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Bundesliga wrap: Dortmund rout Schalke as live football returns
A compiled report of all the matches that took place on Day 1 of Bundesliga resumption.
Borussia Dortmund thrashed traditional rivals Schalke 04 4-0 to close the gap on champions and leaders Bayern Munich to one point as the Bundesliga restarted on Saturday after a two-month break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The outcome of the Ruhr derby, played with no spectators present as players’ voices echoed in the empty stadium, left second-placed Dortmund on 54 points from 26 games, behind Bayern who visit Union Berlin on Sunday. Schalke, who stretched their winless league run to eight games having scored only two goals in the process, dropped two places to eighth on 37 points.
Dortmund, who had won seven of their last eight games before the league was halted in mid-March, picked up where they left off as Portugal midfielder Raphael Guerreiro scored twice while Erling Haaland and Thorgan Hazard added a goal each. The home team fired on all cylinders from the start and Norway striker Haaland opened the floodgates with a trademark finish from inside the penalty area, steering the ball home after a sweeping move down the right.
Julian Brandt released Hazard with a clever touch and the Belgian delivered an inch-perfect low cross for Haaland, who beat goalkeeper Markus Schubert with a first-time shot from eight metres in the 29th minute. Guerreiro made it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime when he unleashed a fizzing low shot from 14 metres into the bottom left corner after Brandt put him through.
Hazard added the third in the 48th minute after another lightning break by the home side, finding time and space to beat Schubert as Haaland released Brandt and the latter squared the ball past a solitary defender. Guerreiro put the icing on the cake in the 63rd with a goal of the highest quality, having started the move with a darting run and then finished it with a sublime shot after a defence-splitting pass from Haaland carved Schalke open.
Schalke became the first Bundesliga side to make five substitutions when Timo Becker replaced Jonjoe Kenny late in the lop-sided contest. Dortmund celebrated their first league win over Schalke since November 2015 in line with coronavirus regulations, keeping the mandatory two-metre distance between them as they lined up in front of the famous Yellow Wall stand after the final whistle.
Wolfsburg beat Augsburg 2-1 with stoppage-time winner from Ginczek
Wolfsburg stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games with a 2-1 win at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, moving up to sixth in the standings as the season restarted on Saturday inside an empty Augsburg Arena.
Daniel Ginczek’s stoppage-time winner secured the points after Augsburg’s Tin Jedvaj had cancelled out Renato Steffen’s first-half opener. Augsburg were playing without their new head coach Heiko Herrlich on the sidelines as he was not allowed to attend the match after breaking quarantine by leaving the team hotel to buy toothpaste.
Winger Ruben Vargas went close to giving Augsburg the lead with a low shot that nearly caught out goalkeeper Koen Casteels, but his initial block slowed the ball down enough for him to claw it back before it crept over the line.
At the other end, Wolfsburg’s players appealed for a penalty when Jedvaj’s attempted clearance inside the box hit his arm. Wolfsburg took the lead two minutes before halftime when Steffen used the pace of a cross to head home from 15 metres out, giving diving keeper Andreas Luthe no chance to make a save.
The players did not celebrate as a group as part of social distancing protocols, but they could not resist the urge to give the Swiss a couple of high-fives and fist bumps. The home side equalised from a second-half set piece when John Brooks’ headed clearance went the wrong way, came off goalkeeper Casteels’ hands and hit the bar before bouncing on the line where Jedvaj was on hand to head home.
Felix Uduokhai thought he had given Augsburg a 2-1 lead when he headed home from another set piece but the referee looked at the pitchside VAR monitor and ruled it out as Florian Niederlechner was offside and blocking the goalkeeper’s view.
Wolfsburg’s Admir Mehmedi had numerous chances to score their second, first with a volley which came off the post and again minutes later when a sweeping move forced Luthe to keep out a low, stinging effort with his feet. However, the visitors capitalised in stoppage time when Kevin Mbabu’s low cross found substitute Ginczek inside the six-yard box and his poacher’s finish at the far post gave the visitors all three points. Augsburg remain in 14th place.
Leipzig survive late scare in 1-1 draw with Freiburg
Bundesliga title hopefuls RB Leipzig needed the help of the video assistant referee (VAR) to grab a 1-1 draw at home to Freiburg when the German top-flight returned to action on Saturday after a two-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leipzig wasted a slew of great chances after falling behind until captain Yussuf Poulsen rose to head them level in the 77th minute, with Freiburg having what looked to be a stoppage-time winner ruled out by VAR for offside.
Starting the day five points behind leaders Bayern Munich, Leipzig seemed to have lost none of their sharpness during the shut-down, with striker Timo Werner looking particularly dangerous in the first half.
However, Freiburg took the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute when Manuel Gulde got the last touch to guide home a corner, with the players celebrating his goal by bumping elbows rather than sharing high-fives and hugs. That goal shook the home side and though they continued to enjoy plenty of possession, their previous composure disappeared.
