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Talking points from Bundesliga weekend

By Ben HardyPosted on Posted in Bundesliga

Bayern win without coach present

Jupp Heynckes was ill and unable to be in attendance as Bayern Munich hosted Schalke at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Assistant coach Peter Hermann was in the dugout.

Despite the change in personnel on the side-lines, the result was still the same as Bayern registered their 18th win of the Bundesliga campaign. The lead at the top of the table is now a whopping 18 points, which is clearly too significant for other teams to catch up with.

12 wins in a row, and with or without Heynckes, Bayern are unstoppable.

The Bayern head coach reportedly sent a message to his players from bed, congratulating them after their win.

Lewandowski equals Heynckes’ goal record

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the sixth minute of the game on Saturday.

This meant the Polish striker has scored in every single one of Bayern’s 11 home games in the Bundesliga so far. This equals the record bed-ridden coach, Heynckes, achieved during the 1972-3 season with Borussia Monchengladbach.

Lewandowski was on hand to tap into an empty net after Schalke keeper, Ralf Fahramm, parried the ball straight into his path from match-winner, Thomas Muller’s, shot.

This early goal was Lewandowski’s 19th goal in the Bundesliga this season.

What’s more he has been nominated as the Polish footballer of the year for the seventh time in a row.

Batshuayi on target again

The on-loan Chelsea forward was on the scoresheet again after his two goals on debut at Cologne the previous week.

Batshuayi opened the scoring just after half-time as Dortmund defeated Hamburg 2-0. He was on hand to tap in Christian Pulisic’s ball across goal.

The decision to move to Germany until the end of the season is paying instant dividends for the Belgian as he seeks to show Roberto Martinez just why he should be included in Belgium’s star-studded world cup squad alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku.

If he keeps scoring, as he has done in his first two Bundesliga appearances, then he will almost certainly be on the plane to Russia.

Frankfurt move into top four

Three second-half goals in less than ten minutes ensured Frankfurt ran out 4-2 winners at home to bottom-place Cologne.

Given that Schalke lost to Bayern, and Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-0 against Hertha Berlin, Frankfurt jumped into the top four, albeit with a cushion of just one point.

In order to still be in top four by Tuesday next week, Frankfurt will have to pick up a result at home to 2nd placed RB Leipzig in the Monday evening kick-off. Leverkusen will want a response from their loss this weekend, when they travel to Hamburg on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Schalke will host a Hoffenheim side just three points behind them on Saturday evening as the tightly-contested race for the top-four continues.

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