Goals, goals and more goals. That was the theme over the course of matchday 23, as none of the nine games played ended up as a drab scoreless affair. In fact, a whopping 33 goals were scored over the past few days, which averages out to over three goals per match. Six matches saw at least three goals, while four had five or more. In short, it was a very entertaining weekend for Bundesliga fans around the world, and in case you missed out, here's a quick summary of what went down on matchday 23 of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season.
Bundesliga rankings as of February 21
Here's how the top five looks after the latest round of matches:
Who are the top three goalscorers in the Bundesliga?
Here's how things are shaping up in the race for the Torjägerkanone:
Bundesliga headlines, stats, and other facts
Marco Reus terrorizes former club: The Dortmund skipper, who has had a well-documented long-standing battle with injuries that have prevented him from being involved much with the German national team, has been fortunately mostly injury free and is clearly enjoying his football this season. Die Schwarzgelben absolutely crushed rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach in last weekend's Borussen Derby as they cruised to a 6-0 win. For the first time in his career, Reus was directly involved in five goals for his team (two goals, three assists), who are now looking pretty good to secure second spot in the Bundesliga and guarantee themselves an automatic Champions League berth for next season.
Of course, with a performance like that, Dortmund probably aren't looking for just second spot. While there's still a six point gap between themselves and Bayern, a performance like that will certainly have Bayern looking over their shoulders, especially with plenty of football to play between now and the end of the current campaign.
Leipzig's turnaround is now complete: From languishing in mid-table to now battling for a Champions League berth. RB Leipzig have now seen a remarkable turnaround over the past few months, highlighted by their resounding 6-1 win over Hertha Berlin this past weekend. Domenico Tedesco's men came into their clash with Hertha Berlin having won four of their last five league games, while Hertha were winless in their last six.
Schick reaches a personal milestone...: Although Leverkusen were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score-line as the high-flying side slumped to a surprise loss to Mainz on Friday, his goal means that he's now reached 20 goals so far this season. Although he has quite a ways to go to catch Robert Lewandowski, who is the clear favorite to win the top scorer prize again this season, on a personal level, he's become the first Leverkusen player in nearly a decade to score at least 20 goals in a season. The last was Stefan Kießling, who netted 25 during the 2012/13 season. Schick, meanwhile, has taken just 23 matches to reach 20, and with plenty of games to go, he's looking very likely to surpass 25 goals this term.
...and so does Lewandowski: Of course, we can't forget about Bayern's Lewandowski, who was again on target as Bayern came from a goal behind to crush Greuther Furth 4-1. The Polish ace netted a brace, which brings him to 28 goals and puts him well on target to at least match the 41 he scored last season. In addition, no player has ever scored more goals at this juncture than the 33-year-old.
Anthony Modeste helping to keep Cologne afloat: The French striker scored the only goal for Cologne as they battled to a gritty 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, and in doing so, keeps them in contention for a potential Europa League football spot next season. He's currently fourth in the top goal-scorer rankings, with 15 goals so far, and impressively seven of his goals have come as the opening ones of a match. In addition, Modeste has put given his side a 1-0 lead more often than any other Cologne player since the turn of the current century.
Top Bundesliga matches: February 25 - February 27, 2022
Hoffenheim vs Stuttgart: Hoffenheim have picked up more points than any other team from losing positions, with a total of 18 so far. They did this once again as they overturned a 1-0 deficit to pick up a much-needed 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg, making it two consecutive wins and they'll be hoping to make it a third as they aim to get their Champions League qualification ambitions back on track.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arminia Bielefeld: After seeing their winning run snapped, Leverkusen will aim to get back on track as they travel to face an Arminia Bielefeld side whose mixed fortunes have them in a tricky position. The visitors aren't in the drop zone just yet, but any more negative results will certainly see them dragged down into the much-unwanted relegation battle.
Borussia M'gladbach vs Wolfsburg: Both teams will come into this match having experienced disappointment in the last round. Gladbach were absolutely humiliated in the Borussen Derby, conceding six against Dortmund, while Wolfsburg will be bitterly disappointed after going from 1-0 up to lose 2-1 to Hoffenheim. Will either be able to get back to winning ways?
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayern München: Bayern's recent win over Greuther Furth was exactly the tonic Julian Naglesmann's side needed after a difficult week by their high standards. Next, it'll be on to face Eintracht Frankfurt, who have seen their form hit the skids after an initial solid start to the 2021/22 season.
Bochum vs RB Leipzig: Leipzig's confidence will be sky high after their fantastic showing in the 6-1 demolition of Hertha Berlin. However, given that Bochum did beat Bayern recently, die Roten Bullen won't be taking their upcoming hosts too lightly when they travel to their home ground this weekend.
Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund: Fresh off their resounding 6-0 win over Gladbach, Dortmund will now turn their attention towards facing relegation-threatened Augsburg. Will this present a comfortable three points, or a potential banana peel for Marco Rose's side?
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