The first international break of the season has come and gone, and club football has thankfully returned. Initially, this weekend’s fixtures did not spark interest to many, but the Bundesliga has proved us wrong yet again.
Grimaldo magic seals Leverkusen’s first win
The first game of the week on Friday was a clash between the fallen giant of Bayer Leverkusen and one of the most in form Bundesliga sides in Eintracht Frankfurt. This was Leverkusen’s first game since the departure of Erik Ten Hag after only three games in charge. Ex Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand took charge of Leverkusen just days before this fixture. Leverkusen were winless since the beginning of the Bundesliga season, with just one point from a draw with Werder Bremen after they conceded in the 94th minute.
Leverkusen were back in the BayArena with the hopes of earning all three points, though Eintracht Frankfurt had a stellar start to their season already with 4-1 and 3-1 wins.
It wasn’t long before Leverkusen were handed a free kick just outside Frankfurt’s box, Alejandro Grimaldo stepped up and sent the ball over the wall, he hit the post, but the ball instead, due to maybe some luck or goalkeeper error, bounced off the back of the diving keeper and into the back of the net. Leverkusen were one-nil up at the 10th minute.
The difference in Leverkusen’s playstyle since the departure of ten Hag was obvious. They were more creative and open, unlike their previous games. It wasn’t working out for Frankfurt, both teams had chances but neither could do much with them.
In the dying minute of the first half, Nathan Tella was brought down by a Frankfurt defender after a blinding run into the box. Leverkusen were awarded a penalty and it was slotted away by Patrick Schick. Leverkusen had doubled their lead going into the second half.
The second half started and in the 52nd minute Can Uzun managed to get one back for Frankfurt when the ball ping-ponged around the box and landed at his feet. Tensions were high, and doubled when Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich received a second yellow card in the 59th minute and was sent off.
Despite having ten men, Leverkusen held on quite well. As the match went to injury time, the pressure started to mount on Leverkusen. Ezequiel Fernández also received a second yellow and die Werkself were now only 9 men strong. Small scraps broke out between players, tensions were at a boiling point now. In the 98th minute of seven minutes of injury time, Leverkusen were handed one more free kick just outside the box. Grimaldo stepped up once again, and this time he didn’t need luck or a goalkeeper mistake, placing it neatly in the top right corner. The BayArena erupted, Leverkusen had won their first game of the season, and it was through two beautiful goals by Grimaldo. The match ended Leverkusen 3, Frankfurt 1.
Leverkusen were the stronger side by a mile, making you wonder what exactly ten Hag was doing to have them in such a sorry state. If they continue playing this way, the Bundesliga 23/24 Champions might have no problem competing once again.
Six-goal thriller sees Wolfsburg and Köln share the spoils
This match saw Köln travel to Wolfsburg in an attempt to extend their Bundesliga winning streak to three matches after a spectacular start to the season. Köln sat in third place after their four-one demolition of Freiburg in their Bundesliga return to the RheinEnergie Stadium. Christian Eriksen was on the Wolfsburg bench after signing for them just days before, but the Dane never got to play.
Köln hit the back of the net early on, when a shot from Jan Thielmann was fumbled by Wolfsburg keeper Kamil Grabara and the ball landed in front of Köln’s Luca Waldschmidt who buried it in the 5th minute, kept onside by sloppy Wolfsburg defending. Köln’s chances kept coming but were either saved or just wide of the goal.
Wolfsburg found a way back before the end of the first half. In the 42th minute, they were awarded a free kick on the left wing, sent in by Maximilian Arnold, it found the head of Mohamed El Amine Amoura. The home crowd erupted, with spirits lifted Wolfsburg came out for the second half with renewed energy to keep themselves in the top half of the table.
In the 59th minute Köln managed to put the ball in the net, but it was ruled offside. Six minutes later it was heartbreak for Köln as Wolfsburg put themselves two-one ahead in the 65th minute via Lovro Majer when great passes combined with sloppy defending from Köln, leaving the Billy Goats scratching their heads.
The match carried on and it looked increasingly like Köln’s undefeated streak would come to an end after three games. However, due to flares and smoke released by Wolfsburg fans earlier in the half, the fourth official indicated that there was still fourteen minutes of football to be played.
