They're back. After watching Borussia Dortmund sit on top of the Bundesliga for a whopping 19 weeks, FC Bayern München have reclaimed the lead, and their recent form suggests they'll stay there. But will it be enough to push them past Liverpool in the Champions League? And what role will the team's three DFB cast-offs play going forward? Matt rounds up Marie Schulte-Bockum to talk all this over, plus a bit on her beloved Schalke, whether it makes sense to play football in an inch of wet slush, and how it came to be that a German club in 2019 felt it was remotely okay to observe a minute of silence in its stadium for an avowed Nazi. Produced by Aidan Rantoul.

Talking Fussball MD25 wrap - Bayern gear up for Liverpool by busting loose on Wolfsburg to reach the Bundesliga summit

Blanketing the Bundesliga and the German football scene, Talking Fussball is the essential podcast for fans of Europe's most exciting league - talkingfussball.com - @talkingfussball - patreon.com/talkingfussball Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talking-fussball/support

Sports

Soccer

Unlike the top flight, where Bayer 04 Leverkusen ran away with the title (congrats, Werkself fans!), the race at the top of the 2. Bundesliga has taken a turn for the thrilling in recent weeks. Serial league leaders FC St. Pauli have had a wobble, and Holstein Kiel (and increasingly Fortuna Düsseldorf) have been ready to take advantage. Nik and Jasmine talk through the permutations involved in the last five match days, check in on the races at the bottom of the division and the top of the 3. Liga, and much more. 

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Talking Fussball Aufstieg - Kiel feeling themselves after leapfrogging St. Pauli for top spot

We were trying to play it cool for a while, but that no longer seems necessary. Bayer 04 Leverkusen are going to win the league, and after FC Bayern München lost in Heidenheim(!), they might well do it next week. Matt and Nik let that reality sink in over the course of the podcast, discussing how Bayer's season stacks up in history, where Bayern goes from here, and what way the three-team relegation death match at the bottom of the table is likely to go.

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Talking Fussball - Leverkusen all but crowned champions after another Bayern blackout

The world of football, like other walks of life, harbors its share of idiots - our latest episode puts the spotlight on a few. Nik and Maik turn their attention to some childish behavior surrounding a banner, some regrettable chants in Austria that's had consequences for the players who shouted them, and how a few particularly egregious fans' behavior called off a whole weekend of football. 

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Talking Fussball Aufstieg - The case of the missing St. Pauli ultra banner and the perils of peer pressure

Foals fans at the Borussia-Park may have feasted on a see-saw six-goal thriller, but their team's return - just one point -had to sting. Their opponents 1. FC Köln will have cherished an away draw in the Rheinderby, but time is running short on the billygoats' bid to stay out of relegation trouble. Matt and Nik put the spotlight on the two western giants on a weekend where Bayern hit Mainz with an eight ball, Leverkusen compounded Wolfsburg's misery and much more.

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Talking Fussball - Rhine derby brings lots of thrills but little reward for Cologne and Gladbach

There's never a dull moment in Germany's second tier. Just when you think you've sussed out who's good and who's not so good, you get a week like round 24 - one in which every team in the top eight failed to record a win. The full Aufstieg gang of Nik, Jasmine and Maik get together to try and work out what that means, how a miscreant in Rostock made it on to the pitch, and more.

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Talking Fussball MD25 wrap - Bayern gear up for Liverpool by busting loose on Wolfsburg to reach the Bundesliga summit

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