Hinrunde 2020-21

In normal years, the Bundesliga season is split evenly into to two halves, with a month-long winter break in the middle.  The first half is known to Germans as the Hinrunde, while the second half is known as the Rückrunde.  This year the Hinrunde is only thirteen matches since the season began a month late [thanks, COVID].  There have been some welcome surprises in the Hinrunde [hello Union Berlin, Wolfsburg and Leverkusen].  There have been some major disappointments [Schalke, Hoffenheim, Dortmund].  The usual suspects are at/near the top of the table [Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig]. The winter break is only a couple of weeks this year. That isn’t much time for all the tired athletes to recover from a busy 2020 schedule. 
 

Here’s my take on the 2020/21 season so far:
 
FC Schalke 04

Hinrunde 2019-20 5^th – 30 points [8W, 6D, 3L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 18^th – 4 points [0W, 4D, 9L]
Key Additions – Jean-Clair Todibo [loan – Barcelona], Gonçalo Paciência [loan – Eintracht Frankfurt], Kilian Ludewig [loan – RB Salzburg], Mark Uth [end of loan - FC Köln], Vedad Ibišević [Hertha Berlin]
Huub Stevens [interim coach since 18 Dec 2020]
Key Departures – Weston McKennie [loan – Juventus], Alexander Nübel [Bayern Munich], Sebastian Rudy [loan – Hoffenheim], Michael Gregoritsch [end of loan – Augsburg], Daniel Caligiuri [Augsburg], Guido Burgstaller [St. Pauli], Jonjoe Kenny [end of loan – Everton]
David Wagner [coach – fired 27 Sep 2020]
Manuel Baum [coach – fired 18 Dec 2020]

Where to begin about Schalke’s troubles? During the first half of the 2019-20 season [what the Germans call the Hinrunde] Schalke were playing decent football.  By the time of the Christmas break, they were in fifth place in the Bundesliga. They didn’t play all that great on offense, but their defense kept them competitive.  During the second half of the season [the Rückrunde], the wheels began to fall off.  On January 17, 2020, Schalke defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach, 2-0.  They haven’t won a Bundesliga game since.  They dropped from fifth place to twelfth, finishing only five points above the relegation playoffs. 
 
To start the current season, they lost to Bayern Munich 8-0. The following week they lost to Werder Bremen 3-1, a team who avoided relegation last season by the slimmest of margins [more away goals than Heidenheim].  After that second week, Schalke fired coach David Wagner and replaced him with Manuel Baum.  Things didn’t improve under Baum, and he too was fired.  Huub Stevens is the interim coach [again]. They also fired technical director Michael Reschke.  To add to their coaching woes, they have a toxic locker room.  Vedad Ibišević is such a bad fit his contract will terminate at the end of the calendar year.  Midfielders Amine Harit and Nabil Bentaleb were suspended for a time, and both players have been barred from training with the team.
 
In the past, Schalke’s youth academy has produced top talent like Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sané, and Julian Drexler. All these players left Schalke for other destinations, but the youth academy has come up dry on developing and fielding new talent. Their scouting has been Bundesliga-focused, and they signed players from mid- to lower-end Bundesliga teams.  When you fill you team with such players, you become that mid- to lower-end team. 
 
One look at the “key departures” above tells another story. The team is deep in debt to the tune of €200 million, and it looks like that figure will grow to €250 million.  They are more reliant on broadcast revenue, transfer fees and regular participation in European competition than most.  They spent much money on players who didn’t produce.  They invested over €100 million on infrastructure improvements.  This was BEFORE the COVID pandemic. The Bundesliga suspended its season for two months due to the pandemic.  With no football, there was no TV money. They had to loan out Weston McKennie to Juventus, and let go of Daniel Caligiuri, Guido Burgstaller, and Alexander Nübel on free transfers because they couldn’t afford the players.  Schalke requested their season-ticket holders to refrain from asking for a refund on their tickets they couldn’t use.  .Schalke is one of the few clubs that aren’t managed by football professionals.  They take the Bundesliga’s 50+1 rule seriously, and outside investors are unable [or unwilling] to put money into a club they can’t control. Schalke is the second biggest club in the Bundesliga with 153,000 members. Every one of them is uttering a collective “WTF, Schalke?”

FSV Mainz 05

Hinrunde 2019-20 14^th  - 18 [6W, 0D, 11L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 17^th – 7 [1W, 3D, 9L]
Key Additions – Jan-Moritz Lichte [interim coach since 28 Sep 2020]
Key Departures – Florian Müller [loan – SC Freiburg], Achim Beierlorzer [coach – fired 28 Sep 2020]

Theatrics weren’t restricted to Schalke.  In September, Mainz suspended forward Adam Szalai for a day.  Coach Achim Beierlorzer told Szalai that he should look for another team.  Szalai’s teammates didn’t like it, and they went on strike for an afternoon. They refused to train following Szalai’s suspension.  Like Schalke, Mainz started the season with two straight defeats.  Mainz fired Beierlorzer the day after Schalke fired David Wagner. Mainz are always flirting with relegation but somehow manage to survive.  This may be the year they go down to 2. Bundesliga.

Arminia Bielefeld

Hinrunde 2019-20 n/a 2. Bundesliga last season
Hinrunde 2020-21 16^th – 10 points [3W, 1D, 9L]
Key Additions – None
Key Departures – None

Arminia Bielefeld finished ten points clear of second-place Stuttgart in 2. Bundesliga last season.  They’re off to a shaky start in their first top-tier season since the 2008-09 season.  They’re playing just well enough to stay clear of automatic relegation, but if the present trend continues, they’ll be in the relegation playoff at season’s end. Arminia Bielefeld are one of those teams that, once promoted to the top tier, don’t stay there awfully long.

