Bundesliga Matchday 1: As it happened!
— That is it from us today on the live blog. Stay with the site for more from Schalke, a look at Christian Pulisic and the best quotes and moments from the matchday. We’ll be back on the live blog tomorrow – be sure to join us!
— What a day! Dortmund and Schalke win which means the top of the table currently looks as follows:
1. Dortmund
2. Bayern
3. Schalke
4. Hertha Berlin
Not sure many would have predicted that?
FULL TIME — Schalke 2-0 Leipzig (Bentaleb pen. 44′, Konoplyanka 73′)
90+4′ — Caligiuri smacks the corner of the post as Schalke nearly add a third.
90+1′ — Into stoppage time. The place is rocking. A home win surely on its way…
86′ — McKennie looks very tidy, but might be a bit overly motivated as he gets a booking. Schalke dropping to six at the back. All very organized.
80′ — Fährmann makes an incredible save with his face to deny Keita in the box. Not sure he knew much about it but could prove decisive.
79′ — Changes around. Augustin and Bruma are on for Poulsen and Laimer. Going for broke now. Schalke also bring on Weston McKennie for his first appearance in the Veltins Arena. What a moment for the young lad from Texas…
73′ GOAL! Schalke 2-0 Leipzig — What a counterattack to finish the game. A perfectly-timed pass sees Yevhen Konoplyanka run from inside his own half, pick the ball up in the opposition half and curl into the far corner to the delight of the home crowd. Leipzig taste what it is to concede a goal they’ve scored plenty of times.
70′ — Has to be said that Schalke look better than they did last season. Better defensive shape (for the most part), and a strong understanding of how and when to counterattack. Tactical diversity slowly being implemented, it appears.
63′ — Key stage of the game now. Werner tries to get in behind, but is offside. Yussuf Poulsen is in and scores, but he’s narrowly offside and so no goal for the visitors. Fabian Reese is on for di Santo.
55′ — Sabitzer lets fly from range, Fährmann saves.
52′ — Harit looks good. His run nearly ends in a chance, but Leipzig clear.
50′ — Forsberg takes a free-kick and it goes so far wide that it smashes the beer right out of the hands of a Schalke fan. Hope that was one of the free ones!
46′ — Emil Forsberg is on for Leipzig (Halstenberg off). The visitors start us off.
HALFTIME
43′ GOAL! Schalke 1-0 Leipzig — That is an awesome penalty. High, hard and in the top right. Nabil Bentaleb knows what he’s doing.
42′ — PENALTY TO SCHALKE! di Santo surges forward, Upamecano barges into him needlessly and that’s an easy decision.
41′ — Marcel Sabitzer tries to chip Ralf Fährmann from the angle as Leipzig get into the box, but an easy save.
37′ — Keita goes down and stays down, Leipzig want the ball out, don’t get it, Harit wins a free-kick for Schalke instead. Leipzig aren’t happy, but Keita is up again. Slowly turning into a niggly game, with perhaps some red card potential. Schalke have two consecutive corners, can’t use either of them.
Timo Werner was kept under close control by Schalke
35′ — Really nice play down the left from Schalke, Konoplyanka gets the ball in to Franco di Santo, who has more time than he thinks and fluffs it.
32′ — Marcel Halstenberg is booked for a pull on new-signing Amine Harit, Goretzka and Keita have a chat about it (probably not friendly) and on we go. No real big chances in the game for Leipzig, Bentaleb moments ago and Goretzka’s header earlier Schalke’s only chances. A tight one.
29′ — SAVE! Just as I say that, Peter Gulacsi makes a top save to deny a fizzing Nabil Bentaleb drive that would have crept under the bar.
28′ — On the pitch, Schalke’s defense is doing a good job but not much to talk about in attack (still). Amusing moment from the stadium announcer though.
22′ — Upamecano goes shoulder to shoulder with Goretzka and the Schalke man wins a free-kick. A bit generous really, but a chance to put the ball in the box for the home side… They do, but it’s cleared.
17′ — Laimer has a go as the ball is half cleared from a corner, but he shanks it wide. The final pass/shot/touch is what’s missing here, but the atmosphere remains awesome.
15′ — Bit bogged down in midfield for a moment, but then Leon Goretzka gets a header from a corner but it’s comfortably saved in the end.
9′ — Schalke defending is a bit rusty so far, a bit hasty. Nothing doing in attack either. Benedikt Höwedes not starting. Still baffled by that one.
4′ — Werner gets on the ball and is booed, instantly. Bit scrappy so far, both sides looking a little nervous. Schalke fans very loud.
KICK OFF! Schalke get us underway!
— A moments silence turns into applause. The game is about to begin…
— These sides really don’t like each other (although I’m sure Schalke aren’t alone in that). Quite the statement from the Schalke fans.
— We talked about that Timo Werner incident. Well, when his name was announced this is how the home crowd met him. Quite the reception, you might say.
— With a free beer for every Schalke fan 16 or older, there’s no surprise to see plenty of home fans. In truth, Schalke’s fans are always here come game time. Leipzig have a few followers in the away end, but perhaps not as many as first considered?
