Two nil up at half-time – Hamburg were cruising. Playing away to Schalke, the team from northern Germany looked confident with goals coming from a well-worked first goal finished off by forward Marcus Berg and the second from a dipping free-kick from German international Piotr Trochowski.

Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer fished the ball out of the net only for the referee to blow the half-time whistle, leaving the 61,000 sell-out crowd to ponder a likely thrashing over beers and bratwurst.

A thrashing it wasn’t. Schalke staged a comeback and set themselves up to win the match. The first goal came from a cross from the right of the box with forward Kevin Kuranyi beating his marker to head the ball into the goal off the inside of the post.

The match unravelled for Hamburg when defender Rozehnal upended Kuranyi on the edge of the box, picking up a red card and gifting a free-kick from a dangerous position. Schalke defender Bordon lined up the free kick from 18 meters out and cannoned the ball past the wall. An amazing jink of the arm from keeper Frank Rost saw the ball deflected onto the bar, only for the rebound to be calmly nodded in by youngster Lukas Schmitz.

With half an hour left on the clock the Schalke faithful were jubilant. Victory looked likely against a 10-man Hamburg. They were to be disappointed. The adage of sitting back and holding the draw had obviously not been communicated to Hamburg’s players.

Former Selecao player Ze Roberto picked up the ball in midfield, elegantly riding the challenges and beating four players before setting up teammate Berg who nutmegged Neuer for his second goal of the night. 3-2 Hamburg. 10 minutes to play.

Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia punched the air while his counterpart Felix Magath, not uncommonly, was apoplectic. Deep into injury time Hamburg defended “mit Mann und Maus” (literally: with man and mouse = with everything) and looked to move into first place of the Bundesliga.  But on a night that will be remembered as one of the best games of the season, the script had another surprise in store. A repeat of the first goal – a floated cross, a Kuranyi header, 3-3.

The spectators, at home and in the stadium, were left satisfied at the spectacle. It was a rollercoaster of a match that ultimately did not deserve a winner. A more sober analysis of the match does however underscore the credible title challenges that both teams are capable of mounting this year.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga

Movement in the top half of the table came from a convincing Bremen victory against Bochum. Leverkusen, while unbeaten this season, only managed a draw against Dortmund but remain top of the table on goal difference.

Bundesliga bogeymen Bayern Munich (see last week’s post) snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against unlucky Frankfurt, while Hoffenheim dispatched Nürnberg in style. The Rheinderby (Gladbach vs Köln) could not match the intensity of mutual dislike and a poor match saw the teams share the points.

Stuttgart’s woes continue after loosing to Hannover. Newcomers Mainz notched up their fifth win of the season and are comfortably positioned in 8 place. Meanwhile Berlin made a tentative step toward recovery, but one point against Wolfsburg, while respectable against the reigning champions, does little to help them at the bottom of the league.

Bayer Leverkusen - Borussia Dortmund 1:1

Bayern München - Eintracht Frankfurt 2:1

1899 Hoffenheim - 1. FC Nürnberg 3:0

Hannover 96 - VfB Stuttgart 1:0

Borussia M’gladbach - 1. FC Köln 0:0

1. FSV Mainz 05 - SC Freiburg 3:0

Hertha BSC - VfL Wolfsburg 0:0

FC Schalke 04 - Hamburger SV 3:3

VfL Bochum - Werder Bremen 1:4

Table

1   Bayer Leverkusen    22 P
2   Hamburger SV     22 P
3   Werder Bremen   21 P
4   FC Schalke 04      20 P
5   Bayern München 18 P
6   1899 Hoffenheim     17 P
7   VfL Wolfsburg   17 P
8   1. FSV Mainz 05    17 P
9   Eintracht Frankfurt    13 P
10   Borussia Dortmund   13 P
11   Hannover 96     12 P
12   SC Freiburg 10P
13   1. FC Köln      9 P
14   VfB Stuttgart      8 P
15   Borussia Mönchengladbach     8 P
16   1. FC Nürnberg 8 P
17   VfL Bochum     8 P
18   Hertha BSC Berlin      4 P