Bundesliga current: Wolfsburg party, Augsburg offside drama

E15 days before Christmas things are getting really cozy in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. There are only five points between ninth and seventeenth. Only bottom club Mainz 05 is beaten – and will face FC Bayern on Sunday. The results and the table can be found here.

What are the lessons from the basement duel between St. Pauli and Heidenheim?

First of all: The phrase “the table doesn’t lie” has rarely been as fitting as it was at this relegation summit at Millerntor. Here two teams actually played as you would expect from the sixteenth and seventeenth places in the table. Fighting attrition seems to be a good idea. After all, Pauli’s record transfer Martijn Kaars finally scored his first two goals in his twelfth Bundesliga game after the 4.5 million man had scored 21 times in 36 games for second division club Magdeburg. These were Hamburg’s first goals in their home stadium since September 27th (1:2 against Leverkusen) and they brought their first home win since September 14th (2:1 against Augsburg).

The fact that it was still close was partly due to Eric Smith being sent off for a supposed emergency stop against Heidenheim’s Marvin Pieringer when the score was 1-0 immediately before the break. And again to Heidenheim’s Stefan Schimmer. This time he didn’t score himself, as he did in the last-minute victories against Union Berlin and Freiburg, but he did prepare Pieringer’s goal to make it 1-2. By the way, it was Schimmer’s 143rd substitution in his 161st Bundesliga game. But even the super joker was no longer able to win a point.

Will Eintracht get back on track after the recent negative run?

At least a bending right of way. It is an attribute that has been around at least as long as the Bundesliga: Eintracht Frankfurt – that is and remains the eternally moody diva from the Main. What everyone was raving about after the 5-1 win at the start of the Champions League against Galatasaray. A few tough abrasion followed, for example against Atlético, Liverpool (1:5 each) and most recently in the league at RB Leipzig. The Hessians carried this 0:6 and a 1:2 in Barcelona with them in the home game against FC Augsburg, while their opponents recently had reason to celebrate: When Sandro Wagner’s successor Manuel Baum took office a week ago, the Swabians had snatched a 2-0 surprise win against Bayer Leverkusen. And now it was also the 100th Bundesliga game as a coach for Baum, who will vacate his position at Christmas and return to his old job as head of development and football innovation. Baum may take his daughter Noemi to the riding stable more often in the future. He had promised her his own horse if he made 100 appearances as a Bundesliga coach.

Eintracht were able to celebrate at the end of the eventful week because Ritsu Doan’s shot was deflected unstoppably by FCA defender Chrislain Matsima. That Matsima, the one after 125 seconds for which Augsburg had scored, unfortunately the crosser Kristijan Jakic was offside beforehand. The VAR delegation in Cologne refused to recognize the goal. And three minutes before the end, the assistants in the basement showed their vigilance when Noahkai Banks supposedly scored Augsburg’s equalizer. After two FCA goals were whistled away, Frankfurt won 1-0. The diva, this time in a good mood again after a number of mood swings during the 90 minutes.

Will Hoffenheim get back on the road to success after the setback in Dortmund?

Clearly: yes! 15,000 HSV fans made their way to Kraichgau, euphoric about the Northern thriller against arch-rivals Werder Bremen. But TSG Hoffenheim didn’t care, after all, you don’t need a sizzling home game atmosphere there to play good football. Coach Christian Ilzer’s team is becoming more and more of a surprise team this season. And also impressed against Hamburg, although one wondered why Grischa Prömel was so unguarded when he headed the ball to make it 1-0 (8th minute). Even when Ozan Kabak (31′) made it 2-0, which was admittedly well played, it looked as if the HSV defense had thought: “Hey, we beat the big SV Werder, what can Hoffenheim do to us?” A look at the table often protects against underestimating an opponent: Hoffenheim moved up to a Champions League place, at least temporarily, thanks to the comfortable 4-1 win.

Miracle healer Eugen Polanski – will he lead Gladbach back into the top half of the table against Wolfsburg?

Clear answer: Not at first. Instead, the Wolves moved within one point of Gladbach. Preparer Lovro Majer and goalscorer Patrick Wimmer unpacked the debut present for Wolfsburg’s new sports director Primin Schwegler in the fourth minute: The Austrian used the Croatian’s cross in perfect manner, leaving Gladbach defender Philipp Sander and goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas no chance to defend.

It was already over, the fine series of the foals, who had recently stayed three times in a row without conceding a goal. The early 0:1 also signaled the end of Borussia’s other series: They had remained unbeaten for five games, but on Saturday there was a 1:3 home defeat, which the Gladbachers, who were completely indisposed, especially in the first half, really deserved. Wolfsburg’s Austrian Wimmer struck again for his second Bundesliga brace.