Bundesliga matchday 18 review: Frankfurt sack Toppmöller, Hoffenheim up to 3rd, last minute winners, and more

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·19 Januari 2026

Bundesliga matchday 18 review: Frankfurt sack Toppmöller, Hoffenheim up to 3rd, last minute winners, and more

Matchday 18 in the Bundesliga concluded a frantic Englische Woche, gave us plenty of goals, last minute winners, a head coach dismissal, and an ever-tighter relegation battle. Here’s everything you need to know from matchday 18 in the Bundesliga.

Frankfurt Sack Toppmöller

Eintracht Frankfurt have sacked head coach Dino Toppmöller after his side drew 3-3 against Werder Bremen on Friday evening. It was a fantastic match for the neutral and one in which Frankfurt scrapped a point thanks to a 94th minute equaliser by Ansgar Knauff. Turns out this wasn’t enough to keep Toppmöller in a job, nor is a point really that good for either club who need three points for very different reasons given their position in the league.

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Following his dismissal, Toppmöller explained: “I would have loved to continue working with this team and facing the challenges ahead. But I accept the decision. I went to Eintracht every day with great passion and joy, and regardless of the current unsatisfactory situation, which undoubtedly exists, I am proud of what we have achieved together over the past two and a half years.”

However, with Frankfurt winless in four, dropping down to 7th in the table, and the worst defensive record in the team bar the bottom two, Toppmöller’s position was untenable.

Considering Frankfurt are still in the Champions League, they can attract a good calibre of head coach. Some of the current available options are Marco Rose, Edin Terzic or Roger Schmidt. While there are other former Bundesliga head coaches, such as Sandro Wagner, Bo Svensson and Adi Hütter.

TSG Hoffenheim Go Third

What a season TSG Hoffenheim are having. After 17 games, they’ve already beaten last season’s points tally of 33, which saw they just about survive in the top flight. Having beaten Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-1 in midweek, followed up by an excellent 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on matchday 18, Hoffenheim are looking good value for a Champions League spot.

It’s a far cry from club legend Andrej Kramaric’s rant last season. No one covering the Bundesliga has forgotten Kramaric’s epic tirade in a post-match interview just over one year ago.The fact that precisely one year after Kramaric trashed the entire direction of his club, he’s now being prepared to be honored by it by being entered into the club’s Hall of Fame. This development simply seems fitting enough for Kramaric’s entire career. Despite the fact that he always seemed to have one foot out the door, he never ended up passing through it.

Manager Christian Ilzer deserves a lot of credit and could be on course to secure European football for the club and possibly the coach of the year award. Up next for TSG, an away trip against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Dortmund Leave It Late

Borussia Dortmund were made to work for their Matchday 18 win over St. Pauli, who fought back from two goals down to equalise through Ricky-Jade Jones in the 72nd minute, but the English forward went from hero to zero, conceding a penalty deep into stoppage time.

Up stepped BVB captain Emre Can, who converted his spot kick in the sixth minute of added time to secure an important three points for the Black-Yellows, much to the delight of head coach Niko Kovač, whose heart rate was no doubt high.

“That’s what football is all about,” said Kovač. “You think you’ve got the game in the bag, and then you fail to seal the deal. “The important thing is that we won, and with that victory behind us, it’s easier to travel to London.” “I’m the lucky one today,” Kovač said when it was his turn to speak during the post match press conference. “If I were in his [Blessin’s] shoes, I would see it the same way. I can’t tell you whether it was in or out. I’m surprised VAR intervened. That’s just how it goes these days.”

Dortmund’s win keeps the gap to third place, with a trip to London in midweek where they face an out-of-form Tottenham Hotspur as they look to secure their knockout berth in the UEFA Champions League.

Around the Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich came from 1-0 down to score five second half goals against RB Leipzig in Saxony. Micheal Olise scored the goal of the match, with a thumping effort from just outside the box which found the roof of the net. There were also goals from Serge Gnabry, Harry Kane, Jonathan Tah, and Aleksander Pavlovic. To put the cherry on the cake for Bayern, Jamal Musiala made his return following injury last summer in the Club World Cup.

FC Köln earned their first Bundesliga win since November with a 2-1 win at home against Mainz 05. Former Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Kaiserslautern striker Ragar Ache never really qualified as a flop, but didn’t get many league starts and garnered a reputation for squandering easy scoring opportunities after he was introduced off the bench late in matches. Ache’s two goals served as his first Bundesliga tallies since Köln last won a Bundesliga match in early November.

Elsewhere, there were draws between Wolfsburg/Hoffenheim, Hamburg/Gladbach, Stuttgart/Union Berlin, and Augsburg/Freiburg.

GGFN | Jamie Allen