Bayern–Werder 6:0 One could say it was business as usual for Bayern, but actually Bayern have not once achieved this margin of victory last season and maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it seems like after 3 years of avant-garde coaching by Guardiola players are feeling liberated as they are being restored to their natural positions by a more traditionally thinking (but equally good) manager. Finally, Lahm and Alaba are playing at FB again! Alonso, Vidal and Thiago were all in their natural positions in a midfield triangle and Ribery (who admitted it was hard for him to follow Guardiola's instructions) and Muller were playing as wide-forwards again. The only player out of position was Javi Martinez at CB, but's that was because no other CB was available.
Needless to say, Werder were torn to pieces – Alonso started the rout with a spectacular volley, Lewandowski had a hat-trick, but could have scored 5 or 6 with sharper finishing, Müller had 3 assists and captain Lahm added a rare goal (again, he looked like shackles have been broken and he was free to attack the way he always liked to in his younger days). Neuer probably regretted not bringing a beach chair and a book. The early signs are great for Bayern – under Ancelotti they should be the clear favorites for the Champions League.
Dortmund - Mainz 2:1 This was like two Klopp teams playing against each other and arguably Mainz looked to be the fitter one – their non-stop pressing caused Dortmund a lot of problems and Tuchel was going crazy on the touchline trying to get his players to play faster. Goalkeeper Burki saved Dortmund several times. The difference in this match was one clever finish from Aubumeyang and a silly penalty (converted by Aubumeyang). Dortmund had 5 new players in the starting 11: Schurrle and Dembele on the wings, Röde at DM, Bartra at CB and a 18-year-old right back from the youth team. Reus and Gotze didn't play due to lack of fitness, Pulisic and Emre Mor stayed on the bench. Schurrle was unspectacular, but efficient with an assist and a won penalty; Dembele was the opposite, seeing a lot of the ball but playing a bit separately from his teammates. Sebastian Rode, who came from Bayern for 12M euro, seems like a good addition to their otherwise lightweight midfield – right now Dortmund looks a bit like early-season LFC with too many attacking players crammed into more defensive roles.
Frankfurt-Schalke 1:0 A lot of changes for Schalke: new manager, new sporting director and lots of new players to replace the key players who departed this summer. They bought Naldo from Wolfsburg to replace Matip, which seemed like a good idea in theory – he is kind of similar to Matip in some ways, very tall, quick and a prolific goalscorer for a defender. The problem is, as anybody who watches Bundesliga knows, Naldo is pretty shit at actually defending – about the same level of defensive discipline as David Luiz, but with a bit less technique (and no shady Russian oligarch money). Schalke were all over the place and Frankfurt should have won by 2-3 clear goals if they didn't miss a penalty and lots of other chances. The new manager will have a big job on his hands.
Borussia M-Bayer 2:1 Monchengladbach continued where they left off last season, with their quick counter-attacking game unaffected by the absence of Xhaka and by Dahoud being left on the bench (he was on the bench in both CL qualifiers as well, starting only the German cup game – I wonder what's that about? They seemed desperate to hold on to him, but now he's not playing). First goal came from a lackluster Jonathan Tah's mistake – he still seems immature and playing more with his physical attributes than with his head. Julian Brandt didn't start because of his Olympics involvement, but he came on as a sub. @Kay Age El's wet dream Andreas Christensen played well as the most central of the 3 Gladbach CBs.
Some other notes: newly promoted RB Leipzig looks like an interesting team – very aggressive and energetic. They managed 20+ shots on goal against Hoffenheim in an away game (it finished 2:2). Our own former player Peter Gulasci is Lepizig's starting GK. Jonas Hector played 90 minutes for Köln. Ricardo Rodriguez scored Wolfsburg's 2nd goal from a direct FK.
Needless to say, Werder were torn to pieces – Alonso started the rout with a spectacular volley, Lewandowski had a hat-trick, but could have scored 5 or 6 with sharper finishing, Müller had 3 assists and captain Lahm added a rare goal (again, he looked like shackles have been broken and he was free to attack the way he always liked to in his younger days). Neuer probably regretted not bringing a beach chair and a book. The early signs are great for Bayern – under Ancelotti they should be the clear favorites for the Champions League.
Dortmund - Mainz 2:1 This was like two Klopp teams playing against each other and arguably Mainz looked to be the fitter one – their non-stop pressing caused Dortmund a lot of problems and Tuchel was going crazy on the touchline trying to get his players to play faster. Goalkeeper Burki saved Dortmund several times. The difference in this match was one clever finish from Aubumeyang and a silly penalty (converted by Aubumeyang). Dortmund had 5 new players in the starting 11: Schurrle and Dembele on the wings, Röde at DM, Bartra at CB and a 18-year-old right back from the youth team. Reus and Gotze didn't play due to lack of fitness, Pulisic and Emre Mor stayed on the bench. Schurrle was unspectacular, but efficient with an assist and a won penalty; Dembele was the opposite, seeing a lot of the ball but playing a bit separately from his teammates. Sebastian Rode, who came from Bayern for 12M euro, seems like a good addition to their otherwise lightweight midfield – right now Dortmund looks a bit like early-season LFC with too many attacking players crammed into more defensive roles.
Frankfurt-Schalke 1:0 A lot of changes for Schalke: new manager, new sporting director and lots of new players to replace the key players who departed this summer. They bought Naldo from Wolfsburg to replace Matip, which seemed like a good idea in theory – he is kind of similar to Matip in some ways, very tall, quick and a prolific goalscorer for a defender. The problem is, as anybody who watches Bundesliga knows, Naldo is pretty shit at actually defending – about the same level of defensive discipline as David Luiz, but with a bit less technique (and no shady Russian oligarch money). Schalke were all over the place and Frankfurt should have won by 2-3 clear goals if they didn't miss a penalty and lots of other chances. The new manager will have a big job on his hands.
Borussia M-Bayer 2:1 Monchengladbach continued where they left off last season, with their quick counter-attacking game unaffected by the absence of Xhaka and by Dahoud being left on the bench (he was on the bench in both CL qualifiers as well, starting only the German cup game – I wonder what's that about? They seemed desperate to hold on to him, but now he's not playing). First goal came from a lackluster Jonathan Tah's mistake – he still seems immature and playing more with his physical attributes than with his head. Julian Brandt didn't start because of his Olympics involvement, but he came on as a sub. @Kay Age El's wet dream Andreas Christensen played well as the most central of the 3 Gladbach CBs.
Some other notes: newly promoted RB Leipzig looks like an interesting team – very aggressive and energetic. They managed 20+ shots on goal against Hoffenheim in an away game (it finished 2:2). Our own former player Peter Gulasci is Lepizig's starting GK. Jonas Hector played 90 minutes for Köln. Ricardo Rodriguez scored Wolfsburg's 2nd goal from a direct FK.
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