After a host of the Bundesliga’s finest were involved in midweek European matches it was back to domestic action and as usual, we were treated to superb atmosphere, top talent, great goals, and entertainment galore. So just who were the winners and losers from Matchday 6?
The Winners
RB Leipzig/ Marco Rose
It is surprising how often a change of coach produces an instant bounce at a struggling club and brings about a performance that bears little resemblance to the dross that caused the previous incumbent to be fired. Domenico Tedesco must have sat at home scratching his head and wondering who the players were, who were taking Dortmund apart at the Red Bull Arena.
Consecutive heavy defeats to Eintracht Frankfurt and Shakhtar Donetsk led to Tedesco being fired and ex-Dortmund coach Marco Rose being installed. Leipzig were instantly a much-improved side and ran out 3-0 winners, although it must be said that BVB offered little in the way of resistance.
A Willi Orban header opened the scoring before a thunderbolt from Dominik Szoboszlai doubled the lead before the break. A second half goal from substitute Amadou Haidara put the icing on the cake.
The task for Marco Rose now is to maintain the bounce and get Leipzig moving up the table. What a difference three days makes!
Nico Kovac
If ever a coach was under pressure, it was Nico Kovac. Installed at the start of the season, he had overseen one of the worst starts in Wolfsburg’s Bundesliga history with just two points from the opening five games. He had received the backing of the club’s hierarchy, which is not always the confidence boost it appears to be.
A 1-0 win away at Eintracht Frankfurt thanks to a Maxence Lacroix header has however eased the growing pressure surrounding Kovac. “We are very happy with this away win, and I would like to congratulate the team because we made things difficult for Eintracht and worked self-sacrificingly” Kovac said after.
“The players fought passionately, as we expect in this situation. It’s the first three points that we’ve got and hopefully it’s the beginning of playing in this way in the future.”
Hoffenheim
A 4-1 home win over Mainz saw the Sinsheim club sharing the lead at the top of the table on Saturday night. Andre Breitenreiter’s side were handed an advantage when Alexander Jack was sent off for a professional foul just before half-time, although Andrej Kramaric missed the resulting penalty.
However, driven on by Christoph Baumgartner and Georgino Rutter four second half goals from Kramaric, Grischa Prömel, Munas Dabbur, and late on from Pavel Kaderabek gave them a comfortable win.
As one of the sides not involved in Europe this season, Hoffenheim have the slight advantage of keeping their players fresher and are showing this season that they could be a real contender amongst the upper echelons of the Bundesliga.
Mathys Tel
Having already become the club’s record youngest goalscorer by scoring in the DFB Pokal win over Viktoria Köln, 17-year-old Mathys Tel became Bayern Munich’s youngest-ever Bundesliga goalscorer with the opener against VfB Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena.
Handed a surprise first start in the league by Julian Nagelsmann, the young Frenchman fired home after getting on the end of an Alphonso Davies pullback. The former youngest league scorer for Bayern Munich was Jamal Musiala at 17 years and 205 days- Tel was 17 years and 136 days old yesterday.
Speaking after the game, he was disappointed with the result, but delighted with his debut goal. “I’m very happy about my goal, there were a lot of positive emotions. I’m very happy to be part of FC Bayern, it’s amazing to score for this legendary club. I hope I can continue to be an asset and do as much as I can for the team.”
Dominik Szoboszlai
Having featured in the loser’s section earlier in the season for his sending off against Köln, the Hungarian midfielder makes it into the winner’s section this week following his stunning goal that helped down Borussia Dortmund.
Picking up the ball and advancing just before half-time, he saw few options ahead of him so unleashed a right-foot shot that flew like a rocket into the top corner past keeper Alexander Meyer. Even if Gregor Köbel had been in goal alongside him, it’s hard to believe it would have been kept out.
Someone is going to have to come up with something very special to deny Szoboszlai September’s Goal of the Month award.
The Losers
Bayern Munich
It somehow feels wrong to be putting the Rekordmeister in the loser’s section but by their own very high standards yesterday’s draw with VfB Stuttgart was unsatisfactory. The 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena was the third consecutive draw for the Bavarians in the Bundesliga after previously being held by Union Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann did rotate his first team ahead of next week’s Champions League clash with Barcelona with Sadio Mané, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard, Marcel Sabitzer and Leroy Sané all on the bench. Stuttgart were actually good value for the draw even if they had to withstand a lot of Bayern pressure. Three points from a possible nine is far from what is expected, but the good news is that no one has pulled too far ahead at the top and Bayern ended Saturday still at the top.
Marvin Ducksch
Werder Bremen fans are getting used to late drama and late goals in their matches this season so when they were awarded an injury time penalty against Augsburg, they must have felt a sense of déjà vu. With the Fuggerstädter leading 1-0 and set for their first win of the season, the Grün-Weißen it seemed were going to spoil the party.
Marvin Ducksch, who had yet to score this season, took responsibility from the spot, but saw his effort saved by keeper Rafal Gikiewicz. The drama was late as usual, but this time it wasn’t the Werder fans who were celebrating.
Borussia Dortmund
After garnering the plaudits against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League in midweek on the back of two Bundesliga wins with clean sheets, the mood at Borussia Dortmund was on the up. The mood following Saturday’s display at RB Leipzig is certainly down.
A lacklustre display, lacking in energy saw Leipzig ease to a 3-0 win. There were few players to emerge with much credit from the game and life doesn’t get any easier with a midweek trip to Manchester City, where ex-striker Erling Haaland awaits them. A massive improvement is going to be required if the mood at BVB is not to deteriorate even worse.
Alexander Hack/ Delano Burgzorg
Mainz defender Alexander Hack did his team no favours when pulling down Georgino Rutter from behind as the Hoffenheim attacker bore down on goal. Deemed a red card, Hack was sent off by referee Daniel Schlager. The only small mercy was that Andrej Kramaric missed the spot kick.
Delano Burgzorg came on as an early substitute for the injured Jonathan Burkardt in the 14th minute. However, as a result of Hack’s red card, he was the one to be sacrificed as coach Bo Svensson sent on defender Niklas Tauer. A short day at the office for Burgzorg.
Rafal Gikiewicz
After saving Marvin Ducksch’s injury time penalty to help secure Augsburg’s 1-0 win, you would think that keeper Rafal Gikiewicz would be in the winner’s section. However, goading the Werder fans behind the goal by making gestures for them to shut up almost started a mini riot/ pitch invasion by the incensed home fans.
Gikiewicz justified his actions by saying that he and his family had been insulted throughout the game but trying to start a riot wasn’t the wisest of moves.
Max Kruse
Max Kruse has played his last game for Wolfsburg. After surprisingly being left out of the squad to face Eintracht Frankfurt, coach Nico Kovac announced after the game that he would not be picking Kruse again as he “doesn’t help the team.”
Kovac told Sky Germany, “We demand one hundred percent identification and commitment from every player with a focus on VfL. We didn’t have that feeling with Max.”
Ouch! Out! And Aufwiedersehen.
