Bundesliga Bulletin: Dortmund stay perfect, Lewandowski grabs hat trick

August 25, 2019

Good week for: Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt, Leverkusen, Union, Freiburg, Lewandowski, Julian Nagelsmann, Wolfsburg

Bad week for: Werder Bremen, Augsburg, Mainz, the handball rule

The lowdown:

— For a long time it looked like Borussia Dortmund were doing that thing of losing to teams they were expected to beat. But, one goal down away at a noisy Cologne stadium, Dortmund’s second-half display turned the game in their favor and kept their perfect record intact. Jadon Sancho was excellent when he needed to be (again) and Julian Brandt made all the difference when he came off the bench and Dortmund changed their approach. This kind of win is encouraging for a side with title ambitions.

—There’s not much Lewandowski can’t do, and in Gelsenkirchen he proved it. A penalty, a superb free kick and a brilliantly taken low drive made up the Pole’s seventh Bundesliga hat trick — and the first three points of the season for Bayern. If the reports are to be believed then he will sign a contract next week too. This was his latest reminder of why that is so important for Bayern.

— Three proved the magical number of goals for many teams on matchday two. Wolfsburg, Leverkusen, Freiburg, Gladbach, Hoffenheim, Bayern and Dortmund all won after scoring three goals – with four of those games finishing 3-1. Leverkusen showed how exciting they might well be under Peter Bosz (who is reportedly close to a new contract), and Freiburg are showing how important it is to get points on the board early as they too stay undefeated after turning things around against Paderborn. There were also comeback wins for Gladbach in Mainz and Hoffenheim at home to Bremen, while Wolfsburg are quietly impressing under their new Austrian head coach Oliver Glasner.

— Timo Werner had quite the day for RB Leipzig.After the news of his new contract extension until 2023, he scored a tidy goal to give RB the lead. He continued to impress, but his day was ended when he clung on to his hamstring and was replaced. There’s no news on the extent of the injury, but this game was just the last reminder of how important he is for Julian Nagelsman and this Leipzig team. The added bonus was that if he is out for a while, then Yussuf Poulsen looks fine handling the goal-scoring duties. The Dane scored an incredible first-time volley that ended up being the winner.

The quotes:

“The framework, how it has been changed, is something that has made football worse.”
Niclas Füllkrug on the new handball rule

“It was a 100 percent goal chance. The ball is heading towards goal, his arm is out and the ball then doesn’t arrive on target. I’m intrigued to see the explanation.”
David Wagner after seeing his side have a disallowed goal

“It’s not about getting flowers every week, it’s about points.”
Paderborn head coach Steffen Baumgart after the second straight loss

“Is there even an easy opponent for us in the Bundesliga?”
Union Berlin head coach Urs Fischer after the 1-1 draw in Augsburg when asked about the difficulty of the next opponent, Borussia Dortmund

“There are players who also have a good name on the back of their shirt that didn’t even play today.”
Julian Brandt after his substitute appearance, hinting at Mario Götze

Lewandowski proved the match winner for Bayern Munich once again

The stats:

— Jadon Sancho is the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score 15 Bundesliga goals (19 years, 151 days).

— Lewis Baker became the first Englishman to score an own goal in the Bundesliga. The Chelsea player struck early for Bayer Leverkusen, which won’t have pleased Fortuna Düsseldorf – the club he’s on loan at.

— Lewandowski became the first player since Roy Makaay back in 2005 to score at least two in both of his first two games of the season. Crazy.

— Sebastian Andersson scored Union Berlin’s first ever Bundesliga goal, one that earned them their first Bundesliga point. Keven Schlotterbeck got sent off for Union, making it a day of firsts for the club.

— Just 15 seconds in to Hertha Berlin’s game against Wolfsburg, Ondrej Duda was tackled in the box and Guido Winkmann pointed to the spot. The VAR checked the decision and rightfully overturned it after Josuha Guilavogui got the ball first. It must go down as the fastest use of the VAR in a Bundesliga game. Ironically, six minutes later Wolfsburg were awarded a penalty (no use of the VAR) that they scored.

