Three things we learnt from the Bundesliga Matchday 30 afternoon kick-offs – Wolfsburg win at the 13th attempt, chaos in the Nordderby, Augsburg all but confirm survival | OneFootball

With only five matches left in the Bundesliga this season, we are well into the business end of the season, with relegation and European places still up for grabs.

Following St.Pauli and Köln’s 1-1 draw on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon featured Borussia Dortmund vs Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen vs Augsburg, Union Berlin vs Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen vs Hamburg.

Here are the three things we learnt:

13th time’s a charm for Wolfsburg:

Union Berlin vs Wolfsburg was filled with storylines. First, there was the fact that Wolfsburg are flirting heavily with relegation, and they really needed a win, while the obvious was Marie-Louise Eta managing her first game as Union’s interim head coach, making her officially the first-ever female head coach in the Bundesliga and in Europe’s top five leagues.

However, despite Union being the better side than Wolfsburg for much of the game, they were unable to come away with the win, after early goals from Patrick Wimmer and Dzenan Pejcinovic in either half. Going off the stats, you can quite easily say – they were unlucky, and Wolfsburg got lucky. 

It was a very different style of play from what die Eisernen had been used to under Stefan Baumgart, so there was obviously going to be an adaptation period for the squad, and that was shown today. 

While for Wolfsburg, they ended a 13-match winless run, with their last win coming against St.Pauli on the 14th of January. The win closes the gap on the relegation playoff spot, held by the Hamburg side, but they still find themselves six points off Bundesliga safety. With only four games remaining, the size of that gap looks too difficult to close. 

Chaos in the Nordderby:

Neither team is entirely safe from relegation, but the Nordderby proved to be a rather chaotic affair.  

First, Bremen got a big win thanks to a Jens Stage double and a late goal from Cameron Puertas to beat Hamburg 3-1. However, there was one red card, one red card overturned, and then doubts about Leandro Bittencourt not being sent off for a challenge on Miro Muheim. 

The result now means both teams are five points clear of the Bundesliga relegation playoff. Bremen have a must-win game against Augsburg, while Hamburg have shown that they struggle without Luka Vuskovic in the backline, and with a tough set of fixtures to end the season, they will likely have done enough to retain their Bundesliga status. Just.

Finn Dahmen all but guarantees Augsburg’s Bundesliga safety:

Augsburg were never really in trouble of relegation, especially after they replaced Sandro Wagner with Manuel Baum, but today’s 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen basically secures their Bundesliga status for another season, and that is thanks to Finn Dahmen.

The goalkeeper made nine saves (via FotMob) and was able to keep out Leverkusen, who had a total of 35 shots in the loss. 

As well as Dahmen, luck was on Augsburg’s side as they won a penalty right at the end of the game, which Fabian Rieder converted to win them the game. 

The three points now mean that Baum’s side are 10 points clear of 16th with four games remaining, which, although it is mathematically still possible, is unlikely. 

Now their attention can turn to finishing as high as possible, as there is a scenario where Augsburg could play European football next season, depending on the result of Bayern Munich and Freiburg in Europe. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan