Borussia Dortmund continued their upward trend by securing a 3-0 derby victory against FC Schalke 04 on Bundesliga matchday 23. Jürgen Klopp's men now sit in ninth place and thus in the top half of the table. For Schalke it was another setback, having only managed one point from their last three league games as they dropped into fifth place.
Dortmund dominated the game from the start but squandered a host of good opportunities until Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 78th minute. Henrikh Mkhitaryan tapped home from close range just one minute later to double BVB's lead. Marco Reus rounded off the scoring following a mistake by Schalke keeper Timon Wellenreuther in the closing stages of the game.
Leverkusen move up the standings
Bayer Leverkusen secured a vital 1-0 victory against SC Freiburg in their bid to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. Freiburg frustrated Leverkusen with an extremely defensive game plan but Simon Rolfes put the favourites ahead after 33 minutes to earn Leverkusen the victory. Bayer 04 are now in fourth place, overtaking Schalke 04 and Augsburg who both lost their games. Freiburg, on the other hand, drop into 17th place.
Stuttgart held to draw in Hannover
VFB Stuttgart were unable to overcome Hannover 96 as they recorded a 1-1 draw away from home and are now in danger of losing sight of the teams above them. They are currently five points behind Hamburger SV in 15th place and are still waiting for their first victory since Huub Stevens was appointed manager. Hannover 96, on the other hand, are yet to win in 2015 and are getting dangerously close to the relegation zone. Both teams lacked structure in their build up play and thus focused on minimising mistakes in defence. Stuttgart eventually started to look like the better side and they deservedly took the lead through skipper Christian Gentner seven minutes after the restart. Lars Stindl equalised with twenty minutes left on the clock and this prompted a hectic final phase of the game, which produced no further goals but saw Hannover's goalscorer Stindl get sent off following his second bookable offence and Stuttgart's Martin Harnik pick up a straight red card.
Kalou scores late – Hertha out of relegation zone
Hertha BSC secured an important 1-0 victory against FC Augsburg, as they moved out of the relegation zone following Salomon Kalou's goal in the 88th minute. It was Hertha's first win at home after three consecutive defeats, with Augsburg dropping to sixth place after failing to win any of their last four games.
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were given renewed hope in their quest to qualify for Europe next season as they beat FSV Mainz 05 2-0. Kevin Volland (55') and Eugen Polanski (76') scored for the hosts, who now sit in seventh place, just two points behind Augsburg in sixth. Mainz, on the other hand, drop to 12th place after losing three of their last four league games.
Borussia Dortmund continued their upward trend by securing a 3-0 derby victory against FC Schalke 04 on Bundesliga matchday 23. Jürgen Klopp's men now sit in ninth place and thus in the top half of the table. For Schalke it was another setback, having only managed one point from their last three league games as they dropped into fifth place.
Dortmund dominated the game from the start but squandered a host of good opportunities until Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 78th minute. Henrikh Mkhitaryan tapped home from close range just one minute later to double BVB's lead. Marco Reus rounded off the scoring following a mistake by Schalke keeper Timon Wellenreuther in the closing stages of the game.
Leverkusen move up the standings
Bayer Leverkusen secured a vital 1-0 victory against SC Freiburg in their bid to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. Freiburg frustrated Leverkusen with an extremely defensive game plan but Simon Rolfes put the favourites ahead after 33 minutes to earn Leverkusen the victory. Bayer 04 are now in fourth place, overtaking Schalke 04 and Augsburg who both lost their games. Freiburg, on the other hand, drop into 17th place.
Stuttgart held to draw in Hannover
VFB Stuttgart were unable to overcome Hannover 96 as they recorded a 1-1 draw away from home and are now in danger of losing sight of the teams above them. They are currently five points behind Hamburger SV in 15th place and are still waiting for their first victory since Huub Stevens was appointed manager. Hannover 96, on the other hand, are yet to win in 2015 and are getting dangerously close to the relegation zone. Both teams lacked structure in their build up play and thus focused on minimising mistakes in defence. Stuttgart eventually started to look like the better side and they deservedly took the lead through skipper Christian Gentner seven minutes after the restart. Lars Stindl equalised with twenty minutes left on the clock and this prompted a hectic final phase of the game, which produced no further goals but saw Hannover's goalscorer Stindl get sent off following his second bookable offence and Stuttgart's Martin Harnik pick up a straight red card.
Kalou scores late – Hertha out of relegation zone
Hertha BSC secured an important 1-0 victory against FC Augsburg, as they moved out of the relegation zone following Salomon Kalou's goal in the 88th minute. It was Hertha's first win at home after three consecutive defeats, with Augsburg dropping to sixth place after failing to win any of their last four games.
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were given renewed hope in their quest to qualify for Europe next season as they beat FSV Mainz 05 2-0. Kevin Volland (55') and Eugen Polanski (76') scored for the hosts, who now sit in seventh place, just two points behind Augsburg in sixth. Mainz, on the other hand, drop to 12th place after losing three of their last four league games.
