In the 15th attempt, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim won again in the Bundesliga and took their new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo out of the criticism, at least for the time being. The Kraichgauer prevailed in the duel of the relegation candidates against Hertha BSC 3-1 (2-0). They left the last place in the table and jumped to 15th place. For the Berliners, the situation after the 25th matchday is once again more than precarious: the capital club slipped to the relegation place and offered a disappointing performance.
Four days after the Champions League humiliation by Erling Haaland and Manchester City, RB Leipzig also made a fool of itself in the Bundesliga. At their actual favorite opponent VfL Bochum, against whom RB had previously won all eight competitive games, Leipzig lost 0-1 (0-0) and could slip out of the Champions League places on Sunday. In the current competition in the premier class, RB was eliminated on Tuesday with a 7-0 defeat in the round of 16 second leg in Manchester, with ex-Dortmunder Haaland scoring five times. Bochum, on the other hand, are 14th after their second win in a row and suddenly have a four-point lead over the relegation place. Two weeks ago after the 0: 2 against Schalke they were still last. The scorer of the decisive goal was Erhan Masovic (48th). The Serbian defense chief scored for the fourth time in the second half of the season.
With a majority, FC Schalke 04 saved an important point in the relegation battle with a penalty goal by Marius Bülter in added time. The Royal Blues, who were still undefeated in the second half of the season, drew 1-1 (0-0) at FC Augsburg, who had to settle for a draw in their 200th home game in the Bundesliga after four wins at home. Even without a goal from attacker Mergim Berisha, who was nominated for the national team for the first time, Augsburg were initially on course for victory. The 24-year-old’s goal-scoring job was taken over by midfielder Arne Maier (51st minute) in front of 30,360 spectators in the sold-out WWK Arena on Saturday.
With the next defeat, the situation of VfB Stuttgart in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga becomes more and more tricky. The 0:1 (0:0) against VfL Wolfsburg was another setback for the Swabians. In a long-distance duel with their rivals in the fight for remaining in the class, the Swabians slipped from trainer Bruno Labbadia to last place in the table. In front of 44,900 spectators, former VfB striker Omar Marmoush decided the game for Wolfsburg with his goal in the 56th minute. Coach Niko Kovac’s team from Lower Saxony had the hoped-for sense of achievement to keep up in the race for international places. In the final phase, Stuttgart demanded a hand penalty when substitute Enzo Millot shot Sebastiaan Bornauw – but referee Felix Brych decided against a penalty.
Despite their superiority, Borussia Mönchengladach only managed to win 2-2 (0-0) against Werder Bremen on Friday evening. Marvin Ducksch (65th minute/89th) saved the Hanseatic League from another away bankruptcy in the Lower Rhine, where Werder last won twelve and a half years ago. Gladbach thus missed the connection to the international starting places. Both teams now have 31 points each on their account. French striker Marcus Thuram (48th), who had missed great chances in the first half, made it 1-0 for Gladbach. After Ducksch equalized in the meantime, Florian Neuhaus (73rd) put the hosts back in the lead. Ducksch was successful again shortly before the end of regular time.