Relegated 2000-01, promoted 2002
Relegated 2003-04, promoted 2004

Relegated 2009-10, promoted 2020

FC Köln

Hinrunde 2019-20 15^th – 17 [5W, 2D, 10L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 15^th – 11 [2W, 5D, 6L]
Key Additions – Marius Wolf [loan – Borussia Dortmund], Ondrej Duda [Hertha Berlin]
Key Departures – Mark Uth [end of loan – Schalke], Jhon Córdoba [Hertha Berlin]

FC Köln’s record hasn’t improved since last year.  They were fifteenth at the same time last year, and they’re still in fifteenth.  FC Köln were relegated to 2. Bundesliga after the 2017-18 season but gained promotion back to the first division after one year in the second division.  They have made relegation a habit [see below]. There have been some bright moments. On Matchday 6 they gave Bayern Munich all they could handle in a 2-1 loss. On Matchday 9 they defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1, and on Matchday 13 they drew with third-place RB Leipzig 0-0. On other days they remember they’re FC Köln.  They lost to newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld and were hammered 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 12.  The quality is there, but the consistency is not.  They will probably survive another season in the top division.

Relegated 2002-03, promoted 2004
Relegated 2004-05, promoted 2006
Relegated 2006-07, promoted 2008
Relegated 2012-13, promoted 2014
Relegated 2018-19, promoted 2020

Werder Bremen

Hinrunde 2019-20 17^th – 14 [3W, 5D, 9L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 12^th – 14 [3W, 5D, 5L]
Key Additions – Tahith Chong [loan – Manchester United], Ömer Toprak [Borussia Dortmund], Kevin Vogt [loan – Hoffenheim], Michael Lang [loan - Borussia Mönchengladbach]
Key Departures – Claudio Pizzaro [retired], Davy Klaassen [Ajax], Nuri Sahin [Antalyaspor], Fin Bartels [Holstein Kiel].

Werder Bremen barely escaped relegation last season by having more away goals than their 2. Bundesliga opponents, Heidenheim.  They have just as many points now as this time last year. The only reason they aren’t in a lower position is because the teams behind them are awful.

TSG Hoffenheim

Hinrunde 2019-20 7^th – 27 [8W, 3D, 6L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 11^th – 15 [4W, 3D, 6L]
Key Additions – Sebastian Rudy [loan – Schalke], Jacob Bruun Larsen [Borussia Dortmund], Ryan Sessegnon [loan – Tottenham], Mijat Gaćinović [Eintracht Frankfurt], Sebastian Hoeneß [coach]
Key Departures – Kevin Vogt [loan – Werder Bremen]

Under new coach Sebastian Hoeneß, Hoffenheim started the season with two wins, including a 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich.  Ever since then they have been incredibly average.  They’ve recorded only nine points out of thirty-three points up for grabs. If this keeps up, Sebastian Hoeneß’s first season with Hoffenheim might also be his last.

Hertha Berlin

Hinrunde 2019-20 12^th – 19 [5W, 4D, 8L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 14^th – 13 [3W, 4D, 6L]
Key Additions – Jhon Córdoba [FC Köln], Alexander Schwolow [SC Freiburg],
Key Departures – Salomon Kalou [Botafogo], Vedad Ibišević [Schalke], Per Ciljan Skjelbred [Rosenborg], Marko Grujić [Porto], Ondrej Duda [FC Köln]

The pressure is on Hertha Berlin.  They lost key players, and their scorers aren’t scoring.  For their troubles, they are barely above the relegation zone.  Their loss to SC Freiburg on Matchday 13 didn’t help.  Freiburg are happy to be where they are.  Hertha aspires for European football.  That’s a worthy goal, but this isn’t the year.

SC Freiburg

Hinrunde 2019-20 – 8^th – 26 [7W, 5D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 – 10^th – 14 [4W, 5D, 4L]
Key Additions – Baptiste Santamaria [Angers], Ermedin Demirović [Alavés], Keven Schlotterbeck [end of loan – FC Union Berlin], Florian Müller [loan – Mainz]
Key Departures – Alexander Schwolow [Hertha Berlin]

Freiburg find themselves where they always seem to be – in the middle of the pack.  They’re a little bit off last year’s pace, but they don’t appear to be in any danger of relegation.  They’re happy to be where they are since they have tasted relegation before.

Relegated 2002-03, promoted 2003
Relegated 2005-06, promoted 2009
Relegated 2015-16, promoted 2016

Eintracht Frankfurt

Hinrunde 2019-20 13^th – 18 [5W, 3D, 9L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 9^th – 17 [3W, 8D, 2L]
Key Additions – None
Key Departures – Mijat Gaćinović [Hoffenheim]

Eintracht Frankfurt is an enigma. They’ve lost only two games this year – to Bayern Munich and an excellent Wolfsburg team.  They got stuck in a rut where they drew six games of their last eight.  They finally got one in the win column by defeating Augsburg 2-0 on Matchday 13.  They are better than they were last year. Unless they have a collapse of Schalke proportions in the second half of the season, they’re safe from relegation. But if they don’t start turning those draws into wins, they won’t qualify for European football next year, either.

FC Augsburg

Hinrunde 2019-20 10^th – 23 [6W, 5D, 6L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 10^th – 16 [4W, 4D, 5L]
Key Additions – Felix Uduokhai [Wolfsburg], Rafał Gikiewicz [FC Union Berlin]
Key Departures – Luca Waldschmidt [Benfica]

Augsburg are consistent like Freiburg – but instead of being in the middle of the pack, they’re in the lower half of the table.  Last season their Rückrunde left something to be desired, finishing five points above the relegation zone. Their one shining moment came on Matchday 2, when they defeated Dortmund 2-0 at home.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hinrunde 2019-20 2^nd – 35 [11W, 2D, 4L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 8^th – 18 [4W, 6D, 3L]
Key Additions – Hannes Wolf [loan – RB Leipzig]
Key Departures – Michael Lang [loan – Werder Bremen]

BMG have fallen way off their 2019-20 pace.  They’re right in the middle of the standings, but they’re a better team than that. Like Eintracht Frankfurt, they need to convert some of those draws into wins.  If they do, they might qualify for the Europa League. The Champions League seems out of reach for them for next year, even though they have qualified for the round of 16 for this season’s tournament.

