Three things we learned from the Bundesliga Konfernez | OneFootball

Ahead of Der Klassiker, we still had a full programme of games in the Bundesliga this afternoon. The biggest shock was RB Leipzig’s 5-1 capitulation at the hands of Wolfsburg while Bayer Leverkusen saw off a tough test at Union Berlin. There were also wins for Freiburg and Augsburg, while in the North of Germany, Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart played out a draw.

Here is what we learned:

Marco Rose’s time at RB Leipzig may be up:

3-0 down against Wolfsburg within the first 15 minutes, 5-1 down at the end of the game. *Insert cheap dig at how the Red Bull Arena was just as empty at full-time as it was at kick-off*

Leipzig are now six games without a win in all competitions and just look lost. At the start of the month, they were the best defence in the league, but that has now completely collapsed. With a tough game in midweek against Eintracht Frankfurt and their Champions League ambitions all but over, Leipzig need to turn their form around quickly or their season will be quickly over.

During his time at Leipzig, Rose lifted the DFB Pokal but apart from that he has failed to take Leipzig to the next level. The only thing that is working in Rose’s favour is the fact that Jürgen Klopp, his former boss at Mainz, will be joining the group in January and the current crop of available managers are not that good, the only available option who could fit in at Leipzig is Roger Schmidt, the former head coach of Red Bull Salzburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen are too reliant on Florian Wirtz:

Away from poor defending from Union Berlin gifted Leverkusen the opening goal, die Werkself struggled to break down the hosts for much of the game but when Wirtz was subbed on in the 58th minute everything changed, with him eventually assisting Patrik Schick’s winner in the 71st minute.

Benching Wirtz shows that Leverkusen needs a Plan B, as they do not possess a player who can remotely match his creativity and dynamism. There have been reports that Enzo Millot of VfB Stuttgart or Ibrahim Maza of Hertha Berlin are options, but it doesn’t matter who, but they need a backup option especially if Wirtz leaves in the summer.

Elsewhere, Schick continues to step up in the absence of Victor Boniface. The Czech’s goal today means he has now scored six in his last four games.

The duality of Baden (and) Württemberg:

The south-west state in Germany is home to four Bundesliga sides SC Freiburg, Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Heidenheim. Freiburg and Stuttgart’s performances this afternoon showed the differences between the two sides.

Freiburg, based in Baden, beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1. It was a relatively comfortable win, as, despite a Tim Kleindiesnt goal to help the visitors back into the game, Freiburg immediately replied. The win meant they climbed to fifth in the table and it is a testament to the work of Julian Schuster as he had big shoes to fill in replacing Christian Streich in the summer but the team have just remained consistent.

Compare this to Stuttgart, based in Württemberg (you see what I’m doing here), after the high of last season have struggled. After beating Dortmund in late September, they have only won twice in the league against Bochum and Holstien Kiel. Today they again struggled having to come from behind twice to rescue a point against Werder Bremen. Injuries have not helped but the team’s free-flowing, fun, attacking football has hit the buffers recently but with a winnable set of games on the horizon, VfB can end the year on a high.

GGFN | Jack Meenan