Bundesliga Roundup: Bayern survive Wolfsburg scare as title race heats up

The Bundesliga title race is heating up and matchday 19 saw Bayern Munich survive a late scare against Wolfsburg, while Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin maintained their impressive starts to 2023.

Matchday 19 of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season is in the books, and Bayern Munich remain top of the charts after beating Wolfsburg 4-2 on Sunday. The Bavarians got off to a rampant start and raced to a three goal lead, with Kingsley Coman scoring a brace. But Jakub Kaminski pulled a goal back for Wolfsburg in the 44th minute, before Joshua Kimmich’s red card gave them further hope of a comeback.

Bayern responded by restoring their three goal lead through Jamal Musiala, before Mattias Svanberg pulled Wolfsburg back into the game. But it wasn’t to be for Niko Kovac’s side in the end, as the defending Bundesliga champions held on to claim the all-important three points.

Union Berlin stayed second after securing a hard fought 2-1 win over Mainz 05. Marcus Ingvartsen canceled out Kevin Behrens’ first half opener. But Jordan Siebatcheu scored late on to help the Berliners’ make it five wins in a row in all competitions.

Sebastien Haller scored his first goal for Borussia Dortmund in their 5-1 thrashing of SC Freiburg. Nico Schlotterbeck, Karim Adeyemi, Julian Brandt and Gio Reyna also scored for the Black and Yellows as they showcased their title credentials with a dominant win. Lucas Höler scored what proved to be a consolation goal for Freiburg, who also had Kiliann Sildillia sent off.

Eintracht Frankfurt moved up to fifth place after dispatching Hertha Berlin 3-0. Randal Kolo Muani scored a first-half brace for the Eagles, before Aurelio Buta sealed the win late on. RB Leipzig could only manage a goalless draw away to FC Köln and slipped to fourth place in the Bundesliga standings.

VfL Bochum moved out of the relegation zone after handing TSG Hoffenheim a 5-2 defeat. Philipp Hofmann, Philipp Förster, Takuma Asano, Erhan Mašović, and Moritz Broschinski were on target for Bochum; and Christopher Antwi-Adjei starred by registering a hat-trick of assists. TSG Hoffenheim responded to the defeat by parting ways with head coach Andre Breitenreiter.

Bayer Leverkusen’s topsy-turvy season continued as they were beaten by FC Augsburg. Mergim Berisha scored the winner for Enrico Maaßen’s side in the second half.

Werder Bremen made it two wins in a row, as goals from Jens Stage and Marvin Ducksch helped them beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0. There was nothing to separate Borussia Mönchengladbach and Schalke 04, who played out a goalless draw.