Another weekend of exciting Bundesliga action as Union Berlin’s victory against Wolfsburg puts them top heading into the international break. A look at 5 talking points from this weekend.
1 | Union Berlin go into the international break at the top of the Bundesliga. They ensured top spot with an impressive 2-0 victory over struggling Wolfsburg. It’s been a remarkable rise since their promotion in 2019 with head coach Urs Fischer at the helm. Despite losing players such as Taiwo Awoniyi to Nottingham Forest for over €20m, Union reinforced at a fraction of the price by bringing in American striker Jordan Siebatcheu from Swiss club Young Boys for €8m with bonuses. So far, this business model is paying off for the Irons. Siebatcheu, along with fellow forward, Sheraldo Becker, have scored 9 goals and provided 6 assists between them in the opening 7 games. Who knows where Union will end up this season? Wherever that may be, Union have been a breath of fresh air to the Bundesliga as well as football in general.
2 | Bayern Munich are without a Bundesliga win in four matches after losing the Bavarian derby to Augsburg. You’d have to go far back in the record books to see Bayern on such a barren run in Germany. For over 10 years, Bayern have completely dominated the domestic scene but are the wheels slowly coming off for Julian Nagelsmann’s men? Of course, there is a long way to go before the final whistle, but this gives other teams more hope that they can finally beat Bayern to the prize. Despite the poor form, Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn has publicly displayed his support for the head coach amid rumours that Thomas Tuchel is waiting in the wings for the job.
3 | Borussia Dortmund won the first Revierderby of the season beating Schalke 1-0. It’s three points that takes BVB into second place, just two points off Union in first. It was a frenetic derby, especially after half-time, but ultimately Dortmund were deserving of all three points. An excellent response after last weekend’s 3-0 defeat and a result that proves that Dortmund will be competing for the title later into the season. Youssoufa Moukoko’s goal was the difference this weekend as the youngster became the youngest ever goalscorer in the Revierderby. The 17-year-old German youth international said that he dreamt of that moment.
4 | Gerardo Seoane is desperately clinging on to his job at Bayer Leverkusen despite a recent 2-0 win over Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano in the Champions League. B04 took the lead against Werder Bremen on Saturday but Miloš Veljković’s equaliser 8 minutes from time means that Seoane and Bayer have won just 1 of their 7 Bundesliga games this season. Down in 15th and level points with Stuttgart (16th) and Wolfsburg (17th), Sporting Director Simon Rolfes and CEO Fernando Carro held a crisis meeting on Sunday morning. For now, Seoane remains in a job but with Bayern Munich up next after the international break, despite backing of B04 officials, it feels as though this is now an absolute must win game for Seoane.
5 | Borussia Mönchengladbach demolished RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga Topspiel on Sunday evening. Ramy Bensebaini completed the rout before the hour mark following a Jonas Hofmann brace inside 35 minutes. Die Fohlen have lost just 1 of their 7 Bundesliga games and have started well under Daniel Farke. Marcus Thuram has already beaten his goal contributions for last season with 6 goals and 4 assists in 8 games across all competitions. Hofmann is as integral as ever and Manu Koné is one of Europe’s best progressive midfielders over the last 18 months. Although early into the season, a return to Europe seems like an achievable target for Gladbach.
Player of the Week | Timo Baumgartl (Union Berlin)
It only seems fitting that Timo Baumgartl is GGFN’s Player of the Week. 154 days since his last appearance, Baumgartl returned to Union Berlin’s starting XI after overcoming testicular cancer. Managing 62 minutes, Baumgartl had no idea that he would be featuring despite returning to team training at the end of August. Speaking to DAZN after the game, Baumgartl said that it’s a moment that he dreamed of during chemotherapy.
Team of the Week | Rafał Gikiewicz – Robert Gumny, Mats Hummels, Miloš Veljković – Ramy Bensebaini – Julian Weigl, Jonas Hofmann – Sheraldo Becker, Daichi Kamada, Marcus Thuram – Jordan Siebatcheu.
