Opinion: The Bundesliga is predictable, it needs Bayern Munich to fail

October 29, 2017

Bayern’s straightforward 2-0 victory over their latest challengers was barely a spectacle, thanks largely to the early sending off of Willi Orban. There’s a real danger that the league is going the same way, with other clubs at a competetive disadvantage and the outcome a foregone conclusion long before genuine drama has a chance to emerge.

Bayern’s sluggish start means their lead is currently only a point, but this time last year the talk was of a real challenge from Germany’s east. Bayern put Leipzig in their place ahead of the winter break and after Saturday’s game, Jupp Heynckes’ side are overwhelming favorites to win a sixth straight title with the bookmakers.

Dortmund’s defensive shortcomings are serious enough to ensure they don’t look like a side capable of a title challenge, while Leipzig’s performance in the German Cup on Wednesday showed they have the ability, if not neccessarily the nous or squad depth, to compete.

Kommentarbild Matt Pearson

DW’s Matt Pearson

Assets stripped

Equally critical is that both of those sides – though more financially powerful than the rest of the league – still operate on a different planet to the champions. Dortmund were forced, seemingly against their initial will, to sell their hottest young prospect in the close season, when Ousmane Dembele forced through a move to Barcelona. Leipzig managed to hold on to Naby Keita for this season before he gets his wish to move to Liverpool.

Further down, Bayern stripped last year’s surprise package Hoffenheim of two of their best players, Niklas Süle and Sebastian Rudy, before the season was over. It’s hard to remember the last time Bayern sold a key first team player. It just doesn’t happen very often.

None of this is particularly new. Bayern have been dominant on, and particularly off the pitch for some time. But they haven’t always won. Other clubs have found a way. In the six years before Bayern’s current run of five successive titles, there were four different champions – Bayern (twice), Dortmund (twice), Wolfsburg and Stuttgart.

The sense of jeopardy in seasons – and matches – is what makes a league attractive for those without club loyalties – that includes both foreigners and fans of non top-flight clubs in Germany. Another Bayern title win would put that at severe risk. As much as there are misgivings about how Leipzig arrived at the top of the table, a club that can challenge Bayern’s dominance is essential from a sporting perspective.

Hamburgs Trainer Markus Gisdol (picture-alliance/dpa/A. Heimken)

Hamburg boss Markus Gisdol’s job is under threat

Few shocks further down

With the exception of Hannover, who have been brilliant thus far, the rest of the top half is similarly unsurprising and, as with many of Europe’s top leagues, bears a striking resemblance to a table of the league’s wage bills.

While many are a little taken aback with Cologne’s implosion, the crises surrounding Hamburg and Werder Bremen carry with them an overwhelming sense of deja vu. It would be a great surprise if Alexander Nouri and Markus Gisdol saw out the year.

But it’s at the top where the problem is the most pressing. While Saturday’s game may not have been one from which to draw too many conclusions, the modern version of Bayern don’t often let a lead slip. For the Bundesliga’s sake, let’s hope this time they do.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Werder Bremen 0 – 3 Augsburg

Michael Gregoritsch’s brace made it 4 in three games for the Augsburg man and extended Werder Bremen’s winless start to 10 league games. The Austrian scored a powerful header and finished off a smart counter attack either side of a penalty by Icelandic stiker Alfred Finbogasson to leave Bremen boss Alexander Nouri’s job security in question.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Bayern Munich 2-0 RB Leipzig

Leipzig’s quest to top the defending league champions ended early when the club’s captain, Willi Orban, was sent off by referee Jochen Drees after just 13 minutes. Orban had impeded Arjen Robben from getting onto a pass from James Rodriguez on the edge of the box.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Hannover 4-2 Borussia Dortmund

Roman Bürki (middle) made another big goalkeeping mistake, fouling Felix Klaus (left) for a penalty after less than 20 minutes. He didn’t have the worst error of the day though — Dortmund had to play most of the second half with 10 men after Dan-Axel Zagadou was sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Hoffenheim 1-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Thorgan Hazard (right) was the hero again for Gladbach for the second straight game. He scored the decisive goal for the Foals against Fortuna Düsseldorf in the German Cup, and followed it up with the go