Three things we learnt from Bundesliga Matchday 27 afternoon kick-offs – The Rhein Derby delivers, Wolfsburg edge towards relegation and goals galore | OneFootball

Friday night in the Bundesliga set the precedent for the amount of goals that would be scored this weekend, when RB Leipzig beat Hoffenheim 5-0. 

The Saturday afternoon games continued that trend, with the highlight being 1.FC Köln vs Borussia Mönchengladbach, while Wolfsburg played Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich hosted Union Berlin, and Heidenheim were against Bayer Leverkusen. 

Here are the three things we learnt:

The Rhein derby delivers:

Heading into this game, just to add more fuel to the fire, both teams are in a relegation fight on top of the usual derby intensity. It set this game up well, and it delivered.

In the Domstadt, the match started at a breakneck speed with Jens Castrop opening the scoring within the first minute. Before, Said El Mala equalised three minutes later to get back at his former club. Then, three minutes after that, Ragnar Ache turned in a Jakub Kaminski cross to make it 2-1. 

Within 20 minutes, it was 2-2 when Philipp Sander’s coverted his rebounded effort. 

Just after half-time, Castrop would score again to make it 3-2 with the pick of the goals with his long-range striker hitting the crossbar on its way in. What makes the 22-year-old’s performance so impressive is the fact that he was on the books at Köln, but they let him go, and he moved to Nürnberg. 

Eric Martel would equalise on the 84th minute with a header, but two minutes later, he would be sent off for a second yellow following an elbow to Joe Scally. 

Overall, this derby had it all, and in terms of fighting to avoid relegation, Gladbach will be the happiest with the result, as Effzeh still remains only two points clear of the playoff spot. 

Wolfsburg edge towards relegation:

Bundesliga winners in 2009, but it looks increasingly likely that Wolfsburg will be relegated for the first time in their history since being promoted in 1997.

Today’s relegation six-pointer against Werder Bremen was a must-win for Dieter Hecking’s side if they want to begin their turnaround. However, thanks to a Justin Njinmah goal and several big saves from Bremen keeper Mio Backhaus, the visitors (who brought plenty of fans with them) ran out 1-0 winners. 

For Daniel Thioune’s side, it gives them a four-point lead over the relegation zone. While for Wolfsburg, this loss could prove critical. They only have two games remaining against fellow teams fighting relegation, and considering they also play four of the top seven, it is not looking good for the Autostadt side, and their Bundesliga run is coming to an end.

Goals galore in the Bundesliga:

After last weekend’s poor performance on the goal-scoring front with 15 goals scored across all nine games, this Saturday afternoon in the Bundesliga has already surpassed it. 

Adding to Gladbach and Köln’s 3-3 draw as well as Bremen’s 1-0 win over Wolfsburg. There was a 4-0 win for Bayern Munich against Union Berlin, thanks to goals from Michael Olise, Harry Kane and a Serge Gnabry double. The surprise result of the day was Heidenheim vs Bayer Leverkusen.

Following on from their poor performance on Tuesday against Arsenal, Leverkusen threw away a 2-0 lead to end up drawing 3-3 with last-placed Heidenheim.

The result means that on Saturday afternoon alone, 17 goals were scored across four games. That takes the total for this matchday to 22 goals. However, the Bundesliga record is 53 goals across a matchday, set on Matchday 32 of the 1983/84 Bundesliga season. Some of the most notable results include a 7-3 win for Werder Bremen against Kickers Offenbach, 7-1 for Gladbach over Bayer Uerdingen and 5-2 between Bayern Munich and Kaiserslautern. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan