Looking Around the League: The Chaos Continues

It was a very enjoyable weekend of football, serving as a reminder that sports is wonderful and nothing ever goes wrong.

Just in case anyone needed a reminder, here’s how Dortmund’s weekend went:

Results

Here are the results from Round 22 of the Bundesliga season:

Arminia Bielefeld 0-3 Wolfsburg

Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 Mainz

Freiburg 0 -1 Union Berlin

Werder Bremen 0-0 SC Freiburg

Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Bayern Munich

FC Koln 0-1 Stuttgart

Schalke 0-4 Borussia Dortmund

Augsburg 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Hertha Berlin 0-3 RB Leipzig

Hoffenheim 4-0 Werder Bremen

Standings

Bayern Choose to Drop Points Just to Spite BVB

Bayern Munich have managed to rack up points despite some shaky performances so far this season. So much so it started to look like they have already got the league title wrapped up. Given this, and the fact Borussia Dortmund are busy scrapping for a place in the top four with Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, and Eintracht Frankfurt, many BVB fans were rooting for Bayern to win against Frankfurt and do Dortmund a favor. Of course, I one time we need something from them, they drop the ball. Coincidence? I think not.

Sure, you might point to xG and Bayern’s struggling defensive effort so far this season as evidence of this just being a normal part of the chaos that has been going on in all of the big five leagues this season. But I don’t buy it. I think they threw the game. Bitter losers.

Wolfsburg and Frankfurt sit in 3rd and 4th, on 42 points, and Leverkusen, Dortmund, Union Berlin, and Gladbach are all within 10 points of the top four. It continues to be a chaotic scramble for the Champions League.

The Relegation Scrap Deserves Some Attention

We’ve all been preoccupied with what is going on near the top of the table, but save for last place (which Schalke appear to have sewn up), the scrap at the bottom of the table has been heating up. Six points separates everyone from 12th to 17th, and Mainz’s performances in recent weeks have given them a real shot at avoiding the drop. They managed to claim victory over Gladbach at the weekend, but that is just one in a long list of scalps they’ve claimed recently.

In the last seven games, they have beaten Gladbach, Union Berlin, RB Leipzig, and Stuttgart, and drawn with Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. They have come away from a really difficult run of games with an incredible number of points, and now they have a stretch of games that they will see as very winnable, especially with the momentum they have built.

While they’re still in the hole, I reckon Mainz will claw their way out of the relegation spots, and Arminia Bielefeld will end up dropping back down instead. But who will end up in the playoff? Surely it won’t be Hertha Berlin... right?

Your Thoughts?

Who do you think will join Schalke in 2. Bundesliga next season? Let us know your thoughts.