With six rounds of the 2020/21 Bundesliga to play, Super Saturday threw up some huge results in the races for the title, Europe, and relegation.
In the match of the weekend, fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt won a seven-goal thriller against third-placed Wolfsburg, and even though Borussia Dortmund won to take fifth place, they are still seven points behind the Eagles and with time rapidly running out.
In the other Bundesliga 2021 results of the day, a draw for FC Bayern kept RB Leipzig’s slim hopes of catching the Bavarians alive, though a ninth consecutive league title is still the likely outcome.
There will be some twists and turns to come, so stay with us here SBOTOP as the drama unfolds in the final six rounds.
Frankfurt’s Top Four credentials confirmed
The Eagles cut BVB adrift by beating them last week and this victory over the dangerous Wolves has really put Adi Hutter’s team’s destiny in their own hands. The Austrian-born head coach led Eintracht to a ninth-place finish last season, and they have been in the top four during much of this campaign.
The back-to-back games against BVB and Wolfsburg were sure to test their credentials and the Eagles have passed with flying colours.
On Saturday, the Champions League hopefuls traded blow for blow as Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst made it 2-2 just after the break. Andre Silva scored his 23rd goal of the season to nudge Frankfurt ahead and then Erik Durm made it 4-2 before Wolfsburg grabbed a late goal to set up a tense finish.
The result was a serious blow to Borussia Dortmund’s top-four hopes while they came through a stiff test against VFB Stuttgart to win 3-2. After going a goal down, Jude Bellingham and Marco Reus put die Schwarzgelben in charge. They were pegged back by a Daniel Didavi goal, rounding off a lightning Stuttgart break, but Ansgar Knauff kept his cool to score a late winner.
BVB’s chances of making the 2021/22 Champions League are shrinking fast, and they have an uphill battle in this year’s European competition, hoping to overturn a first-leg deficit in their quarter-final tie against tournament favourites Manchester City.
Failure to qualify for Europe’s premier competition will make it harder for BVB to hold on to Erling Braut Haaland and a rebuilding job may be required at Signal Iduna Park.
Berliners are battling
FC Union Berlin kept their Europa League hopes on track with a battling 1-1 draw away to FC Bayern, a result which ended die Bayern’s winning run and kept the title race alive.
Without the injured Robert Lewandowski and the COVID-sidelined Serge Gnabry, the Bavarians lacked a cutting edge and had to wait until the 68th minute to go ahead when Jamal Musiala was on hand to fire them in front from a corner.
But despite having 14 shots on goal, the league leaders only managed two on target and they were made to pay when Berlin’s Marcus Invargtsen pounced to score a late equaliser from close range.
Union’s city neighbours Hertha Berlin are in a relegation fight, particularly after Arminia Bielefeld climbed out of the bottom three with an impressive victory over SC Freiburg on Friday night.
Hertha came from behind twice to earn a point with a 2-2 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach, but it was a scrappy affair; Jhon Cordoba had to wait for a VAR review to confirm his equaliser and Hertha played the majority of the game against 10 men after die Fohlen’s goalkeeper Yann Sommer saw red for taking out Cordoba with just 13 minutes on the clock.
Hertha are a single point above in-form FSV Mainz, currently in 16th and with a winnable game away to 17th placed Koln on Sunday.
The nerves are beginning to shred in Berlin.
Red Bulls haven’t given up quite yet
Bayern’s draw with Union Berlin kept the door slightly open for Leipzig and they responded with a thumping victory over Werder Bremen to cut the gap at the top to five points.
After Dani Olmo had given the Red Bulls an early lead, 25-year-old Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth was on target twice. Bremen pulled a goal back from the penalty spot before captain Marcel Sabitzer made it 4-1.
It was a clinical display by Leipzig, who dominated possession and had Bremen chasing shadows for much of the game. The hosts won the shot count by 12 to eight but Red Bull were ruthless in front of goal, with four shots on target and each one counting, while Werder were limited to speculative efforts and a spot-kick.
Against a decent mid-table side this was a convincing display and one worthy of a side chasing a first league triumph.
For sure, the Bundesliga 2021 betting odds have Die Roten Bullen nailed on for second place, but while they are still in the race and, with Lewandowski’s progress in doubt, Julian Nagelsmann’s chasers will not yet concede the title.
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