— Leipzig team is out. No surprises really, although Naby Keita out wide is new? New signing Konrad Laimer starts in the center of midfield. Austrian player of the year, I believe. Should be quite the talent. All eyes will be on Timo Werner this evening, though, after his dive in Leipzig against Schalke last season.
— Next up is Schalke vs. Leipzig. Team news coming in and the big surprise is no Guido Burgstaller for Schalke. A bruised foot keeps him out. Benedikt Höwedes is also on the bench due to a slight knock it seems, but the timing is tricky after he was stripped of the captaincy this week. American Weston McKennie is on the bench. We spoke to him last week. A nice young man with a very bright future.
— Well, not a bad start at all from the Bundesliga this season. No draws on the opening day and eight goals across five games. Your favorite moment of the day so far? Get in touch – on Twitter and Facebook.
FULL TIME
Wolfsburg 0-3 Dortmund
Mainz 0-1 Hannover
Hamburg 1-0 Augsburg
Hertha 2-0 Stuttgart
Hoffenheim 1-0 Werder Bremen
93′ – Hamburg 1-0 Augsburg — Marwin Hitz! A cross comes in and the goalkeeper, up for the final attack, gets to it and swings a left leg at it. He connects, but it’s blocked! What a moment that would have been.
90′ — We are into stoppage time around the grounds… Have Augsburg got something? Or Werder perhaps?
86′ Hertha 2-0 Stuttgart — VAR in Berlin! Get used to this one. It’s the kind of update football is going to get a lot more of. Is it a penalty or not for Stuttgart? The referee checks, and it’s not but a free-kick on the edge of the box. That is sent wide and Stuttgart have probably come out second best in this one.
84′ GOAL! Hoffenheim 1-0 Werder Bremen — The man who missed the penalty earlier this week against Liverpool might just have won it for the home side. Andrej Kramaric curls an effort goalwards, it takes a horrid deflection off Robert Bauer and sneaks in. Ugly, but probably deserved.
82′ – Hamburg 1-0 Augsburg — Are Hamburg going to do it? I wonder what the HSV captain said in the photo below…
78′ Hoffenheim 0-0 Werder Bremen — Zuber puts a low ball into the box and it tempts everyone into a shot, but no one gets on the end of it. Hoffenheim starting to control this one but running out of time.
72′ GOAL! Mainz 0-1 Hannover — A big goal! Martin Harnik has given Hannover the lead! Adler might have made some good saves earlier, but he might be a bit disappointed there. Hannover on the break, passing is neat and Harnik strokes it home first time. Trouble for Mainz?
68′ — The final 20 minutes approaches. One last pinch of drama ahead?
62′ Mainz 0-0 Hannover — BIG SAVE! Rene Adler keeps the home side in it to deny Felix Klaus who broke clear from Mainz’s defense. Huge let off for Sandro Schwarz’s team.
62′ GOAL! Hertha 2-0 Stuttgart — Leckie strikes again! Corner isn’t cleared by Stuttgart, Leckie bounces to smash it home. That looks like job done in the capital.
62′ GOAL! BVB 3-0 Wolfsburg — Pulisic is having a day! He drags the defender wide, and then cuts a perfect low cross to the back post where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opens his account for the new season.
60′ Hoffenheim 0-0 Werder Bremen — Kerem Demribay has a go from range, it takes a deflection and loops off the underside of the bar and lands on/behind the line. Looks like a goal in real time, but the referee’s watch says no and on the replay technology shows itself to be right.
56′ Hertha 1-0 Stuttgart — Stuttgart should be level. Josip Brekalo, the 19-yera-old teenager who many have tipped to have a top season, breaks into the box, dances around defenders but then can’t get a good shot away. Would have been quite the goal…
Müller’s celebration cost him the game
50′ BVB 2-0 Wolfsburg — Mario Gomez has a great chance, but he fluffs it. Heard it before? Well, perhaps not like this. The ball sits up on the edge of the box, perfectly for a volley, but he shanks it wide. A little closer and he might have more luck, but whatever the answer is Wolfsburg need to find it soon.
46′ GOAL! Hertha 1-0 Stuttgart — Look away Ingolstadt fans, Mathew Leckie has tucked away a very tidy goal for his new club. Vedad Ibisevic does well in the build-up from the throw-in, Hertha go forward quickly and Leckie does the rest. Over to you, Stuttgart.
46′ RESTART
HALFTIME — Just the three goals so far today, but Hamburg and Dortmund (twice) won’t be the ones complaining.
45′ Hamburg 1-0 Augsburg — HSV can’t get out. Caiuby nearly equalizes for Augsburg, who have been putting the pressure on, but his shot is blocked wide. Augsburg have responded well to going a goal down, but the scoreline doesn’t show it.
44′ Hoffenheim 0-0 Werder Bremen — Werder are leading when it comes to shots, but the scoreline remains unchanged from the start. Nadiem Amiri tries to shoot from range, but it’s blocked. They’ll need more than that.
