Bundesliga matchday 24 recap: Mainz Champions League hopes, Union Berlin’s bad Bratwurst luck, Bayern Munich one step closer & more

After another closely contested week of Bundesliga action, matchday 24 raised many more talking points. From Steffen Baumgart’s bad Bratwurst to Mainz dreaming of Champions League football and everything in between, the business end of the Bundesliga season is certainly heating up. In the spirit of Karnival all across Germany, here is your Bundesliga recap from a rollercoaster of a weekend. 

Mainz Champions League Fairytale

Mainz 05 kicked off the Karnival celebrations in tremendous style, overcoming RB Leipzig in Saxony (1-2) to leapfrog their opponents into fourth place. 

The hosts were the first to strike just one minute in via Xavi Simons, but it did not disturb Bo Henricksen’s side who were able to compose themselves and not let the game get beyond them. 

Nadiem Amiri got the away side on level terms in the 52nd minute before playing his part in the eventual winner just four minutes later – the ever-reliable Jonathan Burkardt doing what he does best. 

Amiri’s performance on the scoresheet (five goals and four assists) this season has been nothing short of incredible for a deep midfielder. Since his move from B04 last winter, Amiri’s career has taken somewhat of a redemption arc. 

“In the end, it was an absolute statement [win],” Amiri noted. 

Head coach Bo Henriksen – speaking at his post-match press conference on Sunday- proudly stated that his team had “beaten every big Bundesliga side except Leverkusen” this season.

The win means Mainz take 4th position on 41 points whilst Leipzig slip into 6th place on 38 points. 

Baumgart’s Bad Bratwurst Luck 

Union Berlin’s 0-1 loss to relegation rivals Holstein Kiel means the relegation battle is closer than ever. After the defeat, it appeared the Union boss had bratwurst on his mind. 

The German phrase “der dicke Ende der Wurst” (literally “the fat side of the Bratwurst”) or the “Am falschen Ende der Wurst” (literally “at the wrong end of the Bratwurst”) isn’t intuitively difficult to translate. Most English speakers can easily infer that the idiom refers to bad luck – that’s how Steffen Baumgart described his team’s loss last weekend. 

Union did dominate for most of the game and finished on an expected xG of 1.73 in comparison to Kiel’s 1.03. However, football is played on paper or with stats (thankfully). 

Union managed a staggering 38 crosses into the Kiel box during the game but failed to create a legitimate chance from any of them. With this in mind, getting the wrong end of the bratwurst didn’t seem so relevant. 

The win was Kiel’s first-ever away win in the Bundesliga and moves them up to 17th on 16 points. They’re now just one point behind Bochum in 16th and five points off complete safety. 

Union go down a place into 15th on 23 points. 

Bayern Maintain Lead

Bayern Munich overcame a tricky fixture away at VfB Stuttgart last Friday night (1-3) to maintain their 8-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga. 

Sebastian Hoeneß’s side started the better of the two sides, with Bayern uncharacteristically sitting off their opponents. 

Stuttgart took the lead via former Bayern academy product Angelo Stiller, whose long-range effort found the rough of Manuel Neuer’s net. 

Bayern managed to get on level terms on the stroke of half-time thanks to Michael Olise. The former Crystal Palace man has been a stand-out performer for Bayern in his first season and has come to their recuse on more than one occasion. 

The goal didn’t come without controversy, however. It took over four minutes for VAR to confirm that Olise was just onside. In the end, it was the correct call, but it was incredibly close. 

Bayern took control in the second half and went ahead thanks to a goalkeeping mistake and Leon Goretzka. 

Alexander Nübel passed the ball to Stiller (who was already under pressure). He was disposed, and Goretzka kindly obliged by putting the ball into the net. Somewhat ironically, two former Bayern academy products spelled disaster for Stuttgart and jubilation for Vincent Kompany’s side. 

Kingsley Coman wrapped up the win in the 90th minute, which ignited wild celebrations as everyone celebrated with Vincent Kompany on the touchline. You felt it was a big win against a tough opponent as Bayern edged ever closer to regaining the Bundesliga Meisterschale. 

Around the Grounds 

Borussia Dortmund made it two wins from two with a gritty 0-2 win away at St. Pauli. Goals from Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi moved BVB up to 10th and just 3 points off 6th. 

Bayer Leverkusen kept the pressure on Bayern Munich with a splendid 1-4 away victory against Eintracht Frankfurt. Granit Xhaka took most of the plaudits at full-time and explained that he’s been modeling his passing game on Germany legend Toni Kroos. 

Elsewhere, there were wins for VfL Wolfsburg, TSG Hoffenheim, and Borussia Mönchengladbach, whilst FC Augsburg and SC Freiburg drew 0-0 on Sunday. 

GGFN | Jamie Allen