Five things we learned from the Bundesliga

Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski’s perfect harmony sealed Bayern Munich’s win over Augsburg, Leverkusen broke their winless streak and Ingolstadt had the baby blues.
Here are five things we learned from the ninth round of matches in the Bundesliga:
‘Coach, my wife’s giving birth!’
Mainz coach Martin Schmidt sent Karim Onisiwo to hospital just before kick-off in their 2-0 win over Ingolstadt after the striker’s wife went into labour.
Onisiwo’s son Leroy was born during the 90 minutes.
One of the first to congratulate him was Bayern Munich defender David Alaba, who grew up with the Mainz forward in Vienna.
“Karim was supposed to have been in the starting line-up, but he came to me and said ‘coach, my wife’s waters have burst’,” said Schmidt.
“I told him to disappear. At first he didn’t want to, but I said to him, ‘this is something you don’t experience often. Go’.”
Records, but no goals, in derby
Dortmund extended the club’s unbeaten home record run to 26 league games in their goalless draw at home to Schalke 04 in front of 80,179 fans.
The result meant an unwanted record for coach Dortmund Thomas Tuchel, whose side is winless in their last four league games for the first time since he replaced Jurgen Klopp for the 2015/16 season.
There were 35 fouls committed in the derby with eight yellow cards dished out — a record for this season.
The tally pales next to the Bundesliga record of 13 cards (2 straight reds, one yellow-red and 10 yellows) in Dortmund’s 1-1 draw with Bayern in April 2001 when Munich finished with nine men.
Bayern duo’s perfect chemistry
Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben were in perfect tandem during Bayern’s 3-1 win at Augsburg.
Robben, 32, was outstanding as he set up both of Lewandowski’s goals and scored one of his own.
Their chemistry on the pitch was so good that Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge quipped that the pair had ‘a date’ after the final whistle.
Robben carried on the joke: “The restaurant is already reserved.
“If he (Lewandowski) had scored the third goal, it would have perhaps been an evening with an over-night stay thrown in.”
But who would have paid the bill?
“Robert must pay,” grinned Robben as Lewandowski ended his run of five league games without a goal, thanks to his assists.
Freiburg’s Philipp, Germany’s best
Freiburg’s Maximilian Philipp is putting Germany’s top names to shame.
The 22-year-old scored twice in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Werder Bremen and has now netted five goals in nine league games.
He is joint fifth in the table of top-scorers in the Bundesliga, but the top German, ahead of die Mannschaft’s home-based forwards Mario Goetze, Thomas Mueller and Mario Gomez, who have just one league goal between them.
“It’s also a bit of a surprise for me as well,” said Freiburg’s Philipp, who puts his form down to extra fitness work.
“Of course, I know what I can do, but I hadn’t counted on scoring so often,” he added having netted eight second-division goals in the whole of last season to help Freiburg win promotion.
Leverkusen’s merry dance
Bayer Leverkusen’s goal-scorers Admir Mehmedi and Tin Jedvaj were dancing in the stadium corridors after netting in Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win over Wolfsburg — their first victory in five games.
The victory followed the double humiliation of last Saturday’s 3-0 league drubbing by Hoffenheim and Tuesday’s shock German Cup defeat at third-division minnows Sportfreunde Lotte on penalties.
“Inhumanely important,” was Leverkusen’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno description of the win, which relieved the pressure on coach Roger Schmidt.
The team had sworn to be victorious, only for Wolfsburg’s Maximilian Arnold to put Wolfsburg ahead before Mehmedi and Jedvaj scored twice in five second-half minutes.
“We had all sworn to put everything in we had,” revealed midfielder Kevin Kampl.
The result was a much-needed confident booster for Wednesday’s crucial Champions League clash at Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs’ goalless draw in Germany a fortnight ago means just one point separates the teams in Group E.