Hannover 96 1 – 1 VfB Stuttgart

Fullkrug (pen. 76’) – Asano (24’)

A struggling Hannover side displayed, again, the lack of creativity that has plagued the side in the past few weeks. Nevertheless, Martin Harnik had a glorious chance go begging when he found himself free of a marker in front of goal but bundled his feet. Harnik and Hannover were punished for this as Takuma Asano scored through a rebound after Philipp Tschauner couldn’t keep hold of Christian Gentner’s shot from distance.

The home side were much better after the interval, but they lacked clear chances other than a Salif Sane shot that hit the post. They received a penalty after Matthias Ostrzolek was took down by Benjamin Pavard, and Niclas Fullkrug slotted it home. Stuttgart probably should have took the lead promptly after that but Dennis Aogo managed to shoot over from close range and leave both teams with a point.

Dortmund 4 – 4 Schalke 04

Aubameyang (12’), Stambouli (OG 18’), Gotze (20’), Guerreiro (25’) – Burgstaller (61’), Harit (65’), Caligiuri (85’), Naldo (90+4’)

Dortmund, who were without a win in 5 games coming into this one, seemed in perfect position to kickstart an upturn in form after going up 4 in the first 25 minutes. Benjamin Stambouli put the ball into his own net after Aubameyang had opened the scoring to become the Bundesliga’s joint highest African goalscorer. Mario Gotze nodded in the third and Raphael Guerreiro put away the fourth to give Dortmund a seemingly insurmountable lead going into the break.

However, the introduction of Leon Goretzka and Amine Harit gave Schalke a way back into the game. A quick-fire double from Guido Burgstaller and Harit preceded a second yellow for Aubameyang. A frantic last 20-odd minutes was capped by a Caligiuri goal in the 85th set the stage for Naldo’s 94th minute header to cap the first Bundesliga comeback from 4 goals down since 1976.

RB Leipzig 2 – 0 Werder Bremen

Keita (34’), Bernardo (87’)

Bremen and Leipzig both came in off of dominant wins, a 4-0 and 4-1 win for each, but Leipzig came out of the gates firing, keeping Jiri Pavlenka, the goalkeeper with the most saves in the league, busy throughout the game. Naby Keita put his effort off the post and in the net after Thomas Delaney had set him up with an errant touch.

Bremen did threaten to score after the break, and almost had a Dayot Upamecano own goal to their credit. Fin Bartels followed that up with a bicycle kick from Delaney’s cross, but Gulacsi was there to save. The Hungarian had numerous saves to keep his clean sheet and this enabled Leipzig to push for a goal to end the contest. Bernardo smashed in a volley for his first Bundesliga goal and iced the contest.

FC Augsburg 2 – 1 Wolfsburg

Gregoritsch (51’), Finnbogason (78’) – Didavi (40’)

Augsburg made a good start and should have had a more straightforward game after Maximilian Arnold was sent off after a VAR review on just 11 minutes. Wolfsburg, however, were the ones who took lead, right before half-time. Daniel Didavi’s long-range shot resulted in embarrassment for keeper Marwin Hitz, who spilled the ball and allowed the visitors to go up by 1 into the break.

Michael Gregoritsch missed a good chance to equalise after the restart, but made up for it soon with his sixth goal of the season. Divock Origi forced a good save out of Hitz, and Augsburg were awarded a penalty which was taken back after the VAR review. Augsburg went close a few more times before Alfred Finnbogason put the game to rest for Manuel Baum and his side.

SC Freiburg 2 – 1 Mainz

Petersen (51’), Kath (90+1’) – Berggreen (90+2’)

Mainz started the game on the front foot and almost had a goal to their name, but Levin Oztuanli’s effort went just wide from the edge of the box. Freiburg eased their way into the game, but the visitors still looked more likely to break the deadlock. Freiburg’s best chance was a free-kick from captain Julian Schuster which curled wide. Both teams restricted each other to long range efforts.

For all of Mainz’s dominance in the first half, it was Freiburg who took the lead through Nils Petersen. Petersen latched onto a loose ball and rounded the keeper to put the hosts up. The goal certainly displayed the change in balance, with it coming after Freiburg took 4 shots in the first five minutes of the half after having only 3 in the first half itself. Mainz and Jean-Philipp Gbamin almost scored the goal of the season but the effort from his own half hit the bar. Florian Kath came off the bench and scored late on for his first Bundesliga goal before Emil Berggreen got a consolation for Mainz.

Frankfurt 0 – 1 Leverkusen

Volland (76’)

Neither of the two sides managed to take control early on, as both attempted to use their pace to create an advantage. Frankfurt did have the better of the game throughout the opening half hour or so, but Leverkusen rallied and came close three times in the space of a few minutes. First, Alario headed a Julian Brandt free-kick off the post then Brandt skied a shot from ten yards before Alario hit the other post.

Ante Rebic possibly had the best chance for the home team, after he chested a ball from Sebastian Haller down and hit the volley. However, Leno was equal to it, with a fine reflex save. Leverkusen managed to score the first, and solitary, goal of the game after Kevin Volland earned them the points for the second consecutive week.

Monchengladbach 2 – 1 Bayern Munchen

Hazard (pen. 39’), Ginter (44’) – Vidal (74’)

Gladbach left this game undefeated in the past 6 and displayed their confidence throughout the game as Bayern struggled to develop any rhythm. It was clear that the Bavarians missed Arjen Robben and Thiago as chances were few and far between in the opening stages. Thorgan Hazard gave the hosts the lead after a Niklas Sule handball and Matthias Ginter made it two to zero before the break.

Bayern were a different team after the break and pinned Gladbach back from the start of the first half. Their pressure did not result in a goal until the 74th minute, when a rejuvenated Arturo Vidal hit a left-footed volley past Yann Sommer. A nervy finale for Dieter Hecking’s men ended with Bayern’s first defeat under Jupp Heynckes.

Hamburger SV 3 – 0 Hoffenheim

Akpoguma (OG 6’), Kostic (75’), Jung (88’)

Serge Gnabry nearly set Hoffenheim off with a perfect start when he hit it wide from close, but Hamburg were the better team and were rewarded for it as Kevin Akpoguma scored the 1000th own goal in Bundesliga history. The contest became less frantic from then on, as both teams lacked the killer ball. The number 9 at the back for Hamburg, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, shot well wide from a free-kick at the hour mark. Sandro Wagner nearly equalised, only for Christian Mathenia to come off his line quickly and corral the ball. Oliver Baumann, in the opposite goal, was tested promptly after that and did well to keep it at 1-0 going into the break.

American international Bobby Wood, in his first start since October, hit a volley of the post and away. Jann-Fiete Arp went for goal from distance after a winding run, but Baumann was, again, equal to the effort. Arp went close twice more before Filip Kostic delivered a free-kick from 35 yards that escaped Baumann. Dennis Diekmeier headed toward the penalty spot late on and Jung drove it home to put the cherry on top for HSV.

Koln 0 – 2 Hertha

Ibisevic (17, pen. 64)

Despite Hertha’s impressive record on the road this campaign, Koln expected more from this match after their win over Arsenal in the Europa League earlier in the week. However, a young Koln side (and Claudio Pizarro) went down 1-0 after failing to deal with a corner.

The hosts were relentless after the break, but failed to create anything clear. They were hit on the counter as Matthias Lehmann brought down Davie Selke, allowing Vedad Ibisevic to score his second of the game and move Hertha up to 11th.