Three things we learnt from the Bundesliga Matchday 32 afternoon kick-offs – Heidenheim could do the unlikely, Hamburg more or less secure their Bundesliga status and the race for Europe heats up | OneFootball

With only three games left of the Bundesliga season, every game matters, and that was the case today with big games in the race for the Champions League as well as relegation.

Saturday’s Bundesliga afternoon games: Hoffenheim vs VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich vs Heidenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Hamburg, Union Berlin vs Köln, Werder Bremen vs Augsburg 

Here are the three things we learnt:

Heidenheim get a stay of execution (they couldn’t, could they?):

For the past two weeks, Heidenheim have been on the brink of confirming their relegation to the second division; however, they have been able to avoid it thanks to a positive result in those two games and now find themselves in a position where they are only three points off the relegation playoff with two games remaining. 

Away at the Allianz Arena looked like it was more than certain that Frank Schmidt’s side would be relegated today, however, they some how were able to take a 2-0 lead, and despite it looking like Bayern Munich would mount another comeback win, they held them off until Budu Zivzivadze scored the winner in the 76th minute, however, an own goal would mean they leave Munich with only a point.

If St.Pauli wins tomorrow, then Heidenheim’s relegation will be confirmed. But, if both teams fail to win, it will set up an interesting final two games with Heidenheim having a better set of fixtures, adding to the fact that Wolfsburg and St.Pauli play each other on the final day.

Heidenheim’s form is also far better than that of their relegation rivals. 

Hamburg more or less secure their Bundesliga status:

One team that will be in the Bundesliga next season will be Hamburg. Despite Albert Riera’s rant in his pre-match press conference, the north Germany side came back from 1-0 down to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Waldstadion. 

It now means they are eight points clear of rivals St.Pauli with two games remaining, but they also have a much better goal difference, and it would also require their city rivals to win tomorrow. 

While fellow northerners Werder Bremen look to be limping to the finish line in the Bundesliga. Their 3-1 loss to Augsburg means they are six points ahead of Alexander Blessin’s side, but with the latter having a game in hand. 

The race for Europe heats up:

In terms of Champions League qualification, the biggest game was between Hoffenheim and Stuttgart. 

In a PreZero Arena which was packed with Stuttgart fans (the distance between the two stadiums isn’t that large), Hoffenheim took the lead through Andrej Kramaric, and despite Chris Führich then equalising, Christian Ilzer’s side were 3-1 up by the 50th minute, and had overtaken their opponents in the table to move into fourth.

However, Stuttgart rallied with substitute Ermedin Demirovic making it 3-2 and then right at the death, Tiago Tomas made it 3-3 as he scored a tap-in to keep Stuttgart in the Bundesliga top four, but the pair are level on points still. 

In terms of the Conference League, Augsburg have now thrown their hat into the ring as they find themselves only three points behind Frankfurt. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan