Bundesliga Matchday 24 started with to ship them 11 factors clear. Immediately the race for the ultimate Champions League took centre stage with RB Leipzig misplaced to Mainz 2-1, Borussia Mönchengladbach noticed off Heidenheim 3-0, Borussia Dortmund overcame St Pauli 2-0, Wolfsburg beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in addition to an essential recreation within the relegation battle with Hoffenheim overcame Bochum 1-0.
Here’s what we learnt:
The relegation battle is shaken up as soon as once more:
Losses for Heidenheim and St Pauli in addition to Hoffenheim beating Bochum now pulls the Kraichgauer facet away from the relegation zone and offers them a cushty lead over the relegation playoff spot. Of their subsequent two video games, Hoffenheim performs St Pauli and Heidenheim and successful each of these video games will greater than probably assure their security (faint booing). Nevertheless, it was all the time probably that Hoffenheim would keep up as in comparison with the groups round them, their participant high quality is much, much better. On prime of this, Hoffenheim can attain into the pockets of Sugar Daddy Dietmar Hopp and spend near what is going to rise to €90m this season, in comparison with Bochum and St.Pauli’s spending of and €2.25m this season.
Almost about who can be wherein positions come Might, it’s more and more probably that Holstein Kiel can be relegated, whereas Heidenheim’s performances on the pitch don’t spark any type of feeling that they may be capable of flip their scenario round, regardless of now being out of the Convention League. That leaves the relegation playoff spot which appears like it is going to be a three-horse race between Bochum (once more), St Pauli and Union Berlin.
RB Leipzig’s rebuild is approaching:
Leipzig is sort of a can of Purple Bull in the meanwhile; if the drink was sugar-free and had zero caffeine in it. Then you might be mainly ingesting one thing that has no profit to it and from its color, it appears a bit like wee. That is Leipzig. An underwhelming efficiency as soon as once more, this time they had been outplayed by Mainz and deservedly misplaced, not like in midweek.
You sense that even when Leipzig win the DFB-Pokal (God assist us all), that is the top of Marco Rose’s time as head coach, however it’s not solely him, it’s the gamers. There’s a honest argument to make that other than Xavi Simons, if Leipzig miss out on the Champions League, not one of the different gamers deserve huge strikes in the summertime. Benjamin Seško and Loïs Openda have particularly been underwhelming this season.
Contemplating Leipzig needs to be a crew to problem for the title sooner or later, they give the impression of being a good distance off it in the meanwhile. They are going to almost definitely must rebuild the crew and usher in a coach (Sebastian Hoeneß) who might probably assist the crew break the glass ceiling they’ve struggled to interrupt since gaining promotion to the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund take a constructive step ahead:
Two wins in a row for Dortmund this season and two begins in a row for Giovanni Reyna, neither of these items are associated.
Immediately’s win in opposition to St Pauli was removed from fairly, particularly in comparison with the win final weekend in opposition to Union Berlin, however that is the way you develop character, one thing that Dortmund lacks. The decide of the objectives was Karim Adeyemi’s the place he ran half the size of the pitch, solo, after a St Pauli nook, earlier than slotting previous the keeper. The winger seemed again to his finest at this time as he additionally performed an element in Serhou Guirassy’s opener. When Adeyemi is match and firing, he’s an actual asset to Dortmund as he affords issues that the remainder of the squad doesn’t, tempo and directness.
Again to Reyna, who was as soon as once more unable to place his stamp upon the sport, like in opposition to Union final week, however due to Carney Chukwuemeka but to be totally match and Julian Brandt not in his stride, Reyna received the beginning by depoll. I doubt that the American will begin in opposition to Lille, come to consider it, Reyna is a bit like a can of Purple Bull…
Anyway.
After a poor begin to his time in cost at Dortmund, Niko Kovac’s affect is turning into extra outstanding. Dortmund’s Champions League recreation in opposition to Lille in midweek will in all probability be his greatest check because the French facet have confirmed a troublesome facet in Europe this season.
What almost made the minimize:
Borussia Mönchengladbach began 18-year-old Tiago Pereira Cardoso, who stored a transparent sheet on his Bundesliga debut. That is the fifth keeper Gladbach have used since Yann Sommer left in 2023. Sadly, full-time Minecraft streamer and part-time Bundesliga striker Tim Kleindienst didn’t get on the rating sheet, so I can not use the heading ‘The Bundesliga’s finest striker is a Minecraft streamer’
The wheels appear to be coming off at Werder Bremen. After their Pokal exit in midweek to Arminia Bielefeld, they misplaced to Wolfsburg 2-1 to drop all the way down to twelfth and haven’t gained a recreation for the reason that finish of January.
GGFN |
