Bundesliga Matchday 15 roundup
There were big wins at the bottom of the Bundesliga, Dortmund stayed in control, and Bayern Munich extended their unbeaten run with a thumping win away from home. All the latest from the Bundesliga on matchday 15.
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
After two defeats on the bounce against Wolfsburg and Hertha, Eintracht Frankfurt returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga. Two well-worked goals either side of half-time from Danny Da Costa and Filip Kostic gave the Eagles a two-goal lead over Bayer Leverkusen, who halved the deficit through Karim Bellarabi. But Frankfurt held on for three points which see them keep in touch with the top four.
RB Leipzig 4 - 1 Mainz
Braces from Yusuf Poulsen and Timo Werner (pictured) helped the hosts consolidate fourth. The Red Bulls showed no ill effects from their midweek European exit early on but allowed Mainz back in to the game, with Karim Onisiwo scoring after Poulsen notched the first two. Mainz had their moments in the second half but Werner rounded the keeper on 74 minutes before lashing one in a minute from time.
Augsburg 1-1 Schalke
An injury-stricken Schalke picked up a point and more frustration in Augsburg. Ralf Fährmann's poor punch gave Michael Gregoritsch a free header in the first half and Schalke looked out of it until Daniel Caligiuri fired home a long-range effort to level the scores. Haji Wright thought he had scored the winner, but was offside. The result leaves both sides stuck in the lower half of the table.
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Werder Bremen
First half goals from Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus kept Borussia Dortmund's nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga intact. Max Kruse's fine volley from distance cut Dortmund's lead in half, but Werder Bremen couldn't build on that as Lucien Favre's side pulled off an important win and look set to go into the winter break with a healthy lead over their rivals.
Stuttgart 2-1 Hertha Berlin
A Mario Gomez brace helped Stuttgart make big strides in their quest to move away from the relegation zone. The visitors dominated the first half, with Maximilian Mittelstädt finishing off a neat team move for the opener. Stuttgart battled back though. Mario Gomez poked home his first goal since October 6 and then powered in a headed second not long after to lift Stuttgart out of the drop zone.
Hannover 0-4 Bayern Munich
It might have only been against a struggling Hannover team, but Bayern Munich got back in their groove. Joshua Kimmich's volley into the far corner gave Bayern the perfect start after just 65 seconds, and not long after David Alaba smashed a stunning half volley into the top corner. Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski added goals as Bayern stayed brilliant.
Düsseldorf 2-0 Freiburg
What looked a good chance for Freiburg to pull away from the bottom of the table, turned into a game that Düsseldorf could have won by more. Having missed a host of chances and been bizarrely denied a penalty for a handball, two set-pieces won the day for Fortuna. Kaan Ayhan powered home a header and flicked in a second as the hosts climb into the relegation playoff spot.
Hoffenheim 0-0 Gladbach
On a cold day, Gladbach fans warmed themselves with quite the showing. On the pitch, the visitors didn't look as hot. Hoffenheim looked the more active and likely to score, despite the fact they played in Manchester midweek. Joelinton curled in a superb strike but was ruled out for offside by VAR and Adam Szalai blazed over in added time as both ended up having to share the points.
Nuremburg 0-2 Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg extended their unbeaten run to four games after picking up their fourth away victory of the season in Nuremburg. After a scoreless first half, Daniel Ginczek put the Wolves ahead with his third goal in as many games and Josip Brekalo added another in second half stoppage time. The loss for Nuremburg extended their winless run to nine games.