They were not helped by the eerie atmosphere caused by a lack of fans in the stands with the substitutes spread out along the sidelines wearing face masks, rather than taking their normal place in the dugout.
Ten minutes into the second half, Leipzig substitute Ademola Lookman flashed a volley wide with the goal at his mercy, and that miss prompted a barrage of wasted chances from the hosts.
Poulsen’s towering header gave them a badly-needed confidence boost and they set about chasing a winner that would have kept them on the heels of leaders Bayern Munich, who play Union Berlin on Sunday, and second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who hammered Schalke 04 4-0 in the Ruhr derby.
Instead, they almost came unstuck in stoppage time as Robin Koch fired home Lucas Hoeler’s knockdown from a free kick, but Hoeler was judged to be offside and the goal was chalked off by the VAR.
The draw leaves Leipzig with 51 points after 26 games, four points behind Munich and three behind Dortmund, while Freiburg climb to seventh in the table on 37 points, ahead of Schalke on goal difference.
Paderborn ride their luck for valuable point
The Bundesliga’s bottom side Paderborn rode their luck as they came away with a potentially vital point in a 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.
Paderborn had lost four in a row before the German league was suspended in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic but a point on their return to action will boost their hopes of survival. They moved onto 17 points, one behind Werder Bremen, while Fortuna stay third from bottom with 23 as they were left to rue some poor fortune on a sunny afternoon at the Dusseldorf Arena.
Fortuna’s Valon Berisha twice struck the woodwork as he continued his search for a first goal for his new club since moving on loan from Lazio in January. Team mate Steven Skrzybski was also unfortunate to see his strike cannon back off the post in the last 10 minutes.
Paderborn might well have snatched an unlikely win three minutes from time but Nigerian international Jamilu Collins squandered a good chance from close range. Fortuna had the first real opportunity of the game in the 14th minute when the ball was passed across the forward line before Matthias Zimmermann’s subsequent shot was blocked.
Three minutes later Berisha came within inches of his first goal as his volleyed effort took a deflection off defender Sebastian Schonlau and struck the upright, only to bounce back into play. A defensive error presented Paderborn’s Mohamed Drager with a half chance on the half hour but he was quickly closed down, only for Fortuna to then threaten at the other end as centre back Kaan Ayhan’s header from a freekick went narrowly wide.
The second half took a while to produce any flow before Fortuna winger Erik Thommy began to take a grip on the game, setting up several opportunities. He was involved in the build-up before Berisha powered a header from close range against the crossbar in the 66th minute.
Substitute Skrzybski then thundered his shot against the left post to add to the home side’s frustration. But Collins will be have some explaining to do to his Paderborn team mates after missing a chance against the run of play as fulltime approached. Had he scored, it could have given Paderborn only their fifth win of the league campaign.
Hertha’s Ibisevic haunts Hoffenheim on Bundesliga return
Hertha Berlin’s Bosnia forward Vedad Ibisevic scored against his former side Hoffenheim as they claimed a 3-0 win with second-half goals at an empty Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Saturday, moving them further away from the Bundesliga relegation places.
Brazilian Matheus Cunha also netted a late goal after Hoffenheim’s Kevin Akpoguma opened the scoring with a calamitous own goal, a sign of rustiness from the hosts as league action resumed after a two-month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The victory moves Hertha up to 11th with 31 points from 26 matches, eight points clear of the drop-zone and within two places of free-falling Hoffenheim, who remain on 35 points and are now without a win in seven games.
The empty stands gave the match a pre-season feel, and at times the quality was poor with misplaced passes and the lack of a clinical touch in front of goal until Hertha sprung to life in the second period.
The result was a dream debut in the dug-out for new coach Bruno Labbadia, who had just seven training sessions with the squad following his appointment to replace Juergen Klinsmann. Hertha had the best chance of the first half through Cunha as he was expertly set up by the persistence of strike partner Ibisevic, but with only Oliver Baumann to beat he took a touch that allowed the goalkeeper to close in and make the save.
Hoffenheim coach Alfred Schreuder made a switch at the break, introducing 17-year-old Maximilian Beier for Togolese forward Ihlas Bebou. The teenager had a magnificent chance within eight minutes of the restart when he was set-up by Sebastian Rudy in a central position but placed his shot wide, denying him the chance to become Hoffenheim’s youngest ever Bundesliga scorer.
The breakthrough came at the other end shortly after when Peter Pekarik’s shot, which was heading wide of goal, was sliced into his own net by defender Akpoguma just before the hour.
The visitors doubled that advantage within two minutes when Maximilian Mittelstadt’s inviting cross from the left flank was headed into the net by the energetic Ibisevic, who spent five seasons at Hoffenheim earlier in his career.
Cunha made up for his earlier profligacy to seal the points in the 74th by shrugging off the attentions of two defenders before scoring from a tight angle for a fine solo goal.
