15:30 Kickoffs: Bayern unstoppable, Freiburg on fire, Union Berlin down TSG, Bochum and Kiel inseparable

Werder Bremen 0 – Bayern Munich 5

The Bavarians had no issues in today’s victory and sought the lead from the get-go as Harry Kane looked to maintain his red-hot goal scoring form with an early freekick. Vincent Kompany’s team hardly had to work for their opening goal on 23 minutes as Mitchell Weiser effectively served it on a silver platter. The wing-back’s misplaced pass fell to Kane who slipped in Olise to finish with a first-time shot past Zetterer. 

Bayern extended their advantage in an utterly dominant first-half as the clock ticked past the half-hour mark – Laimer fed Olise whose dazzling footwork bamboozled Bremen defenders. Reaching the byline, the French winger squared to Jamal Musiala for a routine tap in with only Zetterer in his way. 

Bremen managed a futile resistance after the interval before Bayern piled on more misery. A flurry of goals either side of the hour mark started with Kane who played a tidy one-two with Olise before finishing into the bottom right corner with a composed strike. Olise bagged his brace minutes later as  Amos Pieper cleared directly into his path. It had been a quiet afternoon for Serge Gnabry until the Bremen rearguard parted ways again for the German to powerfully place beyond Zetterer for 5-0. 

Heidenheim 0 – SC Freiburg 3

Frank Schmidt’s side fired early warning shots through Mathias Honsak who was afforded a rare start. The Austrian’s effort rounded off a swift move but he couldn’t force a save out of Noah Atubolu. What was largely a midfield battle took a brief pause as Marvin Pieringer and Lukas Kübler were involved in a nasty clash of heads. The accidental coming together brought play to a halt and thankfully both players could continue.

SC Freiburg required nine second-half minutes to shatter the deadlock in spectacular fashion. Ex-Heidenheim man Eren Dinkçi picked out Ritsu Dōan who shifted into a central position and drilled past Kevin Müller with some aid from the post. The Breisgauers doubled their goal tally just before the hour – Junior Adamu’s initial shot was blocked, but Vincenzo Grifo made no mistake with the rebound. 

It wasn’t long before the Italian made it 3-0. Adamu kept the attack alive with his back to goal. He teed up Höler whose control let him down, however Grifo was on hand to sweep home with his cultured right foot. Julian Schuster’s outfit never looked back as they cruised towards a comfortable three points.

VfL Bochum 2 – Holstein Kiel 2

A high-stakes game at the foot of the Bundesliga table sprung to life in the 15th-minute as Kiel hit the front. It was a beautifully constructed move as a reversed ball from Porath on the right flank gave Kelati time to pick his pass. Bochum’s high line exposed perfectly by Benedikt Pichler who rounded Drewes and rolled into an open net to scilence the Vonovia Ruhrstadion. 

Seven minutes later, Bochum struck back as Boadu raced down the left and crossed for Matúš Bero. The Slovakian midfielder kept his cool to curl past Weiner into the right corner. The hosts completed the comeback with a stunning goal of their own approaching the interval. Myron Boadu kept the ball in play for Wittek to cross. The full-back found Hofmann who broke the ball for Lukas Daschner to guide inside the left post as Weiner stood rooted to the spot.

As was the case from the first whistle, Kiel came out of the dressing rooms raring to go with Kelati unable to capitalise on Wittek’s tame clearance. The visitor’s best chance to restore parity came on 62 minutes – Pichler found Armin Gigović, but the Bonsnian couldn’t keep his effort on target. He cut a visibly frustrated figure afterwards. 

However, Kiel heads refused to drop and the equaliser arrived in the 89th-minute. The ‘joker’ duo combined as Skrzybski crossed for Machino who cushioned past Drewes. In a dramatic conclusion, Bochum could have snatched all three points late on as Pannewig’s header struck the upright in the fifth minute of additional time. 

Union Berlin 2 – TSG Hoffenheim 1 

Bo Svensson’s boys made early chsnces count as they defeated Hoffenheim in the German capital. Die Eisernen could not have dreamt of a better start as they constructed a 2-0 lead inside six minutes at a sunny Stadion Alten Försterei. Hollerbach’s short corner caused chaos as Akpoguma’s clearance deflected off Doekhi and into the path of Tom Rothe who thumped the ball into the roof of the net. 

Two minutes later, TSG coughed up possession and Union struck again. Baumann parried the initial deflected cross from Hollerbach, but Prass’ clearance was pounced on by Woo-Yeong Jeong as the Korean steered home while demonstrating immense composure.

Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men from Sinsheim halved the defecit midway through the second-half. None other than ex-Eisern man Marius Bülter cut in from the left, nutmegged the hapless Haberer, and beat Rønnow at his near post from 14 yards. The goal sparked tension in the ground as Union fans’ attempted to lift their side. Andras Schäfer came close to restoring Union’s two-goal lead, but Baumann managed to tip the goal-bound cross over the bar.