Bundesliga Review - The Underachievers Strike Back

26Dec

Bundesliga Review – The Underachievers Strike Back

A long time ago (last weekend), in a galaxy far far away (to be more specific, Germany), it was time for the underachievers to strike back. For on “Surprise Saturday,” five of the seven games went against the grain. Now as in any epic, there were protagonists in this weekend’s action – Hertha Berlin, Leverkusen and Freiburg all have different reasons as to why they can be defined as underachievers.

Hertha had a bright start to the season but have faded badly since the departure of Markus Babbel whilst Bayer Leverkusen haven’t managed an assault on the title race despite finishing second last season. Their current coach Robin Dutt led Freiburg into the top half in 2011 but they’ve been languishing ever since his departure – until Saturday that is.

Schalke were looking to banish memories of their defeat at the Allianz Arena. Instead, they were caught cold by Freiburg, finally starting to show signs of life after a miserable spell with Marcus Sorg in the first half of the season. January signing Sebastian Freis netted the first before Daniel Caligiuri slotted a penalty meaning Christian Streich’s side took all three points despite a late consolation from Teemu Pukki.

Even the most resilient Schalke fan will admit any title chances they did harbour have faded after two poor performances on the road. However, Freiburg will be delighted to move off the bottom for only the second time in 2012. It was a good weekend also for their former manager, Robin Dutt.

He welcomed a Bayern Munich team which have been floundering away from home. They were wasteful in front of goal yet again and a mistake from Manuel Neuer allowed Stephen Kiessling to give the home side the lead with ten minutes to play. The victory was sealed in a sweeping counter attack where Karim Bellarabi applied the finishing touch, ensuring in the process that Leverkusen edge closer to Schalke in fourth.

As for Bayern Munich, their title chances are fading quickly as they continue to lose ground on Borussia Dortmund and it’s bizarre to think the only team to win at the runaway leaders this season are Hertha Berlin.

They finally won a game on Saturday, having lost every previous encounter in 2012. Nikita Rukavytsya scored the winner with a mishit half volley looping over Werder Bremen’s Tim Wiese. Coach Otto Rehhagel didn’t mind and neither did the rest of the Olympiastadion who witnessed Hertha’s first Bundesliga goal in just over a month. It meant back-to-back defeats for Werder, the team who Rehhagel led to the Bundesliga back in 1988 and 1993.

The team on course to lift the Bundesliga title this season is Borussia Dortmund. BVB edged out a plucky Mainz side 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park to extend the gap at the top to seven points. It was a sensational weekend for the Champions with their victory and defeat for the three teams trailing them.

However, credit must go to Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg. The trio have created a platform to build from in their remaining ten games. It wouldn’t be surprising if Leverkusen were to sneak into the Champions League places whilst it’s hard to see both Freiburg and Hertha surviving the drop. Nevertheless, on what could well prove to be a seminal weekend in the Bundesliga, may the force be with the underachievers.

For more on the Bundesliga, follow @arhindtutt

Matchday 24 Results:

Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Bayern Munich

Freiburg 2-1 Schalke

Hamburg 0-4 Stuttgart

Hannover 2-2 Augsburg

Hertha Berlin 1-0 Werder Bremen

Kaiserslautern 0-0 Wolfsburg

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Mainz

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Nuremberg 1-0 Gladbach

Hoffenheim 1-1 Cologne

Bundesliga Table:

Rank

Club

Matches

GD*

PTS*

Borussia Dortmund