VfB Stuttgart

Hinrunde 2019-20 n/a 2. Bundesliga last season
Hinrunde 2020-21 7^th – 18 [4W, 6D, 3L]
Key Additions – Konstantinos Mavropanos [Arsenal],
Key Departures – None

Last season was Stuttgart’s second in 2. Bundesliga in four years.  This year they are playing much better and find themselves in the top half of the top tier.  Their “signature win” came on Matchday 11 when they throttled Dortmund 5-1, ending Lucien Favre’s tenure at Dortmund in the process.  They should finish well out of danger for relegation and could qualify for the Europa League for next season.

Relegated 2016-2017. promoted 2017
Relegated 2019-2020, promoted 2020

FC Union Berlin

Hinrunde 2019-20 11^th – 20 [6W, 2D, 9L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 6^th – 21 [5W, 6D, 2L]
Key Additions – Max Kruse [Fenerbahçe], Taiwo Awoniyi [loan – Liverpool], Robin Knoche [Wolfsburg], Andreas Luthe [Augsburg]
Key Departures – Rafał Gikiewicz [Augsburg], Felix Kroos [Eintracht Braunschweig], Keven Schlotterbeck [end of loan – SC Freiburg]

Last year was Union Berlin’s maiden season in the top tier.  They finished the season in eleventh place.  With the additions of Max Kruse and Taiwo Awoniyi they have shown marked improvement.  On Matchday 11 they fought defending champion Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw in a game they could’ve won.  They drew with Stuttgart the following week, and for the second year in a row they beat Dortmund 2-1 on Matchday 13.  They might just qualify for the UEFA Champions League when they’re done this year, especially if Dortmund fall on their face. They may be in a dogfight with Wolfsburg for that fourth and final UCF spot.

Borussia Dortmund

Hinrunde 2019-20 4^th – 28 [8W, 4D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 5^th – 22 [7W, 1D, 5L]
Key Additions – Jude Bellingham [Birmingham City], Thomas Meunier [PSG], Youssoufa Moukoko
Edin Terzić [interim coach since 13 Dec 2020]
Key Departures - Jacob Bruun Larsen [Hoffenheim], Ömer Toprak [Werder Bremen], Marius Wolf [loan – FC Köln]
Lucien Favre [coach – fired 13 Dec 2020]

With the addition of more young players, Dortmund were expected to contend for the Meisterschale this year. Coach Lucien Favre was on thin ice with Dortmund management because Dortmund are always expected to contend for the championship.  Favre’s days as Dortmund’s coach came to an end after Stuttgart waxed Dortmund 5-1 on Matchday 11.  Striker Erling Haaland is second in goals scored, behind only Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski.  Haaland injured his hamstring on Matchday 10 and will be out until at least mid-January 2021.  Sixteen-year-old rookie Youssoufa Moukoko scored his first Bundesliga goal against Union Berlin, making him the youngest-ever Bundesliga scorer.  Despite Moukoko’s score, Dortmund lost to Union Berlin 2-1. Dortmund have lost to teams they normally expect to beat - FC Köln [2-1] and FC Augsburg [2-0] – on top of their losses to FC Union Berlin, Stuttgart, and Bayern Munich.

VfL Wolfsburg

Hinrunde 2019-20 9^th – 24 [6W, 6D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 4^th – 21 [6W, 6D, 1L]
Key Additions – Maximilian Philipp [loan – Dynamo Moscow], Maxence Lacroix [FC Sochaux], Bartosz Białek [Zagłębie Lubin]
Key Departures – Felix Uduokhai [FC Augsburg], Robin Knoche [FC Union], Marcel Tisserand [Fenerbahçe]

Wolfsburg are off to a good start this year.  They didn’t lose their first game until Matchday 12, when they lost to Bayern Munich 2-1.  They’re neck-and-neck with Dortmund.  They look solid for the Champions League next year.  They can’t let their guard down since only two points separate them from Dortmund.

RB Leipzig

Hinrunde 2019-20 1^st – 37 [11W, 4D, 2L]
Hinrunde 2020-21 3^rd - 28 [8W, 4W, 1L]
Key Additions – Alexander Sørloth [Crystal Palace], Angeliño [Manchester City],            
Benjamin Henrichs [AS Monaco], Hwang Hee-Chan [RB Salzburg]
Key Departures – Timo Werner [Chelsea], Matheus Cunha [Hertha Berlin], Stefan Ilsanker [Eintracht Frankfurt]. Hannes Wolf [loan - Borussia Mönchengladbach]

Timo Werner is gone, and this team doesn’t skip a beat. Leipzig and Leverkusen are level with twenty-eight points apiece, separated by a goal difference of just one. Both are within striking distance of Bayern. Leipzig just announced the signing of Hungarian playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai.  His debut with Leipzig could be as early as January 9^th.

Bayer Leverkusen

Hinrunde 2019-20  6^th – 28 [8W, 4D, 5L]
Hinrunde 2020-21  2^nd – 28 [8W, 4W, 1L]
Key Additions – Santiago Arias [Atletico Madrid], Patrik Schick [AS Roma],
Key Departures – Kai Havertz [Chelsea], Kevin Volland [AS Monaco]

One would think that with the departures of Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, Bayer Leverkusen would be struggling this year.  So far, the team hasn’t missed them.  They are playing “lights out” football.  Were it not for a last-second loss to Bayern Munich on Matchday 13, Leverkusen would be in at the top of the standings.  They started the season by going unbeaten in their first twelve matches.  If Bayern aren’t careful, these guys could win the Bundesliga this season.

