The Bundesliga continued: Week 3

          If your sole purpose for tuning into the Bundesliga action these past three weeks was to see Englishman Jadon Sancho and his Borussia Dortmund teammates knock Bayern Munich off the pedestal of German football, you can look away now. Bayern currently have a seven-point cushion over Dortmund with just five fixtures remaining, meaning the twenty-nine-time German champions can clinch the title with just three more wins. Hansi Flick’s side don’t face the most routine run-in with the current 4^th, 5^th and 6^th place sides remaining on their schedule, two of which (Bayer Leverkusen this Saturday and Wolfsburg on the final day) come away from home. The other being Borussia Monchengladbach in two weeks’ time. With fixtures against second bottom Werder Bremen and Freiburg at home, along with their unrivalled squad depth, it still seems an insurmountable task for Dortmund to make up ground on Bayern Munich at this stage.

            The Bundesliga is far more than a two-horse title race between the champions, Munich and the challengers, Dortmund. As it stands, following Leipzig’s 4-2 win over Cologne on Monday night, just four-points separate 2^nd place Dortmund and 5^th place Leverkusen for Champions League qualification, with Leverkusen and Monchengladbach (4^th) currently level on points. Separated only by four goals. All four of those in contention for Europe’s premier continental competition have shown flashes of Champions League quality throughout this season, yet come the end of June, one side will be left out in the cold, in that 5^th placed Europa League position. This weekend saw all four sides pick up three points. Once again Leverkusen turned to their young talisman Kai Havertz for inspiration on Friday night, a close-ranged toe-poke through the keepers’ legs was enough to secure the three-points early into the second half. Monchengladbach and Dortmund both despatched of their opponents with ease on Sunday afternoon. Rising star Florian Neahaus provided some individual brilliance for Gladbach’s opener in their 4-1 drubbing of Union Berlin. The young midfielder danced around the Berlin box before losing his footing and sliding the ball off the post and in. A Marcus Thuram double either side of Berlin’s only goal of the day was followed up by an Alassane Plea strike ten minutes from time to seal the victory. Gladbach’s front line of Plea, Thuram and Stindl is one of the league’s most alluring when in the mood. Gladbach’s triumph was followed by a ‘tea-time’ kick-off between whipping boys Paderborn and second placed Dortmund. With an injury to Haaland in the ‘Klassiker’ last Tuesday night, Sancho was handed his first start since the league continued, a decision that clearly paid off for Lucien Favre. After a slow start to their outing (0-0 at half time) Sancho’s second half hat-trick helped Dortmund hit Paderborn for six. Emre Can slotted back into midfield in place of Dahoud who is out for the year and instantly brought more stability in an area that Bayern Munich exploited in last weeks’ ‘title decider’. Hazard and full backs Hakimi and Schmelzer all got on the score sheet in the 6-1 win. The first half stalemate was more down to Dortmund’s sluggish play than Paderborn holding their own with the big boys. This mismatch offered up an insight into Dortmund’s merciless attitude going forward and a brief recap of why Paderborn find themselves in the position they are.   

 At the foot of the table it seems that poor Paderborn, enjoying just their second stint in the top tier, are doomed to face relegation. Paderborn currently stand eight-points off the relegation play-off position (16^th place) and nine away from automatic safety. With Champions League seeking Leipzig (away), Monchengladbach (home) and relegation battling sides Bremen (home), Union Berlin (away) remaining, Paderborn must find some comfort in the absence of supporters watching them plummet to the 2. Bundesliga once again.

This enticing end to the league season is heating up at the base of the division where Werder Bremen, once a consistent representative of German football in Europe, teeter above automatic relegation. Der Grün-Weißen are two-points away from Fortuna Dusseldorf in that relegation play-off spot and three away from Mainz in 15^th (safety). With a game in hand tonight at home to fellow strugglers Eintracht Frankfurt, Bremen could yet pull off a great escape. With an average age of 26.5, Werder work with the 5th oldest group in the league, using 30 players along the way, they also rank 3rd with the most personnel fielded. Saturdays professional display at Schalke is proof that this squad has the credentials to stay put in the top flight. Werder had their opponents on the back foot throughout much of the afternoon, holding a high back line and controlling the middle of the field. Davy Klassen will prove to be an instrumental figure should this side survive, the Dutchman is at the heart of everything Bremen attempt. Leonardo Bittencourt’s curling long range effort after half an hour was a strike worthy of winning any game. Bremen have been a permanent fixture in the Bundesliga since 1981, their threat of relegation is one of the stories to monitor in the coming weeks. Frankfurt, Augsburg, Union Berlin and Mainz could all be dragged into the battle for safety:

Pos	Team	P	GD	PTS
12	Eintracht Frankfurt	28	-7	32
13	Augsburg	29	-16	31
14	1.FC Union Berlin	29	-18	31
15	Mainz 05	29	-25	28
16	Fortuna Dusseldorf	29	-27	27
17	Werder Bremen	28	-29	25
18	SC Paderborn 07	29	-29	19

            Bremen have reignited optimism amongst their supporters after three clean sheets on the bounce including two road wins in that time against Schalke and Freiburg (both 1-0). Werder Bremen are hitting form at the perfect time. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Union Berlin in their maiden Bundesliga season. Only Schalke have endured a worse ‘restart’ than the new kids on the block. In four rounds of fixtures since the three-month hiatus Union have found the net just twice, tied with bottom club Paderborn and just once more than the woeful Schalke. Whilst their status as a topflight club is in jeopardy, Union can find some solace in their remaining fixtures. Home games against Schalke, Paderborn (who may already be relegated upon the time of their meeting) and 16^th placed Fortuna Dusseldorf, all appear ‘win-able’ fixtures to help steer Union from the drop. Fortuna Dusseldorf are dangling above automatic relegation by a thread. With Europa League chasing Hoffenheim, 2^nd placed Dortmund and 3^rd placed Leipzig left to play within the next two weeks, Dusseldorf may need to defy the odds to keep from the drop.

Pos	Team	P	GD	Pts
6	Vfl Wolfsburg	29	5	42
7	Hoffenheim	29	-8	42
8	Freiburg	29	-3	38
9	Hertha Berlin	29	-7	38

That final Europa League spot is also up for grabs with four teams, split by four-points, vying for 6^th place. Wolfsburg currently occupy this position, ahead of Hoffenheim by goal difference only, with Freiburg and the in-form Hertha Berlin followed closely in pursuit. 

Freiburg have only feasted on European football four times in their history with the most recent coming just two seasons ago. They remain in the hunt for qualification once more but must overcome a tough schedule against the likes of Wolfsburg, Hertha, Munich and Monchengladbach. Each of the four sides featured in the above table meet with two top five sides between now and the conclusion of the season. Competition for the final vacancy in Europe’s inferior continental tournament could go the distance. With home advantage a thing of the past (at least for the time being) ‘studying’ the form and predicting results is of little help. With so much on the line in the business end of the campaign, high stakes have drawn attention away from empty seats and the ongoing situations outside of the beautiful game.