Dortmund win big
March 25, 2012
Borussia Dortmund stormed back from an early deficit in Cologne to win 6-1 and tighten their grip on first place in the Bundesliga.
Milivoje Novakovic had put Cologne up in the 13th minute, but an eventual avalanche of goals snuffed out Cologne’s hopes for an upset in front of a raucous home crowd.
Getting on the score sheet for Dortmund were Lukasz Piszczek (26’), Shinji Kagawa (47’, 80’). Robert Lewandowski (52’), Ilkay Gündogan (78’), and Ivan Perisic (84’).
"Cologne's will to fight kind of left them toward the end," said Dortmund center back Mats Hummels after the match. "When we scored the goal to make it 3-1, they let up."
Dortmund’s thundering win sent a message to their title rivals Bayern Munich - and restored the Ruhr club’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga table to five points. It also meant Cologne remain just one point above the relegation playoff spot occupied by Hamburg.
Up and up
VfB Stuttgart strengthened their European credentials after beating Nuremberg 1-0 at home on Sunday. German international striker Cacau scored in the 78th minute to allow the home side to take all three points.
Stuttgart had come into the match knowing that a win would take them above Hanover and into sole possession of seventh place.
With the German Cup final pitting two sides (Dortmund and Bayern) who will likely qualify for the Champions League against each other, seventh place in the league should be enough to reach Europe.
It was Nuremberg who came out with their guns blazing, however. The Club hit the post twice in the opening 15 minutes, and had the better chances throughout the first half.
After the break, things were different. While Nuremberg continued to show ambition going forward, Stuttgart’s quality began to show.
The Swabians’ precision passing paid off with twelve minutes to go as Cacau capped a run out of midfield with a tidy one-two with Tamas Hajnal to score.
“It’s been the same story all season for us,” said Nuremberg’s Daniel Didavi after the match, when asked about missed opportunities. “I think the better team lost today, but that doesn’t amount to much.”
The loan player Didavi, who impressed before leaving with a calf injury in the 63rd minute, will return to his home club Stuttgart next season.
Some movement
On Saturday, Bayern Munich fended off a second half fight-back from Hanover to win 2-1 at home, while Schalke defeated visitors Bayer Leverkusen 2-0.
Their win lifted them into third place after Borussia Mönchengladbach frittered away a 1-0 lead in two frantic minutes late in the second half to lose at home to Hoffenheim.
Bremen, too, had late-game problems, giving up an injury time equalizer to visitors Augsburg to draw 1-1.
Freiburg continued its good recent run, putting a point between themselves and the relegation playoff place with a 2-0 win over bottom club Kaiserslautern.
Also helping themselves on match day 27 were Hertha Berlin, who got their first away win since October. Their 3-1 win in Mainz was not enough to get them out of the drop zone, however.
On Friday night, Wolfsburg dealt Hamburg their fourth straight loss, winning 2-1.
Author: Matt Hermann
Editor: Matt Zuvela