Bundesliga, Week 18: Dortmund Crush Hamburg, Leverkusen Outlast Mainz

Week 18 in the Bundesliga wrapped up with two matches on Sunday. The early match saw Borussia Dortmund remind everyone that they are the defending champions, and the late match saw Bayer Leverkusen survive a strong challenge from Mainz.

The champions went right after the Hamburg defense from the opening whistle and never stopped. Kevin Großkreutz was on the receiving end of a pass from Shinji Kagawa. Großkreutz slotted it past Jaroslav Drobny to kick off the scoring in the 16th minute. Robert Lewandowski would double Dortmund’s lead before halftime. The Polish international made dribbling look easy as he cut his way through the Hamburg defense for a spectacular individual effort.

A giveaway by Neuer led to the first goal, though Marco Reus had to do plenty to put his team on the board. Neuer passed the ball directly to Reus in the 11th minute and he finished brilliantly from 35 yards, calmly placing a long shot into the back of a net left empty by Neuer. Gladbach would double their lead in the 41st minute when Mike Hanke played a diagonal through ball to Patrick Herrmann on a counter attack. The Bayern defense was nowhere to be found as Herrmann bared down on goal and finished past Neuer from 12 yards, making it 2-0 at halftime.

Bayern unsurprisingly started the second half looking for a goal, and they did well to control possession. They were undone on the counter once again, however, with Reus and Herrmann combining for a third in the 71st minute.

It’s all gone wrong in the first 45 minutes back from winter break for Bayern Munich, who aren’t playing terrible football but find themselves down 2-0 at halftime to Borussia Mönchengladbach. They’re passing the ball very well and keeping most of the play in ‘Gladbach’s half, but they haven’t been able to finish their chances and they’ve gifted chances to the home side. Bayern might mount a comeback, but it appears that Die Fohlen will be able to keep their home undefeated streak intact.

The first goal was a gift from Manuel Neuer, but it still required a good bit of skill and confidence to finish. Inexplicably, with the ball at his feet after a back pass, Neuer passed the ball directly to Marco Reus. The soon to be Borussia Dortmund man had an open goal to shoot at, but only a small window to fit the ball into from 35 yards. He hit it perfectly into the back of the net, putting Gladbach up in the 11th minute.

Borussia Mönchengladbach Lineup (4-4-1-1): ter Stegen; Jantschke, Stranzl, Brouwers, Daems; Herrmann, Nordtveit, Neustädter, Arango; Reus; Hanke

Bayern Munich Lineup (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Boateng, van Buyten, Badstuber, Lahm; Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger; Robben, Müller, Kroos; Gomez

On Matchday 1 of the Bundesliga, Borussia Mönchengladbach stunned Bayern Munich with a 1-0 victory at the Allianz Arena. They continued to play well into the following weeks, but considering that the team was so poor for the first half of last season, they seemed to be a bit of a flash in the pan. Through 17 rounds, they’re still in the top four, and there’s no question that they are very much the real deal. They have yet to lose at home, but Bayern are favored to end that undefeated streak on Friday.

Gladbach lost two players during the transfer window, but they won’t be feeling those losses until this summer. Marco Reus has agreed to a move to Borussia Dortmund and Roman Neustädter will be heading to Schalke, but they’re both sticking around for the remainder of the season to aid in their current team’s quest for a top-four spot. Their ability to hold onto their other stars, such as Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Patrick Herrmann, will likely depend on a high finish.