The weird:

What is a handball? The question came up again after some odd decisions during the matchday. Niclas Füllkrug had a goal ruled out for Werder Bremen for an awkward situation where his arm appeared to scrape the ball as he lowered his head towards it and while trying to avoid the opposition defender. VAR stepped in and ruled out the goal, which appeared harsh. In the late game, Benjamin Pavard and Ivan Perisic both handled the ball in the box. And with both arms out from their body, Schalke fans weren’t the only ones confused as to why VAR did not step in. Bayern went on to win 3-0 but two penalty decisions would have changed the game. It still isn’t clear what is a handball and what isn’t – at least, those in command don’t seem to know.

The fans:

After Clemens Tönnies’ remarks earlier in the season, Bayern Munich fans displayed their opinions on the matter with some strongly-worded banners in the stands during their away game against the Gelsenkirchen club. The banner reads: “Tönnies is only one of many. Red card to racists!”

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Hertha Berlin 0-3 Wolfsburg

The fastest VAR call since it’s introduction to the Bundesliga (we think) overturned a decision to award Hertha Berlin a penalty after 18 seconds. Unfortunately for the hosts, that was as close as they came as Wolfsburg turned on the style in the capital. Wout Weghorst’s penalty gave the visitors a half-time lead, with late goals from Josip Brekalo and Jerome Roussillon completing a handsome win.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

RB Leipzig 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

On the same day his new contract until 2023 was confirmed, Timo Werner scored the goal that sent Leipzig on their way. The striker, still only 23, impressed again but had his afternoon end early with a tight hamstring. Yussuf Poulsen scored the goal of the game to keep RB perfect and put more clouds over a Frankfurt side showing early signs of suffering from second-season syndrome.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Düsseldorf 1-3 Leverkusen

When Peter Bosz’s aggressive tactics pay off, his teams play thrilling football – and Leverkusen did just that in the first half to end the contest quickly. After an own goal helped get them started, Charles Aranguiz smashed in a second before Karim Bellarabi tucked in a third following neat play in the box. Leverkusen are fun to watch, but they’ll face much tougher tests than Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Cologne 1-3 Borussia Dortmund

Jadon Sancho and Julian Brandt inspired a second-half comeback for Borussia Dortmund to make it two wins in two games. After a poor first 45 minutes and with Cologne deservedly leading, Dortmund changed their approach and equalized thanks to a fine strike by Sancho. Then Brandt, fresh off the bench, found space and delivered passes that guided Dortmund to victory.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Schalke 0-3 Bayern Munich

Even though Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic made their Bayern debuts, it was Robert Lewandowski who stole the show. The Pole sealed his seventh Bundesliga hat trick with a stunning trio of goals that left Schalke without a chance. A penalty was followed by a sumptuous free kick just after the restart. Schalke were denied two penalties before Lewandowski tucked in a third.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Augsburg 1-1 Union Berlin

Union Berlin have their first ever Bundesliga point, goal and red card after drawing a poor quality game in Augsburg. Both teams had suffered heavy defeats on matchday one and both lacked quality here. Swiss midfielder Ruben Vargas (above) opened the scoring with his first ever goal for Augsburg and Sebastian Andersson equalized for the visitors before Keven Schlotterbeck was shown a straight red.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Hoffenheim 3-2 Werder Bremen

Hoffenheim recorded their first Bundesliga victory AN – after Nagelsmann. But they were made to work hard for it by a resilient Werder Bremen side who took the lead through Niclas Füllkrug and later equalized through Yuya Osako despite being town to ten men. In between, Ermin Bicakcic and Ihlas Bebou had put Hoffenheim 2-1 up, before Pavel Kaderabek scored the winner late on.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Paderborn 1-3 Freiburg

Paderborn’s desire to play attacking football will surely win them fans this season – including opposition fans if the scorelines stay the same. Streli Mamba continued his scoring streak with an impressive early strike for the hosts but Bundesliga veterans Freiburg were clinical. Luca Waldschmidt (penalty) and Nils Petersen put them 2-1 up by halftime before Chang Hoon Kwon added a late third.

Bundesliga Matchday 2 in pictures

Mainz 1-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Set-pieces were the order of the day in Mainz as Marco Rose got his first win as Gladbach coach. Robin Quaison headed the hosts into an early lead from a corner before Gladbach new boy Stefan Lainer lashed home from a Neuhaus free-kick. In the second half, Alassane Plea’s weak free-kick slipped underneath Florian Müller, before substitute Breel Embolo quickly added a third for his new club.

Author: Jonathan Harding