– Compiled by BenderTime –

SC Freiburg 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Michael Ballack scored the only goal in the 2nd minute. It came off of a corner kick that landed in front of Ballack and he did the rest. Leverkusen keeper and Bernd Leno made sure that relegation-candidate Freiburg stayed on course. He was Kicker’s man of the match. Freiburg out shot Leverkusen 7:2, but was never able to equalize. Leverkusen was able to gain a place in the table, while Freiburg remained dead last.

FC Bayern Munich 4-0 1. FC Nürnberg

FC Bayern continued to dominate the Bundesliga with a thumping of Nürnberg in the 183rd Bavarian derby. Kicker’s man of the match Mario Gomez started the scoring in only the 2nd minute after a precise cross from Bastian Schweinsteiger. Roles were reversed for the second goal, as Gomez laid the ball off for Schweinsteiger to rocket it into the back of the net. Franck Ribery got on the scoresheet in 39th minute with a trade mark run across the top of the box ending with a shot in the corner of the net. With the win secured, Bayern took the peddle off the gas in the second half with an important Champions League match coming up midweek. But Gomez was able to add his second goal in the 68th minute, with surely one of his easiest goals of the season.

FC Schalke 04 3-1 1899 Hoffenheim

The legendary Raul began the scoring with a controversial goal that touched his hand on the way into the net. The referee didn’t see it as intentional and allowed the goal to stand. Schalke had clear chances but were not able to extend their lead in the first half. Hoffenheim was able to equalize in the 63rd minute when Vedad Ibisevic was able to connect with a cross to volley in the 1:1. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was brought down in the box and converted the penalty to give Schalke the lead 2:1. Huntelaar added another goal in the 76th minute to secure the win and keep pace with Mario Gomez in the top-scorers list. Lewis Holtby was Kicker’s man of the match because of his involvement in almost every scoring chance. Schalke 04 overtook Dortmund for second place in the Bundesliga, while Hoffenheim dropped one place.

VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund mimicked last season’s form against Köln, but was not able to keep the momentum in Stuttgart. Dortmund hit the post early, but it was Stuttgart who scored first after Sedar Tasci cleaned up a free kick from 5 meters out. Right before half, Lukasz Piszczek was able to equalize for the German champions after a great pass from Shinji Kagawa. Kicker’s man of the match and Stuttgart’s goalkeeper Sven Ulreich was able to keep Dortmund from gaining the lead with a few world class saves. A highly attacking game that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Both teams remained in contention for spots in Europe, with Dortmund 3rd and Stuttgart 6th.

VfL Wolfsburg 2-3 Hertha BSC

In what was the match of the day, Berlin was able to come out top in the end of a thriller. In the 27th min. Raffael was able to take a heavenly pass from Pierre-Michel Lasogga and bury it from a tight angle to put Berlin on top. VfL Wolfsburg’s striker Mario Manzukic was able to equalize 5 minutes later in front of an open net. Kicker’s man of the match Lasogga picked up his second assist after he was rewarded a penalty after being brought down by Wolfsburg’s keeper. Levan Kobiashvili cooly put Hertha up 1:2. Chances were numerous for both teams with Hertha’s RB Christian Lell being denied by the post. Marcel Schäfer scored Wolfsburg’s second goal on a well taken free kick in the 84th minute. A minute later Lasogga capped off his MotM performance with a well deserved goal and the winner for Hertha BSC. Both teams remain in the middle of the table.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 Hannover 96

It was a battle between teams that are in contention for spots in Europe. Marco Reus provided even more evidence as to why he is one of the most exciting young prospects in the Bundesliga. Reus gave Gladbach the lead in the 21st minute with a left footed shot in the near post. Hannover answered with a goal from a set-piece, when Emmanuel Pogatetz was able to get his head on a Pander cross. Kicker’s MotM Marco Reus scored his second goal, and the eventual winner, after dribbling passed a few defenders at the top of the box and slotted in a right footed shot. Hannover were not able to convert after Reus’ goal. A very attack orientated game that saw the individual class from Reus come out on top.

FSV Mainz 05 1-3 Werder Bremen

Mainz was able to get on the score sheet first after a corner kick flew into the net off of the head of Niko Bungert. Bremen’s striker Claudio Pizarro (MotM) equalized in the 29th minute with his 150th Bundesliga goal. Bremen’s keeper Tim Wiese was able to save a few clear chances from Mainz. Aaron Hunt put Bremen in the lead with a screamer from 25 meters out. Mainz were far from clinical and were punished in the 78th minute by a Sebastian Prödl goal. Mainz continues it’s slide with it looking like they will be fighting off regulation. Bremen jumped two places to a Champions League qualification spot.

1. FC Köln 3-0 FC Augsburg

Augsburg made it easy for Köln’s Lukas Podolski as he was able to run rampant. Kicker’s MotM put Köln in the lead in the 19th minute with a shot with his world class left foot. The German national team player scored his second goal from the spot. Slawomir Peszko gave Köln their third goal in the 56th minute. Augsburg had the same amount of shots as Köln but were unable to be as clinical. They continue to fight relegation, while Köln remains in the middle of the table.

Hamburger SV 1-1 1. FC Kaiserslautern

New Hamburg trainer Thorsten Fink was still looking for his first win in the Bundesliga. It would not came as both teams settled for an exciting one-all draw. Hamburg were a man down by the 22nd minute when Slobodan Rajkovic received a straight red for an ill-advised challenge. Pierre De Wit gave Kaiserslautern the lead in the 38th minute with a finesse shot near the top of the box. Kicker’s MotM and Hamburg’s keeper Jaroslav Drobny kept Kaiserslautern out of the net for the rest of the game. Hamburg’s striker Paulo Guerrero headed in the equalizer in the 64th minute. Hamburg is slowly working its way out of the relegation zone but still has a lot of work to do. While Kaiserslautern can ill afford to slip up being only a few spots in front of them.