Three things we learnt from the Bundesliga Matchday 29 afternoon kick-offs | Wolfsburg could finish dead last, Mortiz Nicolas is underrated, Leverkusen keep their UCL dreams alive. | OneFootball

After a successful week in Europe for Bundesliga sides, the German top flight returned for matchday 29, with four games in the afternoon following Hoffenheim and Augsburg’s 2-2 draw on Friday night.

The Saturday afternoon Bundesliga games saw Borussia Dortmund host Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg play Eintracht Frankfurt, Heidenheim were against Union Berlin, and RB Leipzig face Borussia Mönchengladbach. 

Wolfsburg may finish last:

Another week and more talk about Wolfsburg. 

The Bundesliga winners in 2009 are on the verge of relegation to the second division, which we have known for a couple of weeks. However, now it is becoming a possibility that they may even finish dead last as Heidenheim continue their resurgence. 

Following the Autostadt side’s 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt and Heidenheim’s 3-1 win against Union Berlin. It now means Frank Schmidt’s side are only two points behind Wolfsburg with five games left to play. 

Considering all the talk about Wolfsburg, if they finish last, this may add another layer of embrassament ot the current situation at the Volkswagen Arena. 

Moritz Nicolas – underrated?

Nicolas more or less accidentally became number one at Borussia Mönchengladbach, but since then, he has been one of die Fohlen’s most important players. 

Even though Gladbach ultimately lost to RB Leipzig 1-0, Nicolas was the main reason why the score line was kept so low. 

The 28-year-old made 11 saves this afternoon, placing him eighth for most saves in a Bundesliga game. Earlier this season, his 12 saves against Hamburg also saw him move into fourth. Add to this, former Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer also appears twice in the top 10, including ranking first for the 19 saves he made against Bayern Munich in 2023.

All this suggests that Nicolas is probably underrated and not given the credit he deserves as a goalkeeper, especially when it comes to the national team and Julian Nagelsmann’s preference to call up the likes of Finn Dahmen, who has not had as good an individual season as Nicolas has. 

Bayer Leverkusen are back on track:

After a run of draws, Bayer Leverkusen have now won their past two games. Last week’s 6-3 win against Wolfsburg, while this weekend saw a more convincing 1-0 win vs Borussia Dortmund.

Considering they had conceded six goals to the bottom two in their last two games, this was a very convincing defensive performance from die Werkself, as they were able to hold Niko Kovac’s side to only one shot on target (however, this could also be a testament to the horrible football that Dortmund are currently playing).

Although on the attacking front, it could have been better from Kasper Hjulmand, especially as their goal came from a long-range Robert Andrich striker, after a Ramy Bensebaini mistake. 

Leverkusen now move into fifth, thanks to a struggling Hoffenheim, and are now one point behind Stuttgart, who are in fourth. While the Bundesliga could still get the extra Champions League spot, keeping die Werkself’s Champions League dreams alive. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan