TableAfter32

Results of match day 32

FSV Mainz 05 – VfL Wolfsburg 0:0
TSG Hoffenheim – Bayer Leverkusen 0:1 (0:0)
Werder Bremen – FC Bayern Munich 1:2 (0:0)
Hertha BSC – 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1:2 (0:0)

1. FC Nuremberg – Hamburger SV 1:1 (0:0)
2. FC Cologne – VfB Stuttgart 1:1 (0:0)
   Borussia Dortmund – Borussia Mönchengladbach 2:0 (1:0)
   FC Augsburg – FC Schalke 04 1:1 (1:1)
   Hannover 96 – SC Freiburg 0:0

The table situation

		Sp	S	U	N	Pkt	T		GT	Diff
1	Borussia Dortmund	32	23	6	3	75	71	–	23	+48
2	FC Bayern München	32	21	4	7	67	71	–	21	+50
3	FC Schalke 04	32	18	4	10	58	67	–	42	+25
4	Borussia Mönchengladbach	32	16	8	8	56	46	–	24	+22
5	VfB Stuttgart	32	14	8	10	50	60	–	42	+18
6	Bayer Leverkusen	32	13	9	10	48	47	–	43	+4
7	Hannover 96	32	11	12	9	45	39	–	43	-4
8	Werder Bremen	32	11	9	12	42	46	–	52	-6
9	TSG Hoffenheim	32	10	11	11	41	38	–	41	-3
10	VfL Wolfsburg	32	12	5	15	41	42	–	56	-14
11	1.FC Nürnberg	32	11	6	15	39	34	–	43	-9
12	FSV Mainz 05	32	9	11	12	38	47	–	48	-1
13	SC Freiburg	32	9	10	13	37	41	–	56	-15
14	Hamburger SV	32	8	11	13	35	35	–	56	-21
15	FC Augsburg	32	7	13	12	34	35	–	49	-14
16	1.FC Köln	32	8	6	18	30	37	–	67	-30
17	Hertha BSC	32	6	10	16	28	35	–	59	-24
18	1.FC Kaiserslautern	32	4	11	17	23	21	–	47	-26
							812		812	0
	Gesamtanzahl Spiele	288
				Tore ø		2.82

A few comments on results and table

The goal drought and the many draws have already been commented on elsewhere (in the mathematical review). Nevertheless, this comment: Compliments to Kaiserslautern for continuing to play football as normal. Berlin might have dreamt of a walk-over, but Lautern “didn’t read the script”, they didn’t stick to the script, they didn’t know it at all, as the English put it so nicely.

This also applies to Bayern to a limited extent, because a) they still had the slim chances of winning the title and b) they fielded the b) eleven, who are naturally hungry to prove something. Still, the win only came after Ribery was substituted.

In the table you see Dortmund 8 points ahead (and certainly for many an unexpectedly early end to the championship decider), but in the goal difference Bayern are exactly two goals better conceded, which of course also has a meaning: were they really the worse team? That they congratulate and take their hats off, all of them, and all of them speak equally of “deserved” is one side of the coin, that people may furtively look at the goal difference and surely imagine that with a little more luck here and less luck there, they themselves might be ahead, is also understandable – and, here specifically noted – justified.

At the top, the established rules are a little broken because of Dortmund’s outstanding season, which we don’t yet know whether it will be repeated, but it is conceivable that the differences will become greater, as they have been for some time in England, Spain and Italy, by the way, which is NOT a desirable effect according to the opinion represented here, but it may also have been a (further) exception here: with 2 points per game, you play for the championship (Bayern and Dortmund both have more than this, Dortmund even clearly more with 75/32 = 2.34).

At the back it looks like this: less than 1 point per game is hardly suitable for staying in the league (that’s the rule). Hertha and Kaiserlautern are below that, Cologne has 30 points in 32 games and is in the relegation place, but suddenly and unexpectedly it has become far apart, with these three staying at the back and everyone else scoring plenty. Well, the rule is still quite true.

With more defeats than non-defeats it is also hard to keep the class, so rule 3: Hertha still lost 16 games and didn’t lose 16, so they are on the borderline (according to this rule). Cologne, on the other hand, have lost 18 and not lost only 14, so they would be more of a relegation candidate (they are), while Lautern have a ratio of 15 to 17, so more favourable than Cologne. The rest are clearly above that, and are also pretty well out of it.