Bundesliga Matchday 25 roundup
Bayern Munich turned up the heat in the Bundesliga title race, while Borussia Dortmund struggled in the wind and rain against Stuttgart. On Friday night, Schalke improved but not by enough while Nuremberg lost again.
Hannover 2-3 Leverkusen
In perhaps the craziest game of the season, Leverkusen got a win that keeps them in the European race. Kevin Volland's brace had Leverkusen cruising, but heavy snow slowed the visitors and eventually stopped the game. Hannover were denied a goal when the snow held up Genki Haraguchi's shot, but battled back through Jonathas and a Mitchell Weiser own goal. Kai Havertz headed in a late winner.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 0-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt went into this match unbeaten in 2019 and duly handed Düsseldorf another goal-heavy 3-0 defeat. Yet they didn't have it all their own way as the hosts defended resolutely. Frankfurt turned their dominance into goals in the second half, though, with Gonçalo Paciência opening the scoring and Sebastian Haller scoring two goals late in the match.
Hoffenheim 2 - 1 Nuremberg
A double from Andrej Kramaric condmened Nuremberg to their 16th defeat of a dreadful season. The Croatian thought he'd won an early penalty but VAR replays showed he dived. Shortly after though, Kramaric did get the chance to score from the spot and took it. The hosts allowed Nuremberg back in through Hanno Behrens but an improvisational backheel from Kramaric settled it in the 78th minute.
Bayern Munich 6-0 Wolfsburg
The defending champions reclaimed the top spot in the Bundesliga with a dominant performance against Wolfsburg. Robert Lewandowski (left) scored twice and Serge Gnabry collected a goal and an assist, but it was Franck Ribery who stole the show with three assists off the bench. Bayern now lead rivals Borussia Dortmund by two goals with nine games to go.
Mainz 0-1 Gladbach
Dieter Hecking's side got their first win in over a month, although it was a result that flattered the Foals. Mainz were full of intent and had plenty of shots, but failed to really test Yann Sommer. In the second half of a game short on chances, Tobias Strobl found Nico Elvedi. His shot crept up under an impressive Florian Müller and Gladbach moved level on points with RB Leipzig.
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Stuttgart
Four days after their elimination from the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund got back to winning ways in the Bundesliga. Marco Reus (middle) put the hosts ahead from the spot, his 14th of the season, but Marc-Oliver Kempf equalized to leave Dortmund desperate. With time running out, Paco Alcacer (right) put BVB back in front before Christian Pulisic added a third in stoppage time.
Freiburg 2-1 Hertha Berlin
Freiburg collected their second consecutive home win on Saturday by dispatching Hertha Berlin. Nils Petersen (right) put the home team ahead when he headed in a cross from Vincenzo Grifo (middle). Hertha captain Vedad Ibisevic leveled the score in the second half, but his own goal 10 minutes from time gave Freiburg the victory.
Leipzig 0-0 Augsburg
Despite dominating for most of the game, Leipzig failed to earn all three points on Saturday against a stubborn Augsburg side. The hosts had 16 shots in the contest, half of which were on target, but the Bavarian team escaped with a valuable point away from home as they try to distance themselves from the relegation zone.
Werder Bremen 4-2 Schalke
The Green and Whites continued their unbeaten run in 2019 on Friday by dispatching Schalke in the Weserstadion. Milot Rashica (middle) scored in each half while Max Kruse (left) and Martin Harnik also chipped in. Breel Embolo scored twice in his return from a four-month injury absence, but it wasn't enough for Schalke as they extended their winless streak to seven games.