Bundesliga Bulletin: Matchday 26
March 12, 2018
Good weekend for: Robert Lewandowski, Leverkusen, Dortmund, Michy Batashuayi, Bremen
Bad weekend for: Hamburg, Mainz, Bruno Labbadia, Gladbach, Leipzig, Cologne
The Lowdown
— For the third time this season, the Bundesliga Matchday has stretched across a four-day weekend from Friday night to Monday evening. There are still two more to play — on Matchday 29 and 30 — and more unrest from Bundesliga fans is expected.
— Bayern Munich's 6-0 win at home to Hamburg seemed like little more than a formality. Everybody knew who would win this one; it was just a question of by how many. The latest victory for Bayern against HSV means that in Hamburg's last eight trips to Munich they have concede a whopping 50 goals. Bayern are better than most in Germany, but seriously HSV?
— Chaos rules in the north. Hamburg look ready to accept life in the second division after sacking their head coach Bernd Hollerbach just seven games after appointing him.
— Michy Batshuayi scored a 94th minute winner after Frankfurt thought they had earned a point with a 91st minute equalizer. The Belgian now has five goals and one assist in six games. For all the mistakes Dortmund have made this season, signing the 24-year-old on loan was not one of them.
— Cologne suffered another defeat, and this time it looks terminal. Victory over fellow strugglers Werder Bremen would have closed the gap on Mainz and Wolfsburg to just five points with eight games to play. But Bremen were too good for the Billy Goats and, despite a great effort to preserve their Bundesliga status, the gap now appears to large to bridge.
The Stats
— Robert Lewandowski's hat trick is worth a mention. The last of the three was his 100th since joining Bayern, and he only needed 120 matches to do it.
— Lewandowski's teammate Franck Ribery also earns a mention. The goal that he opened the scoring with against Hamburg was the 51,000th in Bundesliga history.
— Hapless Bruno Labbadia made a bit of history of his own, becoming the first Bundesliga coach to go eight consecutive matches without a win at two clubs – Hamburg and now Wolfsburg. Incidentally, since gaining promotion to the Bundesliga in 1997, Wolfsburg have never had so few points this late in the season (25 from 26 matches).
— Julian Nagelsmann is now Hoffenheim's most successful coach in the Bundesliga – the 3-0 victory over Wolfsburg was his 33rd, one more than Ralf Rangnick had during his tenure in Sinsheim.
— Since Christian Heidel moved to Schalke from Mainz, Heidel's former club hasn't scored a single goal against the Royal Blues. Friday's 1-0 defeat was their fourth straight against Schalke since Heidel moved from the Rhineland to the Ruhr district.
— With Schalke's 1-0 win over Mainz on Friday, there have been 39 games that have ended 1-0 in the Bundesliga this season. Stuttgart have won six games by that scoreline, and Hertha are the only team not to register that result this season. It's a fine line.
The quotes
"They didn't underestimate us today."
Hamburg coach Bernd Hollerbach after his team's 6-0 defeat in Munich.
"It's not much fun to have to face questioning after a game like that."
Wolfsburg's coach Bruno Labbadia after his team lost 3-0 in Hoffenheim.
"Since Jupp Heynckes joined us in October, the club has been floating on a cloud."
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness.
"Maybe we should take away the goals when we train. Maybe that would increase the lads' level of determination."
Hertha Berlin coach Pal Dardai on his team's recent lack of goal production.
"I'm not all that interested in the fact that I am more successful than my predecessor. If I were to quit now, I wouldn't be proud at the end of my life. So I guess we can carry on for a while longer."
Julian Nagelsmann on becoming the most successful coach in Hoffenheim's Bundesliga history
"No, that's up to the coach. Actually, I'm happy about it, because I was a bit tired. You could see that I was fresh when I was brought on."
Dortmund striker Michy Batshuayi on starting the match on the bench
The News
Hamburg have fired their head coach for the second time in 2018, parting ways with Bernd Hollerbach less than two months after his appointment.
Dortmund's Roman Bürki picked up his fourth yellow card of the season, leaving him one short of a potential suspension. Roman Weidenfeller is retiring this summer and has played just one game this season — the memorable 4-4 home draw against Schalke.
Gladbach's injuries are piling up. Jannik Vestergaard broke a metatarsus and strained a ligament in the 2-0 loss to Leverkusen. Teammate Vincenzo Grifo strained a knee ligament, while Englishman Reece Oxford tore a muscle in his upper thigh. Christoph Kramer is also suffering from a knee injury.
Josip Brekalo suffered a concussion against Hoffenheim on Saturday. The Wolfsbug attacker will be out of training for a while, but could return for the next game if cleared.