Kaiserslautern beat Klose, Wagner's woes at Hannover, Kiel win at last: 5 things we learned from 2. Bundesliga Matchday 9
| Sandro Wagner | Stuart Franklin/Getty Images |
Hertha extend their lead at the top, while six teams are level on points at the other end of the 2. Bundesliga table.
Hertha leave it late to extend perfect home start
Josip Brekalo's injury-time penalty-kick secured a narrow win for league leaders Hertha BSC against Arminia Bielefeld. A week after dropping points for the first time this season in the goalless draw with Holstein Kiel, Stefan Leitl's side avoided a similar outcome with yet another late victory.
The last five wins by the capital city club all came with second-half goals as they keep showing the mentality of champions. Hertha will face Regionalliga outfit Jeddeloh in the cup on Wednesday before tricky 2. Bundesliga fixtures against Kaiserslautern and Wolfsburg.
Kaiserslautern tie Nürnberg on points as Klose lost to his childhood club
Hertha's lead at the top is now extended to seven points after Miroslav Klose's Nürnberg lost for the first time in a special fixture for the 48-year-old coach. The World Cup legend started his professional playing career at Kaiserslautern before ending it as Germany's all-time top-scorer.
Nürnberg had several clear-cut chances in the game, but Julian Krahl's excellent performance in Kaiserslautern's goal and Erencan Yardimci's powerful header sealed another narrow win for the former Bundesliga champions. Despite only scoring nine goals, Kaiserslautern are now level on points with second-placed Nürnberg as they kept their seventh clean sheet of the campaign.
Kiel end winless start with big win over Dresden
Holstein Kiel are the only team to take points off leaders Hertha, but they had to wait until matchday 9 for their first victory of the campaign. Tim Walter's side achieved that feat with a 3-0 win over fellow relegation-threatened Dynamo Dresden.
Phil Harres continued his impressive form with a goal and an assist to lead them to their first victory since matchday 32 of last season. The 24-year-old scored seven goals in the last eight games at Holstein-Stadion. The result leaves six teams tied on eight points at the bottom of the standings.
Derby defeat for Wagner as Hannover’s woes continues
Hannover were one of the promotion favorites in pre-season, but they're already 17 points behind Hertha after only nine games. Christian Titz was relieved of his duty after the poor start to the season, and there are no signs of improvements so far under his replacement.
Former Germany and Bayern striker Sandro Wagner lost the Lower Saxony derby to Eintracht Braunschweig in his third game in charge of the club. After only a single point under the coach who also struggled during his time at FC Augsburg, Hannover now have the same number of points with bottom-placed Darmstadt.
Magdeburg score half a dozen against Karlsruhe
Magdeburg recorded the biggest win of matchday 9 with five second-half goals against Karlsruhe. The hosts are now level on points with the underachieving Wolfsburg side as the former Bundesliga regulars were held by Uwe Rösler's Bochum on Friday night.
Karlsruhe are rooted to the relegation zone as they conceded more goals in one match than their first three games on the road. Maximilian Senft's demoralized team need to show a reaction in their cup tie away at Bundesliga's cellar-dwellers Borussia Mönchengladbach as the captain Marvin Wanitzek didn't mince his words after Saturday's debacle.
