Sunday sees FC Koln, FC Bayern victorious in Bundesliga action

Photo by Gerhard Gellinger via pixabay.com

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

FRANKFURT, GERMANY (May 17, 2020) Matchday 26 for the Bundesliga continued on Sunday with two matches on tab. FC Koln battled Mainz to a 2-2 draw while FC Bayern downed Union Berlin 2-0. Below is a recap of the matches.

FC Koln 2, Mainz 2 Koln jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute on a successful penalty kick by Mark Uth, taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Billy Goats (Die Geißböcke) added their second goal of the match when Florian Kainz received a pass from fellow midfielder  Dominick Drexler in the 53rd minute. Maina evened the score late in the match with goals by Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi, in the 61st minute, and Cameroonian midfielder Pierre Kunde, (72nd minute).

FC Bayern 2, Union Berlin 0 The Bavarians (Die Bayern) added three points to their season (58 points) in the Bundesliga to remain in first place in the 2019-2020 Bundesliga standings over Dortmund. The win was the fifth straight for Bayern, pushing their record to 18-4-4 (W-D-L). Striker Robert Lewandowski scored the first goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 40th minute, with defender Benjamin Pavard adding the second goal in the 80th minute.

The final game of Matchday 26 will be tomorrow (Monday) when Verder faces Leverkusen at Weser-Stadion in Bremen.

Bundesliga restarts after COVID-19 pandemic break

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

FRANKFURT, GERMANY (May 16, 2020) On Saturday, the Bundesliga, Germany's top level league, became the first major soccer organization to return to live play with six matches on tap. The games were the first to be played since the league suspended play on March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a recap of those first games.

Hertha 3, Hoffenhein 0  Die Alte Dame (The Old Lady) blasted in two second-half goals, along with an own goal by Hoffenhein defender Kevin Akpoguma in the 58th minute for the win. Striker Vedad Ibišević scored in the 60th minute with winger Matheus Cunha adding the insurance goal 14 minutes later.

Wolfsburg 2, Augsburg 1 With the score tied after regulation, striker Daniel Ginczek scored the game winner in the 91st minute to give Die Wölfe (The Wolves) the win. Midfielder Renato Steffen scored the first goal of the match in the 43rd minute for Wolfsburg with defender Tin Jedvaj scoring for Augsburg in the 54th miniute.

Dusseldorf 0, Paderborn 0 These two teams battled to a scoreless draw at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf.

Leipzig 1, Freiburg 1 Defender Manuel Gulde got Freiburg on the scoreboard in the 34th minute. Striker Yossuf Poulsen tied up the match in the 77th minute.

Dordmund 4, Schalke 0 Die Schwarzgelben (The Black and Yellows) showed no mercy, with defender Raphaël Guerreiro tallying a brace, in the 45th and 63rd minutes. Striker Erling Braut Håland scored the first goal of the match in the 29th minute with midfielder Thorgan Hazard adding the third goal of the game, in the 48th minute.

Monchengladbach 3, Frankfurt 1 Die Fohlen (The Foals)  scored twice in the first seven minutes, with goals by strikers Alassane Pléa, in the first minute, and Marcus Thuram in the seventh minute. Defender Ramy Bensebaini added the insurance goal. on a penalty kick, in the 73rd minute. Frankfurt scored on an André Silva goal in the 81st minute.

Action continues on Sunday with two matches with the final game of Matchday 26 on Monday.

German soccer league Bundesliga to resume play

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 8, 2020) Bundesliga, the German professional soccer league, is planning to resume their season in early May with no fans in attendance at the games. Chief Executive Officer of the league, Christian Seifert, stated to the New York Times that play is ready to get back underway in both of Germany's top two tiers, Bundesliga and Bundesliga2
The idea is to play in all of the leagues 36 stadiums with no fans in attendance at games until 2021. The cost to the clubs not playing in front of fans would be close to $110 million US dollars. It is expected that approximately 240 people would be needed for each match, including players, coaching staff, medical staff, match officials and production staff. There has been no mention if media would be allowed access to the matches. 

ESPN has the multi-platform broadcast rights to the German Bundesliga in the United State until 2026. The broacaster will cover every game live on its streaming service ESPN+, while its TV networks will telecast select Bundesliga games every season.