Another action-packed Bundesliga weekend sees Bayer Leverkusen visiting Hamburg SV and St. Pauli traveling to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich after Hannover 96 beat Stuttgart on Friday. The late Saturday kickoff is also an exciting one as leaders Borussia Dortmund face struggling Werder Bremen, while on Sunday Mainz 05 will look to rebound from defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt against Schalke 04.
Bundesliga, Week 16: Didier Ya Konan Double Moves Hannover 96 Into Third, Bayer Leverkusen Up To Second
Manuel Neuer Penalty Save Secures Victory For Schalke 04
After a mediocre opening to the second half, Schalke 04 and Mainz 05 threw almost everything at each other for the last twenty minutes at the Stadion am Bruchweg, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts, who slipped to a fourth loss in six matches. Thomas Tuchel rolled the dice with a half-hour to go, making a trio of substitutions -- Lewis Holtby, Adam Szalai, and Marco Caligiuri were introduced for Marcel Risse, Elkin Soto, and Andreas Ivanschitz.
After some initial shakiness, Mainz settled down in the last quarter of the match and perhaps deserved an equalizer. They were presented with the perfect chance to level the match as Manuel Neuer took Szalai down in the box. Felix Brych pointed to the spot again, but didn’t even book the German number one, even though he may have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. Lewis Holtby stepped up to take the penalty, but Neuer parried his poor shot. A mis-kicked clearance from Astuto Uchida dropped to Szalai, but he could only hit the crossbar.
Read Article >Jefferson Farfán Puts Schalke 04 1-0 Ahead
Schalke 04 have taken the lead a half-hour into an exciting contest at the Stadion am Bruchweg through Jefferson Farfán after an early penalty miss from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The visitors have been barely the better side although Mainz 05 have seen more of the ball, and have looked the more threatening since opening the scoring.
Huntelaar had the best chance for either side so far from the penalty spot after Christian Fuchs took down Farfán just on the edge of the box after seven minutes. While it probably should have been a free-kick outside of the penalty area, Felix Brych pointed to the spot. The Dutchman took up the responsibility for the penalty, but his effort hit the post, bounced off of Christian Wetklo, and eventually went out for a corner to Schalke.
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