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The last match of the full Saturday slate was perhaps the most important one for the title race: Bayer Leverkusen, who came into the weekend in second place, were held to a draw by SC Freiburg. Although this one was scoreless, it was not without action. Freiburg played aggressively and weren't intimidated, taking the battle to Bayer Levs from the first whistle. Jan Rosenthal nearly give Freiburg a first half lead, as his blast just missed, instead bouncing back off the post. Leverkusen had a few chances of their own, but they had to settle for a point. The draw was probably deserved, but the 0-0 finish was not, as it was actually a relatively open match with several good chances.
No goal videos from that one, obviously, but we do have some footage from Hannover's win over VfL Wolfsburg:
A little controversy there, as the Diouf goal (the first one shown in slow motion replay in that clip) appeared to have come back off the post, hit Diouf in the upper arm, and then bounced into the goal. But it was allowed, and H96 held on for a 2-1 win, despite playing most of the match with 10 men. Hannover are now in the top half, at least temporarily, and have their first points of 2013.
But perhaps the day's biggest climbers were Mainz. FSV still have designs on their first Champions League finish ever, and they looked a solid bet today with a 3-0 win (granted, against a weak SpVgg side). Adam Szalai continued his amazing season with a brace. This was not as horrible a blow-out as the score makes it seem, as it was scoreless after 50 minutes and SpVgg did generate a few chances of their own. But, at the end of the day, it's another 3 points for Mainz (who now sit in 5th place) and another empty home chance for G-F (still mired at the foot of the table, still without a win at home).
Other results:
- 'Gladbach took a win at home over Fortuna D. Some extended highlights of that one:
- Schalke continued their fall with a 0-0 draw against Augsburg - and, hey, look at the Clowns moving into a tie for 16th!
- Eintracht Franfkurt beat Hoffenheim to remain in 4th place.
If you have any insight into any of these matches, or if I got anything wrong, let us know in the comments. And check back tomorrow morning for the Match Day Thread, as Bayern does battle with VfB. Thanks for reading.