Gladbach and Hannover win
October 3, 2015
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 Wolfsburg
(Nordtveit 75‘, Traore 79‘)
On the back of defeats to the two Manchester sides in the Champions League, Gladbach and Wolfsburg hoped to bounce back immediately in Saturday's Bundesliga action. Two second-half goals gave the home side a third league win in a row.
While Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking decided to rest a number of players, sitting Bas Dost, Julian Draxler, Dante and Luiz Gustavo, Andre Schubert's Foals remained almost unchanged. After 12 minutes, Schubert's belief in his side was nearly rewarded, but Lars Stindl hit the post with his effort.
Just 10 shots came in the opening hour of the match at Borussia Park, with the first-half highlight being some Andre Schürrle simulation. The forward touched the ball past Tobias Sippel in the Gladbach goal before heading to the ground under minimal contact. The home players were unhappy that a yellow card wasn't brandished, and Schürrle was sure that he'd earned a penalty. Nothing was given in the end.
The second half started slowly and the introductions of Havard Nordtveit and Patrick Herrmann made the difference in a game that was waiting for someone to win it.
On 75 minutes, Nordtveit gave his side the lead. Raffael's cross found the midfielder on the edge of the box and his powerful effort, which hit the ground in front of him, sailed past Diego Benaglio and into the bottom corner. Four minutes later, the lead was doubled when Ibrahima Traoré burst through on a swift counter-attack and finished past Benaglio.
The win takes the Foals into thirteenth, while Wolfsburg continue to drop away from the top of the league.
Hannover 1-0 Werder Bremen
(Sane 55')
After seven winless games, attention was focused on Michael Frontzeck's last-placed Hannover for all the wrong reasons. But Saturday's opponents Werder Bremen were struggling for consistency, which offered a glimmer of hope at the HDI-Arena
The tame first half left plenty to be desired, with Felix Wiedwald and Ron-Robert Zieler able to parry the few shots that came their way. Werder's Anthony Ujah missed the opening period's best chance, as he put his header against the post.
The game came alive just ten minutes after the restart. Hiroshi Kiyotake's looping corner found Salif Sané, who out-jumped Jannik Vestergaard and headed home. Hannover locked down the match despite late pressure from the visitors. Maximilian Eggistein came close to grabbing an equalizer, but his header went straight at Zieler.
Hannover's first win of the season takes them off the bottom of the Bundesliga.
Ingolstadt and Hertha on a roll, Stuttgart grab point
The final three games completed what turned into an exciting Saturday of action. Ingolstadt's fourth win of the season took them up to the top third of table, and featured the club's first-ever goal at home in the German top division. Pascal Gross' 78th minute stunner put the Bavarians ahead against Eintracht Frankfurt, before a mistake from Lukas Hradecky gifted Stefan Lex a second. 2-0 the final score.
In the capital, Pal Dardai's Hertha side is over the moon following a second consecutive home win without conceding, which has also them in the top third of the table. Salomon Kalou opened the scoring with his third of the season after 17 minutes, and Bruno Labaddia's Hamburg side never looked like drawing level at the Olympiastadion. A late brace from Vedad Ibisevic salted away a convincing 3-0 win to preserve Hertha's undefeated home record this season.
Stuttgart left it late but earned a vital point in what was a six-pointer against Hoffenheim at the bottom of the Bundesliga. Kevin Volland opened the scoring in Sinsheim from the penalty spot after Pirmin Schwegler had been brought down in the box. The home side squandered a handful of chances to double its lead and was punished when substitute Jan Kliment equalized with his first touch of the game.
Volland thought he had won the match after 77 minutes when he scored his fourth in two games, but Timo Werner's header in the final minute gave Alexander Zorniger's side something to celebrate. Despite the 2-2 draw, however, Stuttgart sit bottom of the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim just two points ahead of them.
Bundesliga Matchday 8 Results:
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 Wolfsburg
Hannover 1-0 Werder Bremen
Ingolstadt 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Hertha BSC 3-0 Hamburg
Hoffenheim 2-2 Stuttgart