Bayern Munich

Hinrunde 2019-20  3^rd – 33 [10W, 3D, 4L]
Hinrunde 2020-21  1^st – 30 [9W, 3D, 1L]
Key Additions - Leroy Sané [Manchester City], Marc Roca [Espanyol], Bouna Sarr [Marseille], Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting [PSG], Douglas Costa [loan – Juventus], Jamal Musiala [Chelsea]
Key Departures – Thiago [Liverpool], Ivan Perisic [end of loan – Inter Milan], Philippe Coutinho [end of loan – FC Barcelona], Álvaro Odriozola [end of loan – Real Madrid]

Bayern Munich won it all last year – the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and the UEFA Champions League.  They slipped up on Matchday 2 when Hoffenheim clocked them 4-1. Though they beat FC Köln 2-1 on Matchday 6, it was a struggle.  On Matchday 11 they had all they could handle when they drew with FC Union Berlin 1-1. They struggled against Werder Bremen, another 1-1 draw.  They drew with RB Leipzig in a six-goal thriller 3-3 and barely squeaked by Hertha Berlin in another thriller, 4-3.  In a top-of-the-table clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 13, they won 2-1 with less than one minute to go in stoppage time.  For the last seven games they’ve spotted their opponents a goal but managed to not lose any of them.  They’re playing with fire. 

They are victims of their own success. Between Bundesliga play and defending their UCL title, they’re averaging a game every three days.  I don’t know if their struggles are due to fatigue, injuries, player turnover, or all the above, but Bayern have a fight on their hands to repeat their 2019-2020 success.

Matchday 7 Match of the Week - Der Klassiker!

Today’s edition of Der Klassiker lived up to its name today, with Bayern Munich edging past Borussia Dortmund in a 3-2 thriller at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.  It was the clichéd “irresistible force against the immovable object” – the Bayern scoring machine [24 goals in six games] against the Bundesliga’s top defense [only two goals (none at home) allowed so far]. Commentator Derek Rae called this the game that captures the zeitgeist of German football.  The two teams began the match tied at the top of the table with 15 points each. Bayern had the edge on goal difference [+15 for Bayern, +11 for Dortmund].

Bayern were without Alphonso Davies [out with an ankle injury until January], Niklas Süle [one COVID-positive test], and Benjamin Pavard [muscle injury in training]. Dortmund defender Mats Hummels [hamstring] was a game-time decision, but he got the start.

Bayern came storming out the game immediately. Robert Lewandowski nearly got on the board in the first minute, but his shot from the left side while inside the penalty area went wide left. Dortmund’s attack showed much promise. Bayern likes to play a high line, but they are vulnerable to the counterattack.  Dortmund showed they could exploit this but couldn’t quite finish.  Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna showed they could stretch Bayern’s defense, and Erling Haaland is always dangerous in the middle. That big Norwegian kid is good!  At the 14^th minute, only a great save from Dortmund goalie Roman Bürki from a Leon Goretzka header off a corner kick kept the game tied at 0-0. Seven minutes later Gio Reyna and Haaland found themselves on the counter, the Haaland was one-on-one against Bayern goalie Manuel Neuer.  Neuer made himself big enough to force Haaland’s shot on goal to just barely go wide-right.  It was a fantastic counterattack from Dortmund, exactly the kind of play that anyone needs to keep level with Bayern, but Neuer made the difference.

At the 24^th minute, it looked as if Bayern got on the board first.  After stopping Dortmund deep in Bayern territory, Jérôme Boateng mad a superb long outlet pass to Kingsley Coman, who passed to Serge Gnabry, who took it to the Dortmund penalty area.  He mad a cross from the left and found a streaking Lewandowski coming down the middle. Lewandowski put the ball in Dortmund’s net, but the Video Assisted Referee [VAR] had Lewandowski offside by mere inches.  It was an extremely tight call. No goal – game still tied at 0-0.

At thirty-five minutes, Joshua Kimmich injured his right knee in a collision with Erling Haaland. Kimmich received a yellow card on the play, as he injured himself while fouling Haaland, who recovered and broke away with the ball.  The big Norwegian was too big for Kimmich, who had to be helped off the field with a knee injury.  He was replaced immediately by French teammate Corentin Tolisso. Kimmich had been the hero the last two times Bayern squared off against Dortmund, scoring the winning goals in both contests. With Kimmich gone, someone else had to be Bayern’s hero. Kimmich’ departure did have a consequence.

Dortmund opened the scoring “on the cusp of halftime” [thank you, Derek Rae] when longtime BVB man Marco Reus fired high and hard into the top corner after being picked out by a Raphael Guerreiro pull-back in the middle of the box. Kimmich had shut down Reus for the better part of the first half. After he left, Reus scored. This was Reus’s eighth goal against Bayern, leading all active Bundesliga players in that regard.  Dortmund’s lead was short-lived.  Bayern didn’t have to chase the game for long.  Three minutes of stoppage time [due to the Kimmich injury] were added onto the first half.  Bayern hit back with just seconds remaining in the half from a well-worked set piece from the top of the box. After a few quick touches to change the launching point, David Alaba fired a missile past the wall and Roman Bürki to tie the game. AlaBOOM indeed. That had to be a big boost for Bayern going into halftime.  Alaba’s goal was a MASSIVE answer to Reus’s goal. Here’s a little bit of trivia – Alaba’s goal was the 100^th scored by Bayern since Hansi Flick took over as coach a year ago.

