3 things we learnt from the Bundesliga Konferenz

Freiburg’s 3-2 win against Wolfsburg opened matchday 14 and foreshadowed how the rest of the matchday will go as Bayern Munich lost their first game in the league this season as they lost 2-1 to Mainz, Bayer Leverkusen beat Augsburg to temporarily move into second, Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Holstein Kiel while Union Berlin and Bochum played out a draw.

Here is what we learnt:

THE TITLE RACE IS BACK ON:

For much of this season, it looked like Bayern Munich were going to be handed the Bundesliga title as the teams below them would trip over one another, however, the tide now seems to be turning. 

Today, Bayern lost their first game in the league this season as they succumbed to a 2-1 loss to Mainz in what was one of their worst performances of the season, but this time Jamal Musiala was unable to rescue them. At the Mewa Arena, Bayern dominated the ball but were unable to force a save from Robin Zentner for much of the game.

Luck was also against them for once this season as Mainz’s first goal came from the ball being deflected and kindly dropped to Jae-Sung Lee to open the scoring, the Korean would then make it 2-0 on the hour mark. Bayern would give themselves hope when Leroy Sané scored in a wide-open goal in the 87th minute to make it 2-1.

While Bayern were losing, Bayer Leverkusen continued their great form as a 2-0 win away at Augsburg means they are on a seven-game winning run but most importantly the gap between them and Bayern is now only four points. Despite being defending champions, Leverkusen would much prefer to be the chaser than the chased as pressure will begin to build on Bayern now as the honeymoon period under Vincent Kompany comes to an end. 

To add to this, Bayern’s final game before the winter break is against RB Leipzig. Who have proven to be an issue for Bayern over the past couple of years, even if they are not at their best. 

Mainz continue their revival:

A year ago, Mainz were 17th in the Bundesliga table and looked destined for relegation. Later in the season, Bo Henriksen would then take charge and since then, Mainz have been on an upward trajectory. Twice they have beaten Borussia Dortmund and now they have also beaten Bayern Munich and each time they have deserved their wins. 

On top of this, the academy remains at the heart of what Mainz are achieving last season it was Brajan Gruda, this season it is Jonathan Burkardt (who was substituted off in the first half) and Paul Nebel. Then surrounding the pair there are players who don’t get enough praise in Jae-Sung Lee and Nadiem Amiri as well as young talent in Armindo Sieb (who is on loan from Bayern).

Now, Mainz sit 6th in the league after winning four of their last five games. The last time they were in this position was nine years ago. 

The automatic relegation places are likely set:

Kiel lost 4-1 to Gladbach, while Bochum played out a bizarre draw with Union, but the pair are now five and eight points off of the relegation playoff places and both seem like they are heading towards the 2.Bundesliga. 

The pair seem to lack any quality to be able to turn their situations around. Kiel did not cause any real issue for Gladbach today, while Bochum went down to 10 men very early on in Köpenick but managed to hold on for a point. The ending of this game was also delayed as an object was thrown at Bochum keeper Patrick Drewes, which the Bochum players reacted by returning to the dressing room. After a lengthy delay, Bochum came back out, without Drewes and Philipp Hofmann playing in goal, but neither team made any effort to score.

The battle for the relegation playoff also currently looks like it is down to three teams with Heidenheim, St Pauli and Hoffenheim currently battling it out.

GGFN | Jack Meenan