Eintracht Frankfurt simply didn’t recover from goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky’s dismissal in the second minute against RB Leipzig. Meanwhile, Hoffenheim extended their unbeaten record, while Borussia Dortmund won in Bremen.RB Leipzig 3-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
(Compper 6′, Werner 45′, Vallejo O.G. 67′)
Eintracht Frankfurt’s hopes of getting a result in Leipzig were practically gone as early as the second minute when Lukas Hradecky was sent off for illegally using his hands outside the penalty area. Defender Marvin Compper made Frankfurt pay immediately, poking the resulting free kick from Marcel Halstenberg past backup keeper Heinz Lindner. Timo Werner doubled the scoring just before the half with his 10th goal of the season and Halstenberg’s shot was turned home by Jesus Vallejo in the second half. Frankfurt fall to sixth place in the Bundesliga after the defeat, while Leipzig keep pace with Bayern Munich at the top of the table.
Augsburg 0-2 Hoffenheim
(Wagner 47′, Kramaric 64′)
Hoffenheim keep their unbeaten record intact as they defeated Augsburg on a chilly day in WWK Arena. The game was very physical from the get-go as the first half was littered with fouls. Sandro Wagner was able to find the breakthrough just after the break, latching onto a through pass from Nadiem Amiri before finishing at the top of the penalty area. Amiri was integral to Hoffenheim’s second goal as well, picking out Mark Uth before the striker set up Andrej Kramaric for a point-blank finish. Hoffenheim’s seventh win on the season moves them up to third place in the table before Sunday’s games.
Bremen 1-2 Dortmund
(Bartels 59′ – Schürrle 5′, Piszczek 70′)
Lukasz Piszczek’s second-half goal saved Borussia Dortmund from further dropped points in Bremen. Dortmund started well despite Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s absence due to the Africa Cup of Nations with Schürrle dribbling past Drobny before finishing into an empty net. Drobny’s day got worse after he was sent off for fouling Marco Reus outside of the box, but Fin Bartels was able to keep the home side in the game with a terrific run and goal in the second half. Piszczek crushed the hearts of the Bremen supporters 11 minutes later, finishing off a deflected shot to give Dortmund the lead. The result puts Dortmund into fourth place before the Bundesliga games on Sunday.
Wolfsburg 1-0 Hamburg
(Gomez 83′)
Mario Gomez would have been relishing the opportunity to team up with his side’s new attacking recruits. Yunus Malli and Paul-George Ntep, both new additions in January to replace the departed Julian Draxler, were very active on their Wolfsburg debuts. Ntep helped Wolfsburg find the breakthrough in the second half, setting up an easy finish for Gomez from the left wing. The victory for Wolfsburg was their third in a row and was a good indication to their home supporters that they still belong in the Bundesliga.
Schalke 1-0 Ingolstadt
(Bürgstaller 90+2′)
Guido Burgstaller made a big impact on his Bundesliga debut for new club Schalke 04. After replacing Johannes Geis at half time, Burgstaller got off four shots in the second half to put the Ingolstadt defense under intense pressure. The Nuremberg recruit, who scored 14 goals in the second division this season, finally got the breakthrough in second half stoppage time, finishing off Alessandro Schöpf’s saved effort.
Darmstadt 0-0 Gladbach
Gladbach coach Dieter Hecking and Darmstadt’s Torsten Frings played to a draw in their first Bundesliga game in charge for their respective clubs. Michael Esser kept Darmstadt in the game with three spectacular glove saves in the first ten minutes, the best of which denied Raffael from just outside the six-yard box. But splitting points did not help either team in distancing themselves from the drop zone.