Having given up their lead so shortly before halftime, one had to wonder where Dortmund’s collective head was.  Would they bounce back early in the second half, or would Bayern show their killer instinct that has served them well these past twelve months?  We had our answer shortly after the second-half kickoff.  Bayern took the lead almost immediately after the restart thanks to a poacher's goal from Robert Lewandowski -- the Poland international cutting in front of his marker and heading expertly into the net from a Lucas Hernandez cross on the left in the 48th minute.  Hernandez had a nightmarish first season with Bayern last year, but this season he has shown top form.  He’s getting assists [not bad for a defender] and scored his first goal for Bayern last week in the Champion’s League game against RB Salzburg.  Kingsley Coman nearly made it 3-1 three minutes later, but his shot hit the woodwork.

Both sides made key substitutions.  After Bayern took the lead, Dortmund subbed Jude Bellingham for Thomas Delaney.  Bayern subbed on Leroy Sané and Javi Martinez for Kingsley Coman and Jérôme Boateng, respectively.  Bellingham breathed new life into Dortmund’s attack.  Accordingly, Manuel Neuer had to earn his pay – he was no spectator today. Bayern went two goals ahead with around 10 minutes remaining with a ruthless counter-attack from a dispossession deep in their own half. Leroy Sané fired hard and low into the far corner after cutting inside on his left foot – shades of Arjen Robben.  Bayern showed they could flip a game on its head in the blink of an eye.  Leon Goretzka forced a Dortmund turnover deep in Bayern’s end, and two passes later Sané had his goal.  Dortmund immediately struck back through Erling Haaland, who settled a lobbed Guerreiro through ball to beat the offside trap, rounded Manuel Neuer and slotted home into an empty net. Lewandowski looked to have given Bayern a fourth goal in stoppage time with a first-time lob in the area, but VAR raised its head again and denied the goal.

The win gives Bayern a two-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga [RB Leipzig in second], while Dortmund settled in third, three points behind after seven games played.

PS. After the game, Gio Reyna and Erling Haaland were asked about the difference in the game.  Without hesitation, Haaland said he had to do better with the chances he was provided.  This kid is only 20, but he's holding himself accountable.  The more I see him, the more I like him. 

 

Matchday 6 Match of the Week

This week’s Match of the Week saw league leaders RB Leipzig visiting sixth-place Borussia Mönchengladbach [BMG]. Earlier this week, Leipzig received a 5-0 thrashing against Manchester United in UEFA Champions League play, while BMG settled a 2-2 draw against La Liga champions Real Madrid after leading 2-0, also in UCL play. Last year, BMG were one of the few teams to beat Bayern Munich after Hansi Flick took the helm.  They are not a team to be taken lightly. Commentator extraordinaire Phil Bonney called today’s game.

Having seen Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich both overtake them earlier on Saturday, Leipzig came out fighting and Yussuf Poulsen was looking particularly sharp, assisted well by an enterprising Alexander Sorlorth. The Dane brought a fine one-handed save out of BMG goalie Yann Sommer with the first big chance of the game. Sorloth nearly teed up Poulsen midway through the first half, but the ball passed just beyond of the Dane's outstretched right boot, as Leipzig continued to set the tone. BMG posed a considerable threat on the break, though, and offside decisions against Breel Embolo and Alassane Plea – the latter finding the back of the net before the offside flag was raised – prevented Leipzig from falling behind.

Leipzig's Scandinavian strikers continued to spy out chances for the guests as the game entered the second half, but it was BMG, donning special edition black shirts to mark their 120th anniversary, who drew first blood. Patrick Herrmann deftly touched Plea's cross back for Hannes Wolf to score his first Bundesliga goal, against his parent club, with a well-placed finish into the far corner. It was one of the few times during the match that Plea made a correct decision.  He usually shoots when he should pass, and pass when he should shoot.  That’s the story of his time at BMG.  He did take a shot on goal at the 67^th minute, and it was a rocket – but it bounced off the woodwork.  Pity – it would have been a great score.  Leipzig brought on striker Emil Forsberg for midfielder Dani Olmo, midfielder Amadou Haidara for midfielder Kevin Kampl, and striker Hee-Chan Hwang for Poulsen.  Despite the setback, Leipzig refused to relent and Amadou Haidara tested Sommer before Sorloth saw a shot deflected over the crossbar. Leipzig continued to knock and knock on the Foals' barn door, but they could not force it down, with Wolf's goal proved to be enough. That was the story of Leipzig’s night – lots of misses by just inches.

The result lifted BMG to fourth on 11 points after six games, with Leipzig dropping to third on 13, two behind new leaders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.  Leipzig lost to BMG for the first time ever.

Next week – Bayern Munich visit Borussia Dortmund – a first vs. second in another round of Der Klassiker.

 

 

Matchday 5 Match of the Week

There was no Match of the Week for Matchday 4.  I didn't see a game worth writing about.  

At the start of Mainz’s match with visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach [BMG], they stood at the bottom of the Bundesliga with zero points.  hey had scored only two goals while giving up twelve. They began the season with two losses to RB Leipzig [3-1] and VfB Stuttgart [4-1] on Bundesliga Matchdays 1 and 2 respectively.  These poor results cost head coach Achim Beierlorzer his job.  Beierlorzer was the second Bundesliga coach to be fired this season [Schalke coach David Wagner got the sack earlier the same week].   Mainz replaced Four games into the new season, Mainz are already staring relegation in the face.

