15.30 kickoffs: Freiburg's undefeated season continues while Bayern, Dortmund, and Leipzig all win
Interest in the 2021/22 German Bundesliga's latest set of 15:30 kickoffs was so great that it literally crashed the websites of two of the country's most well known footballing news sources.
In a fantastic set of four simultaneous kickoffs, title challengers Bayern and Dortmund were able to secure victories. Jesse Marsch's Leipzig were able to avoid a shocking upset with a 4-1 comeback win.
The big story remains that Christian Streich's Schwarzwaldverein maintained an undefeated record via a 2-0 victory that sent VfL Wolfsburg to their fourth straight league defeat.
In a fantastic set of four simultaneous kickoffs, title challengers Bayern and Dortmund were able to secure victories. Jesse Marsch's Leipzig were able to avoid a shocking upset with a 4-1 comeback win.
The big story remains that Christian Streich's Schwarzwaldverein maintained an undefeated record via a 2-0 victory that sent VfL Wolfsburg to their fourth straight league defeat.
Freiburg trainer Christian Streich put together a 3-4-3 with Lukas Kübler and Christian Günter working as advanced wingers. Mark van Bommel's latest attempt to bring some rhythm to his team resembled a 4-1-2-3. Joshua Guilavogui played sweeper. Maximilian Arnold and Aster Vranckx worked ahead of the former captain as sixes. Ridle Baku (right) and Renato Steffen (left) were back to their regular wing sides whilst Lukas Nmecha started again as the center forward.
The two sides fought extremely hard for every inch of the midfield during the opening quarter-of-an-hour at the Volkswagen Arena. The Lower Saxon hosts finally seized some initiative after the 15th with Nmecha missing a couple of close chances. After the match settled back into a midfield stalemate for a while, Philipp Lienhart finished off a Vincenzo Grifo free-kick on a second effort in the 29th. Buoyed by the opening goal, the Breisgauer guests the produced some sustained offensive pressure in pursuit of a second.
It was still the Wolves who would reap the clearer chances from a match suddenly a great deal more open. Kevin Mbabu barely missed in the 35th and Nmecha slammed one of the crossbar less than a minute later. Seconds before it was time to head into the tunnel, Freiburg's Nico Schlotterbeck's distance laser whizzed just past the post. Disapproving whistles accompanied the home team as they headed off the pitch.
Van Bommel waited until 11 minutes after the restart to employ personnel changes. Dodi Lukebakio and Maximilian Philipp came on for a 4-2-3-1 reformat. This did lead to significantly more scoring chances, with Baku and John Anthony Brooks nearly getting the equalizer on a double chance in the 64th. Five minutes later, however, it would be Freiburg captain Günter who unlocked striker Lucas Höler for a 2-0 lead. A hail of substitutes impeded much of a flow thereafter for either team.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga's 15:30 kickoffs, SpVgg Greuther Fürth nearly caused quite the sensation away at Leipzig. A tired and mistake prone RB side conceded a late first half goal to Branimir Hrgota meant that the struggling Saxons fell behind 0-1 at home.
Jesse Marsch's men were nevertheless able to fight back with some fresh legs and a tactical shift at the half. Substitute Yussuf Poulsen scored the equalizer soon after the restart. The team soon cruised to a 4-1 victory that also featured goals from Emil Forsberg, Dominik Szoboszlai, and 18-year-old Hugo Novoa.
The eagerly anticipated visit of Sebastian Hoeneß' TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to league leaders Bayern proved a very interesting tactical chess match. Only two pieces of absurd skill from Serge Gnabry enabled Bayern to go up 2-0. The visiting Kraichgauer kept it competitive until the record champs scored two more in the final ten minutes.
For Borussia Dortmund, the absence of Erling Haaland proved no significant problem away at Bielefeld. A 5-4-1 spearheaded by Donyell Malen easily dispatched the Teutoburgs 3-1. Veterans Emré Can and Mats Hummels chipped in goals in the victory.