42′ Mainz 0-0 Hannover — Mainz continue to be on top, but the game is a little scrappy. Feels like one goal might be enough.
40′ BVB 2-0 Wolfsburg — Wolfsburg offering far too much space to Dortmund. Poor start from the home side, but BVB enjoying the return of football. Kuba has picked up a hamstring injury and has to come off. Just not Wolfsburg’s day.
34′ Hoffenheim 0-0 Werder Bremen — What a chance. Haven’t been to Sinsheim much this afternoon, but Werder Bremen should be leading. Florian Kainz misses an open goal after receiving on the edge of the six-yard box. Huge chance. Julian Nagelsmann won’t be happy with his side so far.
33′ BVB 2-0 Wolfsburg — Rather bizarre, but Sky Sports say that the offside possibility around Bartra’s goal cannot be checked because the cameras checking the offside in the Bundesliga are not working today. Technology eh?
30′ GOAL! BVB 2-0 Wolfsburg! — BOOOOM! Goal of the day, likely the month, perhaps even the season. Short free-kick near the corner flag. Gonzalo Castro plays it to Marc Bartra and he curls it into the far corner from an outrageous angle. Wow.
28′ BVB 1-0 Wolfsburg — Dortmund nearly make it two in two but Philipp heads just wide…
26′ GOAL! BVB 1-0 Wolfsburg! — A quick break from Dortmund and they have the lead thanks to Christian Pulisic. Zagadou wins the ball back, sends it long to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who plays in Mario Götze. The returning son sets up Pulisic and he drills it from the right into the far corner. A lovely looking goal!
19′ Hertha vs. Stuttgart — Hertha putting pressure on, get a corner, but Stuttgart deal with it. Hannes Wolf looks pensive though. His first Bundesliga game, as it is for six of his players.
15′ Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund — Bürki has to rush out to shut down a Wolfsburg counterattack. Peter Bosz has certainly got this BVB defense playing very, very high. Will that be exposed by the home side today?
12′ Mainz vs. Hannover — Yellow card for Julian Korb. Hannover fans remain silent as their protest continues. Mainz with the better chances so far, but not much in it.
9′ GOAL! Hamburg 1-0 Augsburg! — Of all the teams to score first today, Hamburg weren’t near the top of the list. A cross from the left comes across the entire box and Nicolai Müller hits it very close to the near post. Marwin Hitz should do better but can’t and it creeps in. Bizarrely, as he celebrates, Müller injures his knee and has to be subbed off. Hamburg still Hamburg then.
5′ — A fairly calm start across the board. This is the part where the teams feel their way into their respective games. Stuttgart currently in the Berlin sun and battling against a loud chorus of proud home fans.
KICK OFF! Five games on Matchday 1 are underway!
— A minute’s silence for the victims of the Barcelona terrorist attack is observed around the grounds, but the moment it is over, the “Scheiss DFB” chants return. I think we’ll leave that up to you to translate.
— The teams are on the pitch. Choreos are everywhere. A brilliant sight. The new season is here!
— The Ousmane Dembele discussion continues. Some BVB fans have found a way to voice their frustration at the on-going saga. All eyes will be on Christian Pulisic and Maximilian Philipp to see if they can fit into the fluid, flowing wide play that the Yellow Wall has grown so used to.
— The best of the rest in terms of line-up news. Hoffenheim turn to Dennis Geiger in the hope the 19-year-old can replace Sebastian Rudy, Augsburg’s Michael Gregoritsch plays against former club HSV and Rene Adler and Maxim are hoping to impress in the red of Mainz.
— There’s also a Bundesliga return for Stuttgart today, who bounced back straight after being relegated the season before last. With former BVB second team head coach Hannes Wolf in charge, there’s a genuine sense of belief growing around Stuttgart again. Our man Felix Tamsut went to find out – give his day in Stuttgart a read. The question is, can Simon Terodde be as much as a force in the Bundesliga as he was in the second division?
— Paul Verhaegh makes his Wolfsburg debut, as does former Arsenal player Kaylen Hinds. The former Arsenal youth player has a reunion with former Arsenal academy coach and now Wolfsburg head coach Andries Jonker. At the back, all eyes will be on Ohis Felix Uduokhai. The 19-year-old replaces the injured John Anthony Brooks and Jeffrey Bruma, and only signed for the Wolves a month ago after leaving 1860.
— That first feeling of the new season has crept in as the starting eleven’s start to appear. Big news out of Dortmund is that Mario Götze starts against Wolfsburg! Perhaps some fear for Dortmund fans that young Frenchman Dan-Axel Zagadou will have a tough time at left back after his Super Cup test, but the attacking side of the team looks as dangerous as ever.
— Good afternoon! After Bayern Munich got us going in the new Bundesliga season last night, it’s time for almost all of the rest of Germany’s top flight teams to take to the field. Excited? We are! Join us here, on Twitter and Facebook.
Article source: http://www.dw.com/en/bundesliga-matchday-1-as-it-happened/a-40158809?maca=en-rss-en-sports-1027-xml-atom