By Rich
FC Bayern München moved 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Friday with a close 1:0 victory over hosts Hertha Berlin. The game’s lone goal came in the 21st minute, after Kingsley Coman fired the ball into the net off a deflection from Niklas Stark. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski failed to convert a penalty shortly before Coman’s goal, and it was his first missed conversion since a win over VfB Stuttgart in January 2019. The shutout earned Bayern’s Manuel Neuer his 200th clean sheet in the Bundesliga, and Hertha welcomed Sami Khedira back into the Bundesliga: it was Khedira’s first Bundesliga appearance for 10 years and 273 days. Saturday’s big match will likely be that in the Schwarzwald-Stadion, when Borussia Dortmund travel to Freiburg. Although Freiburg suffered one of their worst losses this season last weekend against Wolfsburg, the club has an unbeaten record at home this season, where they have scored in every match so far. Dortmund managed to beat Augsburg 3:1 last Saturday, but were taken into extra time on Tuesday in DFB Pokal competition against Paderborn, and the club have lost three of their last four away matches. Dortmund will continue without goaltender Roman Bürki, who has a shoulder injury and will continue to be replaced by Marwin Hitz. The match on Saturday will be Freiburg’s 700th, and trainer Christian Streich’s 275th, in the Bundesliga. The final match on Saturday will be the Rhine Derby between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and visitors 1. FC Köln. Although Gladbach are currently in seventh place in the table, they have succeeded in collecting points in recent weeks, and are undefeated since mid-December. Cologne was eliminated from DFB Pokal competition earlier in the week following a shoot-out loss to Jahn Regensburg, but within the league are coming off a 3:1 victory last weekend over Bielefeld. The reverse fixture earlier this season ended with a 3:1 victory for Gladbach, and the Foals are, together with Eintracht Frankfurt, the only unbeaten Bundesliga team in 2021. Cologne have only won 25 of the 91 Bundesliga derbies against Gladbach, while Gladbach have won 51 of them. Looking ahead to Sunday, Bielefeld will look to use their home-field advantage against Bremen and move out of the relegation play-off position. A tie or win would move them ahead of Hertha in the table, but Bielefeld have been unpredictable at home this season, winning four and losing six. Bremen won the reverse fixture earlier this season, and they have claimed more points (13) in away matches this season than they have at home (9).
FC Bayern München moved 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Friday with a close 1:0 victory over hosts Hertha Berlin. The game’s lone goal came in the 21st minute, after Kingsley Coman fired the ball into the net off a deflection from Niklas Stark. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski failed to convert a penalty shortly before Coman’s goal, and it was his first missed conversion since a win over VfB Stuttgart in January 2019. The shutout earned Bayern’s Manuel Neuer his 200th clean sheet in the Bundesliga, and Hertha welcomed Sami Khedira back into the Bundesliga: it was Khedira’s first Bundesliga appearance for 10 years and 273 days. Saturday’s big match will likely be that in the Schwarzwald-Stadion, when Borussia Dortmund travel to Freiburg. Although Freiburg suffered one of their worst losses this season last weekend against Wolfsburg, the club has an unbeaten record at home this season, where they have scored in every match so far. Dortmund managed to beat Augsburg 3:1 last Saturday, but were taken into extra time on Tuesday in DFB Pokal competition against Paderborn, and the club have lost three of their last four away matches. Dortmund will continue without goaltender Roman Bürki, who has a shoulder injury and will continue to be replaced by Marwin Hitz. The match on Saturday will be Freiburg’s 700th, and trainer Christian Streich’s 275th, in the Bundesliga. The final match on Saturday will be the Rhine Derby between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and visitors 1. FC Köln. Although Gladbach are currently in seventh place in the table, they have succeeded in collecting points in recent weeks, and are undefeated since mid-December. Cologne was eliminated from DFB Pokal competition earlier in the week following a shoot-out loss to Jahn Regensburg, but within the league are coming off a 3:1 victory last weekend over Bielefeld. The reverse fixture earlier this season ended with a 3:1 victory for Gladbach, and the Foals are, together with Eintracht Frankfurt, the only unbeaten Bundesliga team in 2021. Cologne have only won 25 of the 91 Bundesliga derbies against Gladbach, while Gladbach have won 51 of them. Looking ahead to Sunday, Bielefeld will look to use their home-field advantage against Bremen and move out of the relegation play-off position. A tie or win would move them ahead of Hertha in the table, but Bielefeld have been unpredictable at home this season, winning four and losing six. Bremen won the reverse fixture earlier this season, and they have claimed more points (13) in away matches this season than they have at home (9).
RSS Feed