The four Bundesliga games early Saturday were tight, tense encounters as the battle for Europe and against relegation continues to take twists and turns with some intriguing results.
One thing we know by now in the Bundesliga: away teams are on fire, with just six home wins from 32 games after the 2019-20 season restart.
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There were huge wins for Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt towards the bottom of the table, while Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin continued their fine form with wins to boost their European hopes as the Bundesliga results continue to be hard to predict.
As for Schalke, well, David Wagner is overseeing a huge slump for the Bundesliga giants as they’re now in 10th place after spending the first half of the season around the top four.
Below we take a look at the action across the four Bundesliga games on Saturday and break down the results.
Schalke 0-1 Werder Bremen
An absolutely massive win on the road for Bremen as they breathed new life into their battle against relegation with seven points from the last nine available. As for Schalke, that is now 11 games without a win for David Wagner’s side and they have now lost all four of their games since the league restarted. USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie was subbed off after picking up a yellow card in a typically combative display, while fellow American Josh Sargent was also subbed off for Bremen after putting in a shift up front.
Leonardo Bittencourt’s sublime goal was enough to seal all three points for Bremen as they started well then battled hard in the second half to keep hold of their advantage. Bremen have now dragged Fortuna Dusseldorf, Mainz and a host of other clubs into the relegation battle and they have plenty of momentum heading into the final five games of the season.
👏 Leonardo Bittencourt with a beautiful strike to put Werder Bremen 1-0 up at Schalke.
🔥🔥🔥
🎥 @TUDNUSA #S04SVW #S04 pic.twitter.com/bQCp18i65z
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) May 30, 2020
Wolfsburg 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
In another game which saw USMNT players go head-to-head, Timmy Chandler’s Eintracht Frankfurt won on the road at John Brooks’ Wolfsburg to ease any relegation fears they had. Chandler and Brooks both started and after Frankfurt took the lead via Adrien Silva’s penalty kick, sixth-place Wolfsburg equalize through Kevin Mbau. Frankfurt won it late on as Daichi Kamada scored with five minutes to go to give the Eagles their first victory since the restart. Check out the highlights from the game below.
¡Triunfo del @eintracht_eng! 💪 Aquí las jugadas más destacadas del duelo de #BundesligaEnFD @SirJohnLaguna @RodolfoLanderos @marianot19 @RaoulPolloOrtiz pic.twitter.com/mdlP0jTniW
— FOX Deportes (@FOXDeportes) May 30, 2020
Hertha Berlin 2-0 Augsburg
Hertha Berlin have been on fire since the restart with three wins and a draw in their four games. Javairo Dilrosun set them on their way against Augsburg and substitute Krzysztof Piatek scored for the second-straight game to seal the win in stoppage time. Hertha are now in ninth place, just four points off sixth-place Wolfsburg and the Berliners are well in the hunt for Europa League qualification. What a job Bruno Labbadia is doing. As for Augsburg, they are looking over their shoulders at the relegation situation as Werder Bremen and Fortuna Dusseldorf keep winning.
Mainz 0-1 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim are rolling too as they sit in seventh place on 42 points, only behind sixth-place Wolfsburg on goal difference. Ihias Bebou scored just before half time as they won away at Mainz to make it two wins on the spin and they are now unbeaten in three. Mainz are now in real relegation trouble after picking up just one point from their four games so far. Hoffenheim have three relegation candidates plus Dortmund and Leipzig left to play this season, so they may have the upper hand in the race for sixth with Wolfsburg, who have a tougher schedule on paper.
