Dortmund - Bochum 3-0
Visiting the Signal Iduna Park has been a treacherous task for a long time in the Bundesliga, with Dortmund netting in each of their last 40 league games on home soil. The hosts needed just eight minutes to extend that club record, as Youssoufa Moukoko unleashed a venomous strike from outside the area, with the ball cannoning off the underside of the bar before settling in the back of the net.
Bochum’s nightmare start continued when Vasilios Lampropoulos tripped Donyell Malen inside the area. The resultant penalty, incredibly the ninth Bochum have conceded this term, was nonchalantly converted by Giovanni Reyna, as Dortmund appeared out of sight with less than 15 minutes on the clock.
Thomas Letsch’s men fought back, and saw a spectacular strike by Philipp Hofmann ruled out by VAR for offside. Their vulnerability at the back continued to cost them though, as they were perhaps fortunate to escape another penalty when Danilo clattered into Reyna inside the box. Relief from that scare would not last long, as Moukoko struck his second thanks to a crazy piece of goalkeeping. The 17-year-old was on the end of a long ball from the back, with Manuel Riemann so far outside of his area, Moukoko fired into an empty net from upwards of 30 yards to send his side in at the break with a three-goal advantage.
Bochum conceded three on this ground last term en route to a spectacular victory, but any chances of a repeat of that looked well beyond the realms of possibility. Regardless, Jordi Osei-Tutu found himself bearing down on goal in the inside left channel, only denied by a combination of Gregor Kobel and the post.
At the other end, Moukoko was pursuing a hat-trick, as he would be the youngest player to achieve this feat in Bundesliga history. He spurned a huge chance from close range, weaving his way past defenders before firing wide. A positive afternoon was boosted for Edin Terzić when Marco Reus made his return from injury, while Bochum remained four points adrift of safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund)
Augsburg - Frankfurt 1-2
Enrico Maaßen’s team have made a habit of throwing away winning positions recently, culminating in last week’s heartbreaking injury-time loss to VfB Stuttgart. Eintracht Frankfurt’s fortunes have been somewhat different this season, reaching the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on their first appearance in the competition since they reached the final more than 60 years ago.
Augsburg had scored first in seven of their last eight matches, and they wasted no time in doing so once again. With just 30 seconds on the clock, Ermedin Demirović’s ball allowed Mërgim Berisha to find a pocket of space and strike well beyond the reach of Kevin Trapp for the fastest Bundesliga goal this season. The Eagles endeavoured to respond immediately, and it took all of 12 minutes for Junior Dina Ebimbe to slot a quality ball across the face of goal to the feet of the arriving Sebastian Rode, who made no mistake in levelling the score. Both sides looked capable of going in front during the rest of the first half. Dina Ebimbe was denied by a returning Rafał Gikiewicz before Kevin Trapp produced a wonderful reflex save to stop Demirović finding the net for his second.
Despite missing the spark of midfield maestro Daichi Kamada, Frankfurt were not lacking in creativity, inspired in the final third by Bundesliga returnee Mario Götze and league assists leader Randal Kolo Muani. Oliver Glasner’s side got their reward for their attacking play after 65 minutes, when a corner was cleared out to substitute Ansgar Knauff who placed his finish into the far corner, with Gikiewicz unsighted.
The Fuggerstädters struggled to create chances in the closing stages, and Trapp was left untroubled. The three points for Die Adler means that they can continue their assault on the UCL places, which they will aim to reach before the break for the FIFA World Cup. The Bavarians, meanwhile, will be wary of allowing themselves to slip into a relegation battle and will need to shore up a defence which has now let in 18 goals in their last seven games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Junior Dina Ebimbe (Frankfurt)
Hertha Berlin - Bayern 2-3
Hertha had avoided defeat in their previous four home games, but they knew they would have to be at their very best to continue that unbeaten run against the German champions. Unfortunately for the hosts, a loss of possession in their own half allowed Bayern to take the lead in the 12th minute when Jamal Musiala fired home from Sadio Mané’s layoff.
