The Bundesliga Diaries Editorial – Matchday 06

It has been a while since a side other than Bayern has topped the Bundesliga. But, alas, we now have a new leader: Borussia Dortmund. They didn’t get there the easy way, finding themselves 2-0 down at half-time in the Bay-Arena against Bayer Leverkusen. However, an inspired second 45 minutes, led by substitutes Jadon Sancho and Paco Alcacer, gave Die SchwarzGelben the three points (2-4). They also have Hertha BSC to thank for them being in first place after the team from the capital convincingly beat Munich on Friday night (2-0). Bayern paid for their individual defensive mistakes in the first half, providing Hertha with a comfortable enough advantage to defend after the break as Nico Kovac´s men failed to pile on much pressure. In the last week the Bavarians have dropped five points, almost unimaginable following their first four performances.

TSG Hoffenheim hosted RB Leipzig in a rather peculiar match-up, especially for the managers. On one bench, Julian Nagelsmann was facing his future employers, whilst on the other Ralph Rangnick, a Hoffenheim legend, was up against the side he promoted to the Bundesliga for the first and only time in their history. The latter left victorious (1-2), meaning the East-German outift rise to 6th position, continuing a recent improvement in their performances following an underwhelming start. Another team that currently sits in the European positions is Borussia Mönchengladbach, who earned a valuable point from their visit to VfL Wolfsburg (2-2). The entertaining encounter saw Dieter Hecking´s team take the lead twice, and even though the draw moves them in to the Champions League spots, Mönchengladbach will consider this a missed opportunity to claim their first away victory in seven months.

The two newly promoted sides met at the Max-Morlock stadium in a game where Nürnberg mentally recovered from their abominable midweek performance against Dortmund, winning 3-0 victory against Fortuna Düsseldorf in impressive fashion. It was a close encounter until their captain, Hanno Behrens, broke the deadlock in the 28th minute. A great victory for Der Club sees them open up a five-point gap over the relegation zone. Despite the comprehensive defeat, Fortuna have also started the season promisingly, although Friedhelm Funkel will have to work on improving their away form.