BMG took the early lead when team captain Lars Stindl turned in a neat knock-down from striker Breel Embolo from close range. Mainz could have been forgiven for thinking “here we go again,” but Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta teed up midfielder Jean-Paul Boetius for a golden opportunity to equalize soon after – though he placed a weak shot straight at BMG goalie Yann Sommer. In a case of being in the right place at the right time, at the 23-minute mark Mateta brought them level with their next opportunity, converting the rebound after striker Robin Quaison hit the post. At the half-hour mark, BMG striker Patrick Herrmann bounced a volley onto the top of the crossbar, it was the hosts who struck next. Mateta managed to hold off four defenders before turning and driving a low shot into the bottom corner of Sommer's goal. Mainz goalie Robin Zentner then preserved Mainz's lead until the break, most notably from another Herrmann effort.  For once, the Fußballgötter were smiling on Mainz.

Zentner was given some early work to do in the second half too, turning away Herrmann's shot before defender Moussa Niakhate covered behind him to clear Embolo's shot on the rebound off the line. BMG coach Marco Rose reacted by making four substitutions, with strikers Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea both sent on [a net addition of one striker], and the tactical tinkering eventually paid off with Thuram earning a penalty when his shot was handled by Niakhate. Fellow substitute Hofmann sent Zentner the wrong way from the spot, and the speed with which he fished the ball out of the back of the net emphasized how keen BMG were on getting more than just a point. BMG grabbed the win thanks to a flying header from defender Matthias Ginter seven minutes from full time. Mainz are still dwelling in the cellar with five straight defeats, while BMG moved up to eighth place with eight points.   RB Leipzig continue to lead with thirteen points, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund close behind with twelve each.

 

 

Matchday 3 Match of the Week

This week there weren’t very many competitive games to choose from.  Dortmund rebounded from their defeat in the German Super Cup to Bayern Munich by thrashing SC Freiburg 4-0.  RB Leipzig did likewise, adding to Schalke’s misery of a season by winning 4-0.  Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated FC Köln 3-1.  Werder Bremen, who escaped relegation last season, recorded their second win of the season, defeating Arminia Bielefeld 1-0.  Stuttgart and Leverkusen shared the spoils with a 1-1 draw.

Last week, Hoffenheim scored one on their best victories ever by beating Bayern Munich 4-1.  They stopped the defending Bundesliga and UCL champions 33-game undefeated run with an impressive victory.  They were trying to add to their great start to this season with a third win in as many games.  They finished last week at the top of the Bundesliga first division table.  Eintracht Frankfurt have had a solid start to their season as well, having drawn with Bielefeld on MD 1 and earning a convincing win against Hertha Berlin last week.  Both teams have had unbeaten starts to the new season.  Last season, Frankfurt swept both games against Hoffenheim.

Frankfurt nearly got on the board first.  Dutch forward Bas Dost began the attack with a quick outlet pass to defender Almany Touré running down the right side. Touré passed it back to Dost, who was centered in the Hoffenheim penalty area. Dost headed the ball to forward André Silva, but the two didn’t connect.  Touré’s pass to Dost was on the money, but Dost couldn’t seal it.  A good effort, but no score. For the next ten minutes, Frankfurt kept pressing Hoffenheim’s defense but couldn’t quite find the mark.  Despite all of Frankfurt’s pressure, it was Hoffenheim who struck first at the eighteenth minute. After a free kick, Croatian forward Andrej Kramarić found himself inside the Frankfurt penalty area to the right of the goalie, and he curled it inside the left post just out of reach of Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp.  It was Kramarić’s sixth goal of the season, his first career goal against Frankfurt. Kramarić’s goal was the only score of the first half.

Frankfurt finally even the score at the 54th minute when they finally cracked open Hoffenheim’s defense.  Ex-Hoffenheim midfielder Steven Zuber, substituting for the injured Filip Kostić, whipped a stunning ball into the Hoffenheim box, where a waiting Bas Dost flicked it to midfielder Daichi Kamada, who put the ball past Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann.  Score tied, 1-1.  On the ensuing kickoff, sloppy Hoffenheim play almost resulted in a second Frankfurt score in two minutes.  Luckily for Hoffenheim Zuber and Touré couldn’t quite connect in the box.  There was miscommunication on Hoffenheim’s defense.

I don’t know what Frankfurt coach Adi Hütter said to his players at halftime, but whatever it was it worked.  Frankfurt’s attack was relentless.  After they scored the equalizer, Frankfurt didn’t let Hoffenheim settle into any kind of offensive rhythm.  Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann was screaming at his defense for much of the second half.  Frankfurt often had Hoffenheim on their back foot, but Hoffenheim refused to go away.  They managed to mount a challenge to Frankfurt’s defense, but at the 71^st Frankfurt scored again on a counterattack.  Things got a bit crowded in front of Hoffenheim’s net, but Bas Dost was able to make sense of the chaos and scored, putting Frankfurt in front 2-1. It was Dost’s sixth career goal against Hoffenheim.  The score stood at 2-1 when the referee blew the final whistle.

Postscript

I wrote this on Saturday thinking “there won’t be a better game than this tomorrow.  Not for the first time, I was wrong.  I was traveling today and didn’t watch anything live today.  I kept an eye on the Augsburg-Wolfsburg match, which ended on a goalless draw.  “So far, good”. Then Bayern Munich played Hertha Berlin at the Allianz Arena in Munich.  Hertha always gives Bayern a good game.  Last year on Matchday 1, Hertha drew with Bayern, which began Niko Kovač’s slide toward unemployment.  What did I miss? Not much, just a 7-goal thriller that was decided by a Robert Lewandowski penalty kick in stoppage time.  Lewandowski scored all four of Bayern’s goals today.  What else did I miss? Bayern coach Hansi Flick smiled today. 😊

2020 German Super Cup

One week before the beginning of each Bundesliga season, the winner of the Bundesliga championship meets the winner of the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] in an exhibition match for the trophy known as the German Super Cup.  If the regular season champion and the DFL-Pokal winner is the same team, then the opponent is the championship runner-up.  And so, for what seems like the 100^th time, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund met today for this year’s edition of the German Super Cup.  As such, the game is an exhibition – it doesn’t count in the standings [but it DOES mean something (prestige)].  The 2020-21 Bundesliga began two weeks ago.  Because Bayern Munich was still in the hunt for the UEFA Champions League [which they won], the game was postponed until this week.  Last week, both Bayern and Dortmund lost their Matchday 2 games.  Bayern lost to Hoffenheim, while Dortmund lost to Augsburg.  Given the tight schedule this season, this was a game that I think neither team particularly wanted to play, but they didn’t have any choice.  Dortmund won last year’s German Super Cup against Bayern, 2-0.

