Sunday’s matches were full of drama and stacked with goals, making the Bundesliga’s eleventh round one of the best yet. Stuttgart hosted Werder Bremen in one of the matches of the week, Kaiserslautern travelled to Leverkusen, and Dortmund travelled to Hannover with their eyes on a big three points. Let’s get to the results!
Hannover 96 0 – 4 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund have extened their lead at the top of the table to four points in considerable style after thumping Hannover by four goals to nil. The mercurial Kagawa gave the visitors the lead after just ten minutes, but Hannover held firm into the break. With just twenty minutes left on the clock, Lucas Barrios hit Dortmund’s second and essentially killed the game off. It only got worse for Hannover, though, after Karim Haggui was sent off for fighting. From the penalty spot, Nuri Sahin proved to be a bit short of confidence. Despite his miss, Dortmund scored twice more through Lewandowski and then Kuba, who was making his return to the first-team after an injury. Dortmund now have some breathing space at the top of the table, and they’ll be looking to build on it into the winter break. In January, Klopp may look to strengthen the squad with an addition or two, just to fortify the side so that a title challenge can be sustained throughout the long Bundesliga season. It looks like Dortmund’s title to lose at the moment!
Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 1 Kaiserslautern
Relegation candidates Kaiserslautern are free-falling down the Bundesliga table after some really poor form has seen them win just one match out of their last nine. The visitors took the lead through Florian Dick, but were unable to keep their hosts out for very long. Leverkusen got back into the match just passed the half hour mark through Sidney Sam, and went 2-1 up through Patrick Helmes with 20 minutes left on the clock. Sidney Sam killed Kaiserslautern off on 84 minutes, and lifted his side to an eventually comfortable win. Kaiserslautern sat back and remained compact, but Leverkusen just had too much for their opponents on the night. That extra bit of quality eventually shone through, and the result sees Leverkusen rise to third place in the Bundesliga table.
VfB Stuttgart 6 – 0 Werder Bremen
How embarrassing is this? Werder Bremen have been trounced at the hands of their hosts, and have won just one of their last six matches in all competitions. They’re staring at an early Champions League exit, and they’re floundering in 11th place in the Bundesliga. Thomas Schaaf has come under criticism lately, and the tension within the Werder Bremen camp is really beginning to mount. While Schaaf has been a wonderful servant to the club, it certainly does look like a change in leadership is needed if Werder Bremen want to progress as a side. Just a few years ago, they were challenging for the title and qualifying for the Champions League on a consistent basis. Now, they’re beginning to look like a shadow of that side. They’ve lost some key players, and some might say this will just be a year in transition Werder Bremen, but I think supporters would have been hoping for a lot more than this this year. Stuttgart, on the other hand, have been an absolutely changed side since Christian Gross’s dismissal. They’ve dug themselves out of the relegation hole they were in, and will have their sights set on a European place as the season progresses. Ciprian Marica opened the scoring before Cacau hit a brace (and missed a penalty that would have secured his hat-trick), and Christian Gentner, Georg Niedermeier and Arthur Boka put the icing on the cake for Stuttgart. Torsten Frings uncharacteristically missed a penalty just after twenty minutes.
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, Liga MX & Copa Libertadores
The New Home of MLS
- Price: $14.99/mo. for MLS Season Pass
- Watch every MLS game including playoffs & Leagues Cup
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $10.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $14.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, NWSL, & USL
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $7.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & EFL
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $7.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season