FC Bayern have moved seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table with just seven games left to play after landing a crushing blow on challengers RB Leipzig in the European match of the weekend.
Both Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt won on Saturday to further cement their top four places while, at the bottom end of the table, the tension is rising as the teams scrap for points and survival.
Bavarians have nerves of steel
Even without the injured Robert Lewandowski, Bayern managed to see off the challenge of their closest rivals at the Red Bull Arena thanks to a 38th-minute strike by Leon Goretzka which flew into the top corner after good work from Thomas Muller.
This was always going to be Bayern’s biggest test of recent weeks and the Red Bulls came out flying in the second half to try to keep the title race alive.
Christopher Nkunku, Marcel Sabitzer and Dani Olmo were all agonisingly close with their efforts, but David Alaba and Lucas Hernandez stood firm at the heart of the Bayern defence while keeper Manuel Neuer had a relatively comfortable afternoon.
Die Roten Bullen dominated long periods of the game with more possession and more shots, but the telling statistic is that only two of the hosts’ 14 shots were on target, while Bayern hit the mark with five of their nine efforts on goal.
This was a classic away victory and the reigning champions proved they can cope just fine without their top scorer.
The Bundesliga 2021 betting odds say Hansi Flick is about to lead his team to a record ninth successive Bundesliga title and there’s no way I’m going to bet against that!
Dortmund cut adrift by Frankfurt
Of all this week’s Bundesliga 2021 results, Borussia Dortmund’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park was quite possibly the most important.
The 2-1 loss to Eintracht meant that Dortmund have drifted seven points behind the Champions League spots. Had the hosts won, the gap would have been reduced to a single point; such was the magnitude of this result.
After Nico Schulz put through his own net to give Frankfurt a lead, Mats Hummels equalised before the break. But Portuguese hitman Andre Silva found space to head in a late winner. That makes it 22 for him on the season, a tally which takes him above BVB’s Erling Braut Haaland into second place behind Lewandowski in the Bundesliga top scorers list.
Die Schwarzgelben are still in the Champions League and have a mouth-watering clash against the SBOTOP competition favourites Manchester City looming. But this defeat to Eintracht has made it all the more difficult for BVB to keep hold of Haaland, with the Sky Blues one of a number of clubs tracking the Norwegian striker.
Third-placed Wolfsburg had to work hard to beat Cologne, and they were held at bay by the strugglers until the 69th minute when top scorer Wout Weghorst teed up midfield ace Josip Brekalo to fire low into the corner.
Cologne gave this game all they had, with a good share of possession and nine shots to high-flying Wolfsburg’s 12, and if they can become more clinical in front of goal they will give themselves a decent chance of survival.
Relegation fight will go all the way
But it’s very tight at the bottom of the Bundesliga table with just two points separating FSV Mainz 05, in 14th place, from 17th-placed Arminia Bielefeld.
Mainz and Bielefeld drew 1-1 in a tense affair. After a goalless first half Daniel Brosinski converted a penalty to give Mainz a lead which looked like giving them a crucial three points until Andreas Voglsammer fired a low shot into the corner to hand Bielefeld a deserved share of the spoils.
That point puts Arminia level on 23 with Cologne and the new boys are hopeful of securing a second season at the top flight. And it keeps Mainz, who have been on a superb run, earning eight points from four games, in the relegation mix.
Hertha Berlin makes up the four teams fighting for two places; they are a point behind Mainz and have a tough assignment in the Berlin Derby on Sunday as Union aim for a Europa League place.
Schalke are as good as gone after another defeat, this time a 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen which takes them 13 points away from safety.
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