The Winners
Borussia Dortmund
The Schwarzgelben find themselves top of the Bundesliga table with nine games to go this season. The Klassiker that comes straight after the International break now takes on an even huger significance and the result of that clash will go a long way in determining whether BVB can finally end Bayern Munich’s monopoly of the Bundesliga title. Rapahel Guerreiro put in an inspired performance from midfield, while Sebastien Haller grabbed a brace of goal in the 6-0 triumph over Köln You’d have to say it is advantage Dortmund at the moment, but Bayern at the Allianz Arena is going to be the real test for Edin Terzic’s men.
Hoffenheim
Saturday was a massive test for Hoffenheim and they passed it well. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s job was reportedly on the line after an abysmal run of seven consecutive league defeats and a DFB Pokal exit. They beat Hertha rather easily with two first half penalties from Andrej Kramaric decisive. Yes, it was ‘only’ Hertha but in terms of lifting the mood and giving the Sinsheim club some much needed confidence it was huge. It also save Matarazzo from a trip to the job centre on Monday morning!
Marvin Ducksch
Against Gladbch it was Niklas Füllkrug’s strike partner Marvin Ducksch who stole the headlines after grabbing both goal in the 2-2 draw at the Borussia Park on Friday. Both goals showed his ability and for once his co-striker had to be content with the role of provider and remains on 15 goals for the season.
Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen inflicted Bayern’s third defeat of the season and went a long way to banish the shame of their horrible performance in the Hinrunde fixture- a display that ultimately cost Gerardo Seoane his job. Xabi Alonso produced an intelligent tactical display to beat his former club and with Exequiel Palacios producing a superb performance in midfield and VAR twice correcting the referee to (correctly) award the Werkseld two penalties- dispatched coolly by Palacios.
The Losers
VfB Stuttgart
The response at the end of the match from the fans at the Mercedes Benz Arena said it all- the Swabians were atrocious. Bruno Labbadia’s side failed to produce a single worthy effort on goal and the 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg saw them slump to the bottom of the table. The writing seems to be on the wall for Stuttgart and ‘relegation specialist’ Labbadia is going to have to pull a huge rabbit out of the hat if he is to save the club from the dreaded drop.
Heftige Pfiffe im Stadion aus der Kurve. Die Stimmung ist gekippt. #VfB pic.twitter.com/u1fZrMKWBD
— Kurpfälzerle Karone 🌈🕊️ (@Kar0ne) October 9, 2022
Munas Dabbur
The mood of celebration at the Pre Zero Arena was somewhat spoilt by the sending off of Israeli striker Munas Dabbur only a minute after he had entered the pitch as a second half substitute. His late challenge on Dodi Lukebakio was a 100% red card and looked a real shocker. In his defence it was out of character, but he will not enjoy watching the replay and will think twice next time before putting his foot in.
RB Leipzig
Is that Leipzig’s title chance over? Following their 7-0 Champions League thrashing at the hands of Manchester City and Erling Haaland, it was RB’s task to raise their spirits and beat a struggling Bochum side in the Bundesliga. The hangover from the Etihad was however still being felt as Marco Rose’s side slumped to a 1-0 defeat. Die Roten Bullen now face a real battle with Union Berlin and Freiburg to clinch a top four place this season.
Emir Demirovic
Like Dabbur, Demirovic saw red in Augsburg’s 1-1 draw with Schalke and with yellow cards flying about like confetti in the first half, it seemed only a matter of time before referee Daniel Schlager flashed the red card. A dangerously high boot that caught Tom Krauβ in the face was the downfall for Demirovic.
