Bayern are back
April 11, 2009
Bayern Munich returned to their winning ways on Saturday, April 11, as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0. Franck Ribery set the tone, scoring after just three minutes and laying the groundwork for a long day for Frankfurt.
Luca Toni and Lucio added first-half goals before Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger scored the final Bayern goal in a victory that took them to second place in the table behind VfL Wolfsburg.
Bayern's victory will ease some of the pressure of beleaguered coach Juergen Klinsmann, whom some of the fans were even calling on to be sacked before the game. All of that was forgotten though after just 16 minutes as Ribery and Toni had given the home side a two-goal lead.
Nine times in a row
Wolfsburg, who won 2-1 at Moenchengladbach, are three points ahead of Bayern on 54 points. Hamburg are also on 51 points and could move to second in the standings if they win at Stuttgart on Sunday.
In Moenchengladbach, the struggling home side were unlucky not to come away with at least a point against the high-flying team from northern Germany.
Close to 50,000 spectators saw Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko open the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half. Dzeko's 16th goal of the season gave the table-toppers some confidence against a more than equal Gladbach squad. When Dante equalized for the home side in the 79th minute, Wolfsburg didn't despair.
They looked for a winner, which Sascha Riether scored five minutes from time, as the Wolves notched their ninth victory in a row in the middle of a second-leg run that has catapulted them from ninth place to the top of the table.
Hertha's Voronin sees red
Hertha Berlin lost 2-0 at Hanover 96 and stayed on 49 points in fourth place. Berlin striker Andrey Voronin was responsible for Hertha's flight to the top last month but the Ukrainian was sent off late in the match and will miss at least Berlin's next home game against Werder Bremen next week, reducing Berlin's chances to mix it up for the title.
Former Germany striker Mike Hanke and Arnold Bruggink scored the goals for Hanover. The side from the capital, who were leading the Bundesliga standings a few weeks ago, have now lost three games in a row.
Schalke 04 moved closer to an UEFA Cup place with a 2-0 victory at home against Karlsruhe. Kevin Kuranyi gave Schalke the lead in the 24th minute before Jefferson Farfan added a second -- ten minutes from the end. Karlsruhe have now been scoreless for eight straight games. Schalke rivals Borussia Dortmund kept pace for an UEFA Cup spot with a 3-1 comeback victory over Cologne.
In a relegation battle, Energie Cottbus had Bulgarians Dimitar Rangelov and Stanislav Angelov to thank for a 2-1 victory at home against fellow-strugglers Arminia Bielefeld. Although Cottbus still occupy a relegation place, they are just one point behind Bielefeld, who are 15th in the table.
The final game saw autumn champions Hoffenheim continue their downward slide. Bochum's Stanislav Sestak scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 road victory against nine-man Hoffenheim.