Matchday 20 takeaways: Albert Riera’s task, Horst Steffen’s lifeline, and Mainz climb out of danger | OneFootball

Matchday 20’s Konferenz delivered three themes, Frankfurt’s defensive slide, Horst Steffen’s lifeline, and Mainz’s rise from danger. Get German Football News highlights them. Köln opened the round by beating Wolfsburg 1-0.

Frankfurt have conceded three in six of their seven games in 2026, 20 shipped in total. Appointed on Monday, Albert Riera has major defensive repairs to make, with his side eighth and eight points off Europe.

Leverkusen led 2-0 at half-time through Arthur and Malik Tillman, Robin Koch replied before Ellyes Skhiri saw red and Aleix Garcia made it 3-1 late on. FotMob data suggested Kasper Hjulmand’s team were not as dominant as the scoreline.

With pressure building, Bremen were better than Gladbach but trailed to Haris Tabakovic until Keke Topp’s late leveller took them up to 14th. It may have bought Steffen time, though supporters see wider issues and a recognised striker could help.

Augsburg beat fellow strugglers St Pauli 2-1, Michael Gregoritsch scoring his first since returning. Leipzig struck early against Mainz, but Nadiem Amiri’s first-half penalty and winter signing Silas’s goal after the restart, both timed at 49 minutes, sealed a 2-1 win. Urs Fischer’s team are out of the bottom three for the first time since matchday five, and have lost only once under him.

The results piled pressure on Hamburg, who slipped into the relegation places before facing Bayern, while Hoffenheim beat Union 3-1 to go level with second-place Borussia Dortmund, Niko Kovac’s side still ahead on goal difference by one.

Source: Get German Football News