Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both grabbed victories early on Saturday, putting the pressure on Schalke 04 and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the late game. Elsewhere, Stuttgart destroyed Hertha Berlin and Hoffenheim gave up another heartbreaking late goal.
Bundesliga Week 21, Saturday Scores: Bayern Munich Coast, Borussia Dortmund Keep Lead
Bayern Munich 2-0 Kaiserslautern
David Alaba playerd in place of Bastian Schweinsteiger for the Bavarians, while Arjen Robben was benched as a coach's decision, and not because of any fitness concerns. The results were very good, as Bayern Munich coasted to victory and their midfield five looked excellent. Mario Gomez scored with a header in the fifth minute, assisted by a Franck Ribery cross, and Bayern put it on cruise control after that. Thomas Müller added a second with a brilliant header on a set piece.
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund had their way with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, but their finishing was poor, while Bernd Leno had a good game in goal for Bayer. Had either the finishing or goalkeeping been average, Der BVB probably would have won by three or four goals. The lone goal in the match was scored by Shinji Kagawa just before the stroke of halftime. BVB goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was untested, and Bayer do not look like a team able to contend with Barcelona.
Mainz 1-0 Hannover
Mohamed Zidan couldn't get on the pitch at Dortmund with Robert Lewandowski and Lucas Barrios ahead of him, but the Egyptian international is looking like a brilliant signing for Thomas Tuchel. He netted his second goal in as many games for Mainz, giving them the winner with his 7th minute strike. Mainz are putting together some decent results, and are now seven points clear of the relegation playoff.
Stuttgart 5-0 Hertha Berlin
Hertha are still two points clear of the relegation places, but they look very much like a team that will struggle to fight off the drop after this woeful performance. Vedad Ibisevic and Martin Harnik absolutely tore them to pieces, with the former scoring Stuttgart's first goal and assisting on Harnik's first, the team's second. Hertha's Andreas Ottl was shown red shortly after the second goal, at which point things got truly ugly. Shinji Okazaki scored the third, while Harnik would complete a hat trick later to finish off the 5-0 rout.
Werder Bremen 1-1 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim's defense played well on the road for 90 minutes against Werder Bremen, but couldn't close out the game as they allowed a stoppage time equalizer. Jannik Vestergaard scored for Hoffenheim off of a corner kick in the 4th minute, and Werder goalkeeper Tim Wiese should have done better on the goal. They held onto their lead until the very end, when Marko Arnautovic netted the equalizer, capitalizing on a knockdown by Markus Rosenberg.
See More:
