It was another intriguing matchday across the Bundesliga, with many teams in close proximity to one another doing battle. For some, this matchday may serve as a turning point in their season. For others, it only adds emphasis to their already platelet issues. Here are your winners and losers from matchday 11 in the Bundesliga.
Winners
VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart bounced back in style after losing to FC Heidenheim on matchday 10 with an impressive 2-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund. The Swabians have been remarkable up to this point, with marksman Serhou Guirassy already scoring 15 goals this campaign. Guirassy ultimately scored the winner in this game from the penalty spot with ten minutes to go. The vital win kept Stuttgart in 3rd on 24 points. For a team that was almost relegated last season, it’s some turnaround in the space of half a year. After the international break, Stuttgart travel away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayer Leverkusen
Who or what can stop Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen? It feels like this is their world, and we are just spectators. B04 maintained their unbeaten run this campaign with a stunning 4-0 victory at home over Union Berlin. There were some concerns prior to the game that Leverkusen would be fatigued, having only come back from Baku on Thursday night/Friday morning. However, there was certainly no sign of that. B04 were in complete control throughout and scored some cracking goals as a result. Alonso’s side stay top over the November international break with a trip to Werder Bremen waiting on the 25th.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Up until this point, it’s been a rather mixed start to the season for Gladbach. However, now unbeaten in three games and following an impressive 4-0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg on Friday night, fans must be thinking that GLAD they’re BACK! (Sorry, I had to). The winner propels Gerardo Seoane’s side into 9th on 13 points and although the middle pack is still quite congested, this should give Gladbach the confidence to really kick on from here. It’s been a rough couple of years for Die Fohlen, so this recent form should be the start of so much-needed optimism. Up next after the break is another tough test against Borussia Dortmund away.
Losers
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund might just be the most frustrating team to watch this season, and that’s coming from an MSV Duisburg fan! Coming off the back of an impressive win midweek against Newcastle United in the Champions League, BVB failed to kick on against Stuttgart. Dortmund were under pressure for large parts of the game and had to rely on Gregor Kobel in goal to rescue them on more than a few occasions. In cruel irony, it was Kobel who gave away what turned out to be the winning penalty for Stuttgart. Edin Terzić must be scratching his head at this point; what does he and his team have to do to find some consistency? The loss means BVB drop down into 5th with a game against Gladbach to follow on matchday 12.
Union Berlin
Union Berlin haven’t won a Bundesliga game since August. In fact, the only point they’ve picked up since then was against Napoli in the Champions League last week. Other than that, it’s been loss after loss after loss. In truth, not many were expecting them to get anything from Bayer Leverkusen on matchday 11. However, the difference in class was there for all to see. Union just look void of answers right now. There’s no question that Urs Fischer has done a remarkable job at Union and will forever remain a legend of the club. However, he too must be thinking, what more can he do right now? Union have a massive game coming up after the break as they host FC Augsburg. Having just fallen to the bottom of the table, you feel they’ve got to register their third win of the season to ensure that they don’t start to get cut adrift.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