Emboldened by this news, Köln’s Said El Mala unleashed a blinding run down the left wing, passing defender after defender. He reached the box and played a short cross to Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson who managed to beat the keeper and place the ball in the bottom right corner. In the 91st minute, it was two-two, with plenty of football left to be played.
And plenty of football was indeed left to be played. In the 99th minute, Wolfsburg were awarded a free kick in a dangerous area, just outside the Köln box. Only one man was called up to take it, Maximilian Arnold stepped up and sent the ball soaring over the wall and into the top-right corner of the goal. The Volkswagen Arena exploded, surely this was a certain victory for the Wolves.
Apparently not, in what would surely be the last cross of the match, a ball sent by Köln’s Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson found the head of Ragnar Ache, who headed it down to teammate Jakub Kaminski. Kaminski was lucky, shooting the ball between the legs of a Wolfsburg defender and into the bottom left corner. It was the 106th minute of the match, and the score was Wolfsburg 3, Köln 3.
In the end, it was really Wolfsburg’s game to lose. They had started extremely poorly, without a shot until the 19th minute. They had somehow found themselves ahead after stoppage time twice, but unable to hold on. Köln really won their point here. The statistics themselves paint a slightly different picture, both sides were extremely difficult to separate. 14 shots each, 7 shots each per half, though Köln had slightly more on target.
Union collapse at home to Hoffenheim
This was Union’s second game of the season at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, just a short trip east of Berlin city centre. After a tough 3-0 loss away to Dortmund on matchday 2, Union desperately wanted to take full advantage of their home stadium. Hoffenheim were also coming in on the back of a 3-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt which left both teams ready for a scrap.
The first half was relatively quiet, except in the 19th minute when Union’s Oliver Burke made a fast break, finding himself clear of any defenders and even around the keeper who had made a terrible mistake in rushing out to meet him. Burke took a shot from distance but Hoffenheim defender Bernardo managed to get back and send the ball wide for a corner.
Hoffenheim were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes of the first half after a foul on Bazoumana Touré. Andrej Kramaric stepped up and buried it into the bottom left corner. Minutes later, at 45+3, Hoffenheim doubled their lead through a header by Fisnik Asllani.
It looked like Union were mounting a comeback in the second half. At the 49th minute, Ilyas Ansah found the back of the net for Union and reduced the deficit to just one goal. Asllani spoiled that party just two minutes later when a failed clearance by an Union defender left the Hoffenheim striker right in front of goal, and he scored his brace.
Union did not give up, with Tom Rothe reducing their deficit to one goal again in the 71st minute. Ten minutes later, it was unfortunately Rothe who pulled Hoffenheim’s Tim Lemperle to the ground as a pass made its way to him in the box. Rothe was given his marching orders, Union were down to ten men, and Hoffenheim were awarded their second penalty of the afternoon. Lemperle stepped up and sent the Union keeper the wrong way with a panenka. It was Union 2, Hoffenheim 4. Despite nine minutes of injury time, neither team could do more.
Ultimately, it was luck that got Hoffenheim over the line, and the scoreline did not reflect how close the match really was. Union had a total of 20 shots, while Hoffenheim only registered 9, despite this, Hoffenheim still had more shots on target with a whopping 8, compared to Union’s 7. Union’s quality in finishing clearly seems an issue when looking at the statistics, with 9 of the 20 shots being missed, compared to only 1 by Hoffenheim.
Bundesliga MD 3 results
(10) Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 1 Eintracht Frankfurt (5)
(8) Wolfsburg 3 – 3 Köln (3)
(14) Union Berlin 2 – 4 Hoffenheim (6)
(13) Freiburg 3 – 1 Stuttgart (12)
(15) Mainz 0 – 1 RB Leipzig (7)
(18) Heidenheim 0 – 2 Borussia Dortmund (2)
(1) Bayern Munich 5 – 0 Hamburger SV (17)
(4) St. Pauli 2 – 1 Augsburg (11)
(16) Monchengladbach 0 – 4 Werder Bremen (9)
