Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 FSV Frankfurt
The visitors' safety first tactics at the beginning of the match were hardly surprising, given the vast difference in points (25) and places (12) that separated the sides at kick-off. They sat back early on and tried to catch out their hosts on the break and initially the hosts struggled to break them down. However a 25-yard screamer from Sebastian Rode that ricocheted back off the bar seemed to fire them up and once Erwin Hoffer collected the rebound on the right, he drove forward and crossed for Karim Matmour to tap in from close range.
That goal changed the game - Frankfurt were now far more aggressive, while their visitors were forced to be more adventurous. The hosts' defence did not look entirely watertight and FSV could have equalised, but Ilijan Micanski failed to beat Oka Nikolov in the one-on-one. Towards the end of the half, Frankfurt cut through FSV defence seemingly at will, and their their short, swift passing was too much for the guests to handle. Matmour made it 2-0 when Patric Klandt failed to hold Hoffer's shot, finishing at the back post.
Goal flurry
After the restart, the home team concentrated on protecting their lead and not giving their guests any hope of salvaging anything from the encounter, effectively reversing the tactics from the opening period in the first half. FSV appeared to be intimidated and were unable to muster any concerted forward movement, allowing the hosts to seize the initiative once more.
Alex Meier made it 3-0 after good work on the left by Matthias Lehmann, before substitute Sonny Kittel added a fourth shortly afterwards. The home side momentarily lost concentration and let Chadli Amri scuttle through on the right to cross for Micanski to pull one back seconds later, but Hoffer restored the four goal lead after pouncing on a mistake by Gledson at the back. Matmour completed his hat-trick late on to complete the city rivals' humiliation.
VfL Bochum 4-2 FC Union Berlin
The hosts began the stronger of the teams and stroked the ball confidently around midfield, but it was the visitors who were the more dangerous early on with rapid counter attacks. Simon Terodde was at the heart of Berlin's play, first releasing Silvio then Christopher Quiring, but Bochum keeper Andreas Luthe saved well both times. As the half progressed, the match became increasingly open and highly entertaining.
The action flowed from end to end and both squandered terrific opportunities to break the deadlock. For Bochum, the lively Takashi Inui played a terrific pass to split the visiting defence, but Nikoloz Gelashvili could only hit the post, before Berlin replied with a gilt-edged chance of their own, but Terodde failed to find the net with only the keeper to beat. It seemed a matter of when not if the first goal would fall and eventually Mimoun Azaouagh put Bochum ahead, converting the penalty after Inui had been felled in the box.
Double trouble for Berlin
The momentum carried over into a second half that turned out to be even more eventful than the first. Gelashvili was bundled over in the box by Christoph Menz, who was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Having not had a penalty all season, Giovanni Federico converted Bochum's second in the space of 23 minutes to put Bochum two goals up with a man extra on the field. However, far from caving in, Union fought back and Patrick Zoundi's well-taken strike spurred them on, before Silvio's spot kick brought them level.
Their joy at equalising was short-lived though, as two goals in quick succession from Mirkan Aydin and Federico took the wind out of Berlin's sails. Neither side moved in the table as a consequence of the result, though the hosts now have 30 points, just four less than their guests.
