15.30 Kickoffs: Dortmund and Bayern deliver strong statements with shut-out victories
The top-three of the German Bundesliga table are set well ahead of the completion of the 2022/23 campaign's 11th round. FC Bayern München move up to second place following an impressive 2-0 win over Hoffenheim.
Bayern secure second place while Freiburg are locked into third after their own 2-0 win over SV Werder Bremen. Borussia Dortmund have also cracked the top-four courtesy of a 5-0 demolition of VfB Stuttgart.
Both Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt have the chance to overtake the BVB this evening.
Borussia Dortmund were able to punch their way back into the top-four with a remorseless 5-0 rout of of VfB Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon at Signal Iduna Park. Edin Terzic's Schwarzgelben took immediate control of the affair and were unrelenting in their ability to finish off chances. Jude Bellingham earned a brace in the thrashing. Raphaël Guerreiro registered two assists. Niklas Süle turned in a command performance on both sides of the ball.
Bayern secure second place while Freiburg are locked into third after their own 2-0 win over SV Werder Bremen. Borussia Dortmund have also cracked the top-four courtesy of a 5-0 demolition of VfB Stuttgart.
Both Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt have the chance to overtake the BVB this evening.
BVB trainer Terzic opted for four personnel changes from the midweek 2-0 DFB Pokal win over Hannover 96. Two of these changes were enforced. Thomas Meunier had to bow out with a broken cheekbone. Donyell Malen was unable to partake due to illness. Emré Can and Thorgan Hazard were also rotated to the bench with Bellingham Giovanni Reyna, Mats Hummels, Karim Adeyemi, and serving as the newcomers. Die Schwarzgelben lined up in what appeared to be a basic 4-2-3-1.
VfB Stuttgart interim trainer Michael Wimmer, on something of a hot-streak after beating down Bochum 4-1 last weekend and rolling over Arminia Bielefeld 6-0 in the Pokal, rotated in six fresh players from the Wednesday victory. Regulars Florian Müller, Naouirou Ahamada, Serhou Guirassy, Waldemar Anton, Dan-Axel Zagadou, and Konstantinos Mavropanos all returned in place of Fabian Bredlow, Pascal Stenzel, Atakan Karazor, Chris Führich and Luca Pfeiffer. The basic VfB tactics were not dissimilar to the last league round.
Match official Daniel Schlager had barely blown the opening whistle when the Westphalian hosts opened the scoring. On the very first Dortmund charge Bellingham cut through and shuffled out for Süle, once again playing at the right-fullback-position. The young English phenom maneuvered himself into perfect scoring position to polish off Süle's return cross for the 1-0 in the 2nd. The Swabian guests did well in enough in attempts to muster a response, yet were stymied by a well-organized BVB defense.
Dortmund were nevertheless able to apply the clinical edge in the 13th, securing the 2-0 on just their second real chance of the game. This time Süle himself volleyed home a Guerreiro free-kick to double the advantage. Terzic's men did lie back a bit after attaining their lead. The VfB applied pressure without really generating much of a threat. Süle put in some marvelous defensive play as well, clearing several long-balls intended for Stuttgart strikers Guirassy and Tiago Tomas.
Reyna and Youssoufa Moukoko effectively drove the final nail into the coffin shortly before the halftime break. The two teenage talents combined beautifully in the 44th. Reyna supplied the 3-0 with a deft flick of an incisive Moukoko ball from about 11 meters out. The hosts would continue to be ruthless after the restart. Bellingham bagged a brace in the 53rd with a beautiful move and into the top corner from just inside the area.
Moukoko added a fifth goal in the 72nd after Guerreiro was allowed to stroll through the defeated VfB ranks unchallenged. Stuttgart themselves were nearly able to snatch a late consolation goal back in the 89th long after Dortmund gave up on the press. Substitutes Luca Pfeiffer and Juan Jose Perea had a goal chalked off when the latter was determined to have scored from an offside position. The Swabian guests thus couldn't pull a single positive out of the drubbing.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga's 15:30 kickoffs, FC Bayern München also delivered a profound statement with a 2-0 shutout win over Hoffenheim. Though Julian Nagelsmann's charges on tallied twice on their return to the city that launched the FCB trainer's head-coaching career, the 2-0 win was quite convincing. The German record champions will finish the weekend in second as a result.
The eagerly anticipated "Battle of the German Company Teams" ended in a 2-2 draw over at the BayArena. There were four lead changes and a missed penalty in the four-goal affair that saw VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen split the difference. In a positively insane encounter over at the WWK Arena, Leipzig and Augsburg also drew 3-3. Marco Rose's Red Bulls achieved an improbable late comeback.
Down south in Breisgau, SV Werder Bremen were unable to overcome an early sending off of captain Marco Friedl. Christian Streich's Freiburg took their time in dusting their Hanseatic guests off after being given the man advantage in the 14th, but were ultimately able to earn a 2-0 victory. Freiburg will finish the weekend in third place thanks to the win.