Bundesliga Wrapup
October 18, 2009
Wolfsburg moved up to fifth in the Bundesliga table on Sunday after a last-minute goal frenzy ended in a 2-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach. The game was heading to a 1-0 finish after Wolfsburg defender Alexander Madlung's first-half header, but Gentner scored for the Wolves deep in injury-time and almost immediately Michael Bradley scored a consolation goal for Moenchengladbach. In the second Sunday game Borussia Dortmund won 2-0 at Bochum leaving them 10th in the league.
Werder Bremen and Schalke closed in on the leading clubs in the German Bundesliga with victories in their games on Saturday. Schalke won 2-1 at VfB Stuttgart to move into third place with 19 points, one more than Werder Bremen who managed a 2-0 victory at home against Hoffenheim.
Ivan Rakitic gave Schalke the lead in the 24th minute after Stuttgart defender Stefano Celozzi failed to control the ball five meters from the goal, allowing Rakitic to score from close range. Cacau equalized in the 73rd minute for the home side, but former Stuttgart player Kevin Kuranyi gave Schalke the win just three minutes later with a well-taken shot from inside the penalty area.
"It is a good feeling to score for a striker, even though I do feel a bit sorry for Stuttgart. I played there for a long time, but now I earn my money from Schalke and that is where my effort must lie," Kuranyi said.
In Bremen, German national-team midfielder Mesut Ozil set up both goals early in the first half as his corner kick connected with the head of Claudio Pizarro in the 18th minute. Four minutes later Hoffenheim failed to clear an Ozil freekick and defender Per Mertesacker pushed the ball over the line. Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese earned his keep early on, saving a penalty from Eduardo in the 14th minute.
Hamburg SV and Bayer Leverkusen shared a 0-0 draw in the late game on Saturday to remain undefeated at the top of the Bundesliga. Leverkusen are top on goal difference, with both teams on 21 points from nine games.
Things looking up for Bayern Munich but bad for Berlin
In southern Germany, Bayern Munich also returned to their winning ways with a 2-1 victory at Freiburg. The title favorites stayed in sixth place because of the win for Wolfsburg.
Just before half-time Thomas Mueller scored the opening goal after being set up by Luca Toni, who was playing his first game of the season. Du Ri Cha scored a goal for Bayern Munich in the 68th minute, before Stefan Reisinger was able to hit back with a consolation goal for Freiburg in injury time.
At the wrong end of the table, Hertha Berlin's woes continued as they lost 3-0 at Nuremberg. They remain rooted to the bottom with just three points from their nine games. All three goals were scored by Swiss players with Albert Bunjaku scoring in both halves, while Daniel Gygax opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
Berlin's defeat was made worse by the fact that fellow strugglers Cologne beat Mainz 1-0 through Milivoje Novakovic's first-half goal to move out of the relegation zone on five points.
The other early game of the day saw Eintracht Frankfurt register a 2-1 victory at home against Hanover.
mrm/rri/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Ranty Islam