15:30 Kickoffs: Frankfurt send Union to 12th straight defeat, Bayer survive TSG comeback, Mainz stun Leipzig
Every last set of concurrent matches in the Bundesliga's latest set of 15:30 kickoffs remained exciting until the very last minute on Saturday afternoon. When the dust finally settled, Bayer 04 Leverkusen were able to maintain their hold on first-place in the Bundesliga table with a 3-2 win over Hoffenheim.
A home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt also ended up sending 1. FC Union Berlin into the relegation zone. A 12th consecutive defeat for Urs Fischer's Eisern Union leaves the German Champions League representatives in 16th place in the table.
Union find themselves tied on points with FSV Mainz 05 after the Rheinhessen upset visiting RB Leipzig at the MEWE Arena. All 18 top-tier clubs have now won at least one match thanks to the shock upset from interim trainer Jan Siewert's side.
The crisis continues for 1. FC Union Berlin after the team from the German capital's Köpenick quarter suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of visiting Eintracht Frankfurt at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Urs Fischer's Eisern Union simply could not make it work against Dino Toppmöller's SGE on Saturday afternoon. An early Omar Marmoush brace placed the hosts in too deep of a hole to climb out of. Some verve in attempting to fight back proved wholly insufficient.
A home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt also ended up sending 1. FC Union Berlin into the relegation zone. A 12th consecutive defeat for Urs Fischer's Eisern Union leaves the German Champions League representatives in 16th place in the table.
Union find themselves tied on points with FSV Mainz 05 after the Rheinhessen upset visiting RB Leipzig at the MEWE Arena. All 18 top-tier clubs have now won at least one match thanks to the shock upset from interim trainer Jan Siewert's side.
Union trainer Fischer made three changes to the team that got booted out of Germany's domestic cup competition by Stuttgart on Tuesday. Leonardo Bonucci and Robin Gosens took the place of Jerome Roussillon and Kevin Volland. The recently returned from suspension David Datro Fofana also took over for slumping striker Kevin Behrens. Fischer ditched his unsuccessful 4-2-3-1 in favor of a 3-4-3 constellation.
SGE trainer Toppmöller made six rotations to the Pokal side that topped Viktoria Köln midweek. Kevin Trapp, Tuta, Philipp Max, Dina Ebimbe, Ansgar Knauff and Omar Marmoush started in place of Jens Grahl, Makoto Hasebe, Auerlio Buta, Niels Nkounkou, Jessic Ngankam and Jens Petter Hauge. Frankfurt also lined up in a 3-4-3.
Matters got off to the worst possible start for the hosting Köpenickers. The inability to clear a Fares Chaibi free-kick in the 2nd led to Marmoush netting the 1-0. Another series of defensive lapses twelve minutes later led to Marmoush recorded a blitz brace in the 14th. Hugo Larsson unlocked the Egyptian international in the box for the 2-0. The unmarked Marmoush had a simple tap-in.
To their credit, the Berliners did attempt to mount an immediate response. Fofana headed over a fabulous chance in the 18th. The capital city side applied consistent pressure until matters flatted out around the 25-minute-mark. Unfortunately, Fischer's team grew visibly timid when their attempts to pull a goal back failed. It took time for die Eisernen to collect themselves after the restart.
After some time, however, Union were able to find their footing. Fofana tested Trapp with a wicked effort in the 59th. The will of the beleaguered side could not be denied. Gosens and Aïssa Laïdouni - actively working down the FCU left-hand-side - mounted plenty of worthy and determined charges deep into SGE territory. The final pass nevertheless never materialized.
The failure to find precision in the final third eventually came back to haunt the losing side. A mistake from Gosens enabled Eintracht sub Nacho Ferri Julia to score the 3-0 off a counter in the 81st. The affair lulled to a sleepy finish following the decisive goal. The FCU players couldn't help but slump their collective shoulders after suffering their 12th straight defeat.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga's 15:30 kickoffs, league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen were able to survive a comeback from hosting Hoffenheim at the PreZero Arena. Xabi Alonso's Werkself saw a 2-0 lead erased by Pellegrino Matarazzo's Kraichgauer in a two-minute-span early in the second half. Fortunately for Germany's red company team, Alexandro Grimaldo was able to restore the lead with his second goal of the match in the 70th. Die Werkself remain undefeated at the top of the table following the 3-2 win.
Over at the Europa Park Stadion in Breisgau, Borussia Mönchengladbach weren't able to survive their own comeback scare against a hosting side. Gerardo Seoane's Fohlenelf built up a 3-1 halftime advantage against Christian Streich's SC Freiburg, but the Schwarzwälder were able to pull themselves back within striking distance in the final 20 minutes. Vincenzo Grifo eventually scored the 3-3 from the penalty spot on the final play of the game at 90+6.
A match between 1. FC Köln and FC Augsburg at the RheinEnergieStadion ended rather uneventfully in a low-scoring 1-1 draw. A match between Mainz and Leipzig at the MEWE Arena appeared headed for a similar fate, but the hosting Rheinhessen were able to pull out two goals in the final 15 minutes. Mainz have their first win of the season after besting Marco Rose's German Red Bulls 2-0. Interim trainer Jan Siewert's tenure is thus off to the perfect start. The Pfälzer Carnival Club also pull themselves off of last place with the victory.