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What you might have missed

Jonathan HardingFebruary 21, 2015

Bayern this, Bayern that. Yes there are a number of good reasons the league leaders dominate the headlines, but the Bundesliga has plenty more drama on offer. Jonathan displays this weekend's evidence.

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Fußball Bundesliga 22. Spieltag SC Freiburg vs. TSG Hoffenheim
Image: Bongarts/Getty Images/M. Kienzler

Everyone will have read or seen somewhere that Bayern Munich won 6-0 this weekend against Paderborn. It's hard to sell a league that lacks a really competitive title race, agreed, but there's more to a league than those that rise to the top.

Bayern's rugby-like score, their second in as many weeks, distracts from the drama elsewhere in this league. While idly scrolling through the scores on your phone, you might have missed that Augsburg's goalkeeper Marwin Hitz scored a stoppage-time equalizer against Leverkusen in his first game in three months. The game, one which finished 2-2, was engaging for the full 90 minutes and was the latest chapter in Augsburg's remarkable rise from Bundesliga newcomers to European hopefuls.

You might have missed Raphael Wolf's howler (no pun intended) that nearly gifted Schalke three points - and that eight members of the combined starting XI's were 23 years old or younger. Particularly of note was that 19-year-old striker Felix Platte was handed his first league start, leaving moody Kevin Prince Boateng on the bench. The fact Roberto di Matteo's men didn't hold on for the win proves just how much resurgence is happening at Werder Bremen - you know, those guys who used to play in Europe near the turn of the millennium?

You might have also missed Mainz's two-goal flurry at the start of the second half, where two of Germany's most exciting youngsters changed the game in favor of the home side. Midfielder Johannes Geis showed his class extends to the set-piece, while the rest of Europe was left wishing Yunus Malli was anything but yet another quality, attacking midfielder from Germany.

So while Bayern Munich will grab the headlines for smashing six past Paderborn - who, by the way, probably deserve more column inches simply because of the sheer excitement in the town ahead of their game this weekend - the Bundesliga continues to offer a host of other intriguing avenues to explore. Don't be deterred by the fact Arjen Robben has now scored at least once against every Bundesliga club or that Xabi Alonso completes more passes per game than most teams. Tune in into the Bundesliga's European race and watch dreamers Augsburg or under-the-radar Gladbach. Keep an eye on the relegation battle where some of the countries oldest and most traditional clubs are languishing. Hey, go and watch Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg if you really want to.

"Behind every great man, there's a great woman." Well, while not every great team is supported by a great league, Bayern can certainly be proud of all that's going on around them. After all, this is the league of world champions.