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On Sunday, two matches were played in the German football championship, which concluded the fifteenth round of the league. With two rounds left until the winter break, it is still unclear which teams' players will welcome the new year as Bundesliga leaders - "Bayern" leads the table with 38 points, closely followed by the ambitious "Hamburger" defending champions, with 34 points in their account.
The "Mainz" club achieved a great victory in front of their fans, defeating the visitors from Wolfsburg 5-1. In the second minute of the match, the hosts had a chance to take the lead after F.Quiroga fouled "Mainz" forward B.Auer inside the penalty area. Another forward from the home team, M.Thurk, sent the ball into the bottom corner of the goal from the 11-meter mark, putting his team in front.
However, the home fans' joy was short-lived - just a minute later, one of the league's most prolific scorers, "Wolfsburg" forward D.Klimowicz capitalized on a defender's mistake and equalized the score. But that was all "Wolfsburg" could demonstrate in this match. Before the end of the first half, "Mainz" players B.Auer and P.Ruman each scored a goal, further solidifying "Mainz's" advantage.
After the break, the situation remained the same, with "Mainz" continuing to dominate and completely outclass their opponents. Following this victory, "Mainz" improved their position slightly and climbed to the thirteenth spot on the league table.
The next match between "Bayer" and "Hertha" in Leverkusen was much more intense. In the second minute of the game, Marcelinho took a dangerous penalty shot, which flew just over the "Bayer" team's goal. A few minutes later, the home team "Bayer" had a chance, but after D.Berbatov's shot, "Hertha" defender M.Fathias saved the team by clearing the ball off the goal line.
After about 20 minutes of play, the first goal was scored - receiving a pass from C.Barnettos, "Bayer" forward D.Berbatov accurately shot into the bottom corner of the goal from the edge of the penalty area. With this goal, the Bulgarian ended his goal drought lasting 870 minutes. Just ten minutes later, A.Voroninas had a good opportunity, but failed to score accurately, and "Hertha" goalkeeper saved his shot. At the end of the first half, with about 5 minutes left to play, the visitors probably had the best chance to score, however, Serb M.Panteličiaus's shot from 8 meters was a bit off target and the ball flew over the crossbar.
The second half started more actively for "Bayer," but despite that, the visitors from the capital managed to score, as Y.Basturkas sent the ball into his former team's goal after a precise combination, equalizing the score. After the conceded goal, Leverkusen team seemed a bit unsettled, which "Hertha" took advantage of, and a few minutes later, Brazilian Marcelinho turned the score in favor of his team. "Hertha" continued to control the game until the final whistle and secured a well-deserved victory. By the way, this was only the second victory for the Berlin footballers away from home, which allowed them to solidify their fifth position and increase the gap against "Borussia" to four points.
Sunday Statistics:
5 - 1
2` [1 - 0] Michael Thurk (from an 11m penalty)
3` [1 - 1] Diego Klimowicz
36` [2 - 1] Benjamin Auer
45` [3 - 1] Petr Ruman
51` [4 - 1] Mohamed Zidan
77` [5 - 1] Michael Thurk
1 - 2
20` [1 - 0] Dimitar Berbatov
58` [1 - 1] Yildiray Bastürk
64` [1 - 2] Marcelinho
