13 games gone, top of the league, 33 points secured, no defeats. The stats tell the story: Borussia Dortmund’s quest for the title is well and truly on. In fact, such is their confidence, Lucien Favre can afford to leave the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer, Paco Alcacer, on the bench game after game and continue to win. Their latest victims, SC Freiburg, were vanquished 2-0 in what was a very defensive display by Christian Streich’s men. However, BVB can not be complacent, with other sides in the chasing pack also picking up points.
Bayern Munich did just that by beating Werder Bremen 2-1 at the Weserstadion. But the biggest talking points came from the stands rather than the pitch. Both sets of fans, as in all of this week’s Bundesliga matches, protested against Monday night football. This time, they chose to remain silent throughout the first 45 minutes. There will be no Monday night football in the Bundesliga from the 2020-21 season. But the struggle still continues for those sides in the 2.Bundesliga and below.
Back to the football though. Sometimes, three points can feel like an awful lot more than just that! Which may be a huge cliché, but VfB Stuttgart and their fans won’t care. Their 1-0 victory in the Swabian derby against FC Augsburg sees them leave the relegation positions for the first time since matchday 2. Mainz 05 were also amongst the weekend’s winners. A second succesive away win, this time at Fortuna Düsseldorf, sees them move to 10th place.
Hertha Berlin sit in no-man’s land, with their away form being stronger than at home. Their 2-0 win against Hannover at a rather empty HDI-Arena was deserved following a strong performance. For Hannover, however, things look bleak. It is difficult to see André Breitenreiter turning this increasingly threatening situation around, with his side amongst the favourites to drop down to the second tier.