzig on Saturday. Nagelsmann officially takes over at Leipzig next summer, so the club is being steered in the meantime by sporting director Ralf Rangnick, who incidentally led Hoffenheim into the Bundesliga for the first time in 2008. Leipzig are unbeaten in 4 Bundesliga matches since losing 1:4 to Borussia Dortmund on the opening weekend, while Hoffenheim’s 7 points so far this season just edges them into the top half of the table. Looking ahead to Sunday’s matches: all 4 teams playing on Sunday sit in the bottom half of the table and are separated by no more than 5 points
Bayern suffered its first defeat of the season on Friday with a 0:2 loss against Hertha in the Olympiastadion. Hertha’s first goal came when referee Marco Fritz saw Jerome Boateng foul Salomon Kalou, who scored on the ensuing penalty kick in the 23rd minute. That goal was followed just before the half ended when Ondrej Duda gave the hosts a 2:0 lead going into halftime. Bayern did have several near misses in the second half, but were held by Hertha goalkeeper Thomas Kraft. This was Hertha’s first win over Bayern in 15 matches and the victory ties them with Bayern in points at the top of the table going into Saturday’s contests. One of the key contests on Saturday occurs when Gladbach travels to Wolfsburg, when Gladbach will have a chance to move to the top of the table. Wolfsburg defeated Schalke and Leverkusen to start the season, but are winless in their last 3 games, while Gladbach lost to Hertha last weekend and defeated Frankfurt on Wednesday night. The Wolves have more Bundesliga wins over Gladbach than any other club, and haven’t lost at home to Gladbach in 15 years. Gladbach are currently playing without captain Lars Stindl, but may see the return of defender Tony Jantschke, who has been sidelined by a pelvis problem. For Gladbach trainer Dieter Hecking, the return to the Volkswagen Arena may be bittersweet: Hecking led Wolfsburg to a first DFB Cup and Supercup title in 2015. Also on Saturday, FC Schalke 04 will still be looking for their first points of the season when they host Mainz. This is only the second time in Schalke’s history when they have opened a season with 5 losses, but they have won their last 4 Bundesliga matches against Mainz. Mainz have also only won once in 12 trips to Schalke in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim head coach Julian Nagelsmann will face future employers RB Leipzig on Saturday. Nagelsmann officially takes over at Leipzig next summer, so the club is being steered in the meantime by sporting director Ralf Rangnick, who incidentally led Hoffenheim into the Bundesliga for the first time in 2008. Leipzig are unbeaten in 4 Bundesliga matches since losing 1:4 to Borussia Dortmund on the opening weekend, while Hoffenheim’s 7 points so far this season just edges them into the top half of the table. Looking ahead to Sunday’s matches: all 4 teams playing on Sunday sit in the bottom half of the table and are separated by no more than 5 points
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