Any Bayern-Dortmund clash is known in Germany as simply Der Klassiker. Today’s edition of Der Klassiker did not disappoint.  It was a close, hard-fought game from start to finish. It was a tale of two halves.  After their 4-1 loss to Hoffenheim, Bayern coach Hansi Flick altered Bayern’s usual gegenpressing game plan. Instead of pressing Dortmund’s back line, Bayern played it cautious in their positioning.  They didn’t overcommit in numbers to try and win possession in Dortmund’s half of the field.  Flick also shuffled the deck of Bayern starters.  Leroy Sané is out with a knee injury, so Kingsley Coman slotted over to take.  Serge Gnabry was given a rest, as was midfielder Leon Goretzka and defender Jerome Boateng.  Alphonso Davies started at right winger in place of Gnabry. Javi Martinez, the hero in Bayern’s UEFA Super Cup win over Seville, started in David Alaba’s spot as a center defender. Thomas Muller moved over to right wing to fill in for Gnabry.  Corentin Tolisso took Goretzka’s’s usual spot.  Dortmund had their own changes as well.  They were without Thorgan Hazard [injury], Roman Bürki and Jadon Sancho [illness – not COVID-19]. Julian Brandt and Marco Reus, who came off the bench against Augsburg, started.

Some Bundesliga games have seen fans in the stands [20% of stadium capacity].  Not so today in Bavaria where they are experiencing a COVID spike.  Bayern got the first shot on goal with a Joshua Kimmich header, but Dortmund keeper Marwin Hitz had no trouble with it.  Dortmund was able to get into Bayern’s penalty area with little difficulty early on, but it was Bayern who got on the scoreboard first at the eighteenth minute. Bayern scored on the counterattack from a Dortmund corner kick.  Davies received the block off the corner, fed Coman down the left side. Coman found Thomas Müller in the center, who found Robert Lewandowski sprinting down the right side.  Lewandowski found the trailing Tolisso in the middle, who shot on goal, hit the crossbar, and slotted home his own rebound. Bayern led 1-0.

Bayern’s second goal was a bit more methodical. having worked their way up-field from their own end, Alphonso Davies put a cross into the box from about thirty meters out. Thomas Müller caught up with it and scored on a header past Hitz in the 32^nd minute. Bayern appeared to have a comfortable 2-goal lead, but there was still an hour left to play against a team that makes its living by coming back from deficits.  Today would be no different for Dortmund.  Seven minutes later, and five minutes before halftime, Dortmund grabbed back a goal.  In the 39^th minute, Dortmund pressured Bayern in their own end and won back the ball.  It was Erling Haaland and Julian Brandt in the box against two Bayern defenders.  Haaland made a crisp pass to Brandt, who buried the goal.  New game! Dortmund refused to go away.  Dortmund’s high pressure was a sign of things to come in the second half.

Right after halftime in the 47^th minute, Dortmund found themselves with a 3-on-3 in Bayern’s penalty area, but Thomas Munier couldn’t seal the deal.  Dortmund coach Lucien Farve wasn’t pleased.  Shortly thereafter, Dortmund pressed Bayern hard and won back the ball.  Thomas Delaney found Erling Haaland sprinting toward Bayern’s penalty area.  Haaland succeeded where Munier failed and got the equalizer.  I really like Haaland’s game.  He is a beast in the middle.  He nearly got a third Dortmund goal when he found himself one-on-one against Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.  But Haaland shot the ball almost exactly where he got the equalizer.  Neuer made himself big and blocked Haaland’s shot. That’s why they pay Neuer the big bucks [ok, Euros]. For a good part of the second half, Dortmund seemed to be beating Bayern at their own game, but they couldn’t get that third goal.

While Bayern maintained possession for two-thirds of the second half, Dortmund had more shots on goal.  At the 67^th minute, Dortmund’s Nico Schulz, Reinier and Gio Reyna subbed on for Erling Haaland, Thomas Munier and Marco Reus respectively.  Serge Gnabry subbed on for Kingsley Coman for Bayern.  And then the game slowed.  More substitutions for both sides.  It appeared both teams were starting to feel fatigued and were playing for the penalty shootout.  The German Super Cup doesn’t play extra time in case of a tie at the end of regulation – it’s straight to penalty kicks if needed.  Ethen in the 81^st minute, Joshua Kimmich picked Thomas Delaney’s pocket at midfield, sped down the field where he found Robert Lewandowski, who then passed it back to the trailing Kimmich.  Kimmich took the shot, but Marwin Hitz blocked it.  But instead of covering up the ball, Hitz let the ball rebound back to Kimmich.  As Kimmich was falling over Dortmund defender Łukasz Piszczek, he somehow got his left heel on the ball and put Bayern ahead 3-2.  This was as freakish a goal as I’ve seen in a long while.  As much as Dortmund pressured Bayern for the equalizer and a possible shootout, Bayern was able to kill the clock and win the German Super Cup.  This game could have gone either way.

