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After Borussia Dortmund (temporarily) closed the gap with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga to just three points, it was time for Vincent Kompany’s side to react as they travelled to Werder Bremen. 

Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim played Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen faced St.Pauli, and Hamburg were against Union Berlin. 

Here are the three things we learnt:

Bayern Munich respond to Borussia Dortmund’s win: 

Considering Werder Bremen’s form heading into the game, it was more or less expected that Bayern would come away with the three points.

To be fair to Daniel Thioune’s side, they gave it their best shot for the first 20 minutes; however, just like in the game against RB Leipzig in midweek and Hoffenheim last weekend, it was a Bayern Munich penalty which opened the scoring when Harry Kane made it 1-0. Three minutes later, Kane would score his second of the game to make it 2-0, then in the second half, Leon Goretzka made it 3-0.

The win now means Bayern’s lead returns to six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga ahead of Dortmund. 

The next two weeks will be key for both sides, with Dortmund facing Leipzig and then Bayern, alongside games against Atalanta in the Champions League. While Vincent Kompany’s side will play Frankfurt next weekend before travelling to the Signal Iduna Park. 

If there is to be an actual title race, it will happen by the end of this month, or not at all.

Albert Riera wins his first game as Eintracht Frankfurt head coach:

Yesterday, Riera said Borussia Mönchengladbach would be unable to breathe against his Frankfurt side, and it was evident. 

Goals from Nathanial Brown, Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab and Ansgar Knauff secured the three points for die Adler. Most importantly, this was a lot more pragmatic performance from Riera’s side, and it meant Frankfurt kept a clean sheet in the Bundesliga for the first time since beating Augsburg 1-0 at the beginning of December.

To show how strong they were defensively, they restricted Gladbach to only three shots on target out of their 20 (via FotMob). 

For Gladbach, they have now only won one of their last nine games, and sit only three points above the relegation zone. 

Bayer Leverkusen find consistency:

Leverkusen have had a start to the second half of the season. After the winter break, they struggled, and despite being unbeaten in their last four Bundesliga games, they did not look convincing in their win against Werder Bremen and the draw against Gladbach. 

However, their 4-0 win against St.Pauli saw them climb back into the Champions League places (albeit potentially briefly). The goals were scored by Jarell Quansah, Patrick Schick (in quick succession), as well as Edmond Tapsoba and Ernest Poku. 

Although it was against a relegation-fighting St.Pauli, it willgive a much-needed confidence boost to Kasper Hjulmand’s side when considering how they went about their performance. 

Die Werkself are in Champions League action in midweek against Olympiakos, who they lost to a matter of weeks ago, but their recent form should give them hope that it was just a blip.

Elsewhere around the Bundesliga:

• The most exciting game in the Bundesliga this afternoon was Hamburg’s 3-2 win against Union Berlin. The win sees HSV move into ninth, meaning they have entered the top half of the table. 
• Hoffenheim maintained their place in the Bundesliga top four with a comfortable 3-0 win at home against Freiburg. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan