An unusual midweek matchday in the Bundesliga (otherwise known as the Englische Woche), and there was undoubtedly a certain tension in the air. Tired of the DFB’s commercialization of the league with initiatives such as this very round of fixtures, played out on Tuesday and Wednesday at times that do not help the average match-going fan, Bundesliga supporters groups decided to protest by staying completely silent for the first twenty minutes of each game. This sends a powerful message, showing how much football will lose if the sport’s authorities keep on disregarding their lifeblood, the fans. It was also surprising to see a few stadiums below full capacity, something of a rarity in Germany.
In regards to the play itself, Werder Bremen climbed up the table once again (3-1). They had a challenging game on paper, facing die Alte Dame Hertha BSC, one of just four sides to remain unbeaten after as many matches. However, Florian Kohfeldt seems to have found the key elements to make his side an unpredictable unified block as they sit third following a couple of disappointing seasons. BVB are placed a position higher, with die Schwarze-Gelbe shocking everyone with a brilliantly impressive performance against FC Nürnberg (7-0). Lucien Favre´s side displayed the Gegenpressing style that brought the glory days to the WestfalenStadion under Jürgen Klopp. The Swiss manager will be encouraged by his squad’s depth with players such as Achraf, Jacob Buun Larsen and Jadon Sancho able to come in when needed as the season progresses.
Their neighbours and fiercest rivals, Schalke 04, are not quite enjoying the start to the season they would have hoped for: they now have 5 defeats from 5. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to say that their 1-0 defeat against SC Freiburg was deserved. Tedesco´s players had plenty of chances to take something positive from the Scharzwald-Stadion but unfortunately for them, it was one of those days where the ball would simply not go in. That is certainly not the case for Borussia Mönchengladbach at their home, Borussia-Park, where they grabbed their third win against Eintracht Frankfurt on the bounce (3-1). It was a deserved win for Mönchengladbach, who are starting to make a strong bid for Europe.
This most different of weeks could not possibly be complete with perhaps the most unexpected result of all: Bayern Munich dropping points (1-1). A good performance by the Bavarians against FC Augsburg was not enough to get past Andreas Luthe more than once, who made his first appearance of the season and pulled off some impressive saves. Despite the disappointing result, Bayern continue to lead the table by two points, although this will certainly serve as a warning for Nico Kovac for his side’s upcoming games.