In a somewhat bittersweet postscript, referee Bibiana Steinhaus announced her sudden retirement.  Before the game she released this statement:

“Like many people during the corona situation, I have reflected and reassessed some things. After a very truthful and constructive conversation with Lutz Michael Fröhlich, the sporting director of the DFB-Elite Referees, after carefully weighing many factors, I have decided to end my national and international career as referee. For this evening, I want the focus to be entirely on the game. I will discuss the reasons for my retirement in somewhat greater detail in due time.”

Steinhaus is a trailblazer in German soccer. Her father was also a football referee. In 2007, she became the first female referee in German men's professional football.  She made it to the Bundesliga’s first division for the 2017-18 season.  A police officer in her “day job” [she’s a Chief Inspector in Langenhagen], she had been the target of abuse from some players, but for the most part she’s respected throughout the league.  She’s a damn good referee.  I hate to see her go.  

 

Matchday 2 Match of the Week - Augsburg vs Dortmund

This weekend, ESPN didn’t show any Bundesliga games on television.  Every game was on ESPN+.  I woke up on Saturday and scanned the day’s final results.  One result popped out at me – Augsburg defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0.  That one held some promise.  I’ve never seen Augsburg beat Dortmund.  Then I found out that my favorite Bundesliga announcer, Phil Bonney, called the game.  That’s my benchmark – when in doubt, watch the games called by either Phil Bonney or Derek Rae.  These guys know the Bundesliga.

One expects to see Dortmund score a lot of goals against Augsburg.  Four Dortmund players that I know of have gotten hat tricks against them – Robert Lewandowski did it, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did it, as did Paco Alcacer and most recently Erling Haaland. Last year, Dortmund won both games with an aggregate score of 10-4 – 5-1 on the first day of last season, and 5-3 on the first game of 2020.  They’ve surrendered more goals to Dortmund than any team in the Bundesliga.  But that was then, this is now.  As Phil Bonney put it, that’s the thing about a new season. There’s always the chance to something you’ve never done before.  Augsburg started the game with a 4-5-1 formation.  They clogged up the middle of the field, which is where Dortmund is strongest.  If Dortmund was to score, they’d have to put pressure on the wings and crack open Augsburg’s defense that way.  With Jadon Sancho, Axel Witsel and Thomas Meunier, they’ve got the talent to do that.  Erling Haaland is a beast in the middle.

For the first ten minutes, Dortmund had possession of the ball 75 percent of the time.  But right at ten minutes, Augsburg showed Dortmund they could get the ball behind Dortmund’s defensive line in the final third.  Lack of any deep runs hurt the Dortmund attack.  They played their typical possession-oriented game, put just couldn’t finish.  Augsburg didn’t get their first free kick until the 40^th minute, and when they did, they made it count.  Augsburg were without their free-kick specialist Phillip Max, but they had Daniel Caligiuri.  Augsburg striker Michael Gregoritsch took an elbow to the face from Dortmund defender Imre Can, resulting in a yellow card for Can.  A recent acquisition on a free transfer from Schalke, Galiguiri is no stranger to Dortmund.  Galiguiri took the free kick and found defender Felix Uduokhai, who headed the ball home and gave Augsburg the lead. Augsburg was executing their game plan perfectly – keep the defense compact in the middle, make Dortmund attack from the wings, and when Dortmund gives you an opportunity, seize it. In last year’s games, both had low-scoring first halves with much of the scoring coming in the second half.  The fixture in Augsburg saw the home team take a 3-1 lead into halftime, only to see Erling Haaland get his hat trick in the second half.  Would this year be a repeat?  Consider this – although Dortmund had significantly more possession time, Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Bürki had more to do than Augsburg keeper Rafał Gikiewicz.  That was the difference in the first half.

While most of the first half was in Augsburg’s half of the field, there was more back-and-forth to start the second half.  Augsburg striker Florian Niederlechner, who had gotten through Dortmund’s defense three times only to be called offside each time, play the ball at midfield to a streaking Daniel Caligiuri, who raced past Thomas Meunier, beat Roman Bürki and scored the game’s second goal. Dortmund almost responded immediately when Gio Reyna was brought down in the penalty area by Rani Khedira. Was it a penalty? One look at the replay showed that Khedira got “all ball” and didn’t foul Reyna.  Reyna left his feet just a little too early. The referee made the correct call.  Shortly thereafter, Dortmund brought on some fresh attacking legs in Julian Brandt and Marco Reus, while defender Raphaël Guerreiro and midfielder Jude Bellingham.  Augsburg swapped out Niederlechner for Icelandic international Alfred Finnbogason, English midfielder Reece Oxford for Khedira, and Finnish midfielder Hans Jensen for Gregoritsch.  Would Dortmund pull another rabbit out of the hat as they usually do in these situations? One got the feeling that if Dortmund got a goal back that it would be an entirely different game. Conversely, if Augsburg got a third goal, it was “game over”. Uduokhai nearly got that third goal in the 68^th minute, with a shot just barely over the crossbar. In the 69^th minute, Dortmund swapped Meunier for Brazilian midfielder Reinier.  Dortmund changed their offensive attack from the wings to beef up their attack in the middle.  Credit to Augsburg – they didn’t wilt against Dortmund’s continuous pressure.  It just didn’t click for Dortmund today. Augsburg had too many defenders in the box. Augsburg didn’t let it slip away this time.

In his 300^th Bundesliga game Caligiuri had his hand in both Augsburg goals – assisting the first, scoring the second. Augsburg keeper Rafał Gikiewicz got a clean sheet against Dortmund – no easy feat there. He came up huge when he needed to. Augsburg have won their first two Bundesliga games of the season for the first time in their history. Augsburg were resilient, they were focused, they were disciplined.  They didn’t crack under Dortmund’s pressure.  It’s only Matchday 2, but Augsburg future for this season looks bright. 

Next up for Dortmund – the German Super Cup against Bayern in Munich next week, then a match against FC Freiburg.  For Augsburg, they have Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig to look forward to.