Following Bayern’s early opener, the game settled down with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances until a chaotic period ensued towards the end of the first half, with four goals arriving in eight minutes. Choupo-Moting reacted quickest to Leon Goretzka’s blocked shot, poking the ball home to find the net for the seventh consecutive game in all competitions. Within 60 seconds of his first strike, the Cameroon international was celebrating once again thanks to a scrappy effort that bounced off his knee and past the helpless Oliver Christensen.
Hertha appeared to be down and out, but from seemingly out of nowhere, Dodi Lukebakio produced a superb volley to give his side a lifeline. Sensationally, there was still time for the hosts to halve the deficit before HT as Davie Selke sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from the penalty spot after being fouled by Benjamin Pavard. Following a much-needed 15-minute break, Bayern thought they had re-established control of the contest when Agustín Rogel directed the ball into his own net. However, the celebrations were cut short as VAR ruled that Alphonso Davies had taken up an offside position in the build-up.
As the contest drifted into the final 10 minutes, Hertha worked tirelessly to find an equaliser, which ultimately proved elusive as Bayern held firm to extend their unbeaten streak to 11 competitive games. Although the defeat leaves the hosts two points above the bottom three, they would have taken confidence from a battling display.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich)
Hoffenheim - Leipzig 1-3
Desperate to end their three-match winless run at PreZero Arena in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim set out to contain a dangerous RB Leipzig side that earned the second most league points since Marco Rose’s appointment in early September. Inevitably, Leipzig’s early pressure paid off when Christopher Nkunku struck his fourth direct free-kick in the Bundesliga with a curling effort that flew into the top corner.
The visitors continued to control possession and pressed for a second until Marcel Halstenberg nearly gifted Hoffenheim an equaliser. The defender was easily dispossessed on the edge of the area by Georginio Rutter, who raced through on goal and struck towards the bottom corner only to be denied by the fingertips of Janis Blaswich. Sensing a first away league win of the season, Leipzig showed no let up and Dani Olmo curled in a second before HT after some neat link-up play with Nkunku, but the strike was ruled out by VAR for offside.
Hoffenheim came out in the second period with new-found confidence and levelled when Angeliño, on loan from Leipzig, came back to haunt his parent club with a teasing cross that Rutter headed into the bottom corner for his first goal since August. Despite the positive start, Hoffenheim struggled to contain Nkunku and the Bundesliga’s top-scorer restored Leipzig’s lead when he controlled in the area and volleyed into the net past a troop of defenders for his 24th goal of 2022 - breaking Timo Werner’s previous record of 23 scored in a calendar year. Hoffenheim pushed for another equaliser and were then exposed in defence when Dani Olmo raced into space and unleashed an unstoppable strike to seal the victory.
Nkunku once again proved his importance to Leipzig. His second goal gave his side momentum at a critical point in this contest as Die Roten Bullen hold on to sixth place in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim couldn’t build momentum after temporarily giving themselves a chance of recovery and three consecutive home defeats sees André Breitenreiter’s side fall from European contention to ninth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
Mainz - Wolfsburg 0-3
Separated by just four points in Bundesliga’s mid-table ahead of the game, Mainz versus Wolfsburg was always going to be a competitive and tight affair. The hosts managed to begin on the front foot however, and with Wolfsburg often boxed inside their own half throughout the first period, Koen Casteels was forced to keep out both Marcus Ingvartsen’s chipped effort and Dominik Kohr’s deflected strike.
Kohr’s fortune in front of goal did not improve from there, either, with his driven effort slamming off the post from outside of the area at the half hour mark. And, as it turns out, they were wasted chances that Mainz would live to regret, with Felix Nmecha’s knockdown at the other end soon allowing Wimmer to swivel and convert inside the area to give his side the lead in the 33rd minute.
The second half continued in the same fashion, with Mainz keeping the majority of possession, although it was Wolfsburg who enjoyed the better chances going the other way, hitting the bar through Nmencha’s volley early on in the second period. Such was the way of the game, the visitors soon had their second thanks to a moment of madness from Robin Zentner, who could only look on in bemusement as Arnold’s free-kick from distance devastatingly swerved at the last moment to make it 2-0 in the 70th minute.
Sealing all three points, former Mainz player Baku came back to haunt his former side, comfortably slotting home when one-on-one late on for his second goal in as many games to see Wolfsburg move to within a point of their defeated opponents in mid-table, and mark consecutive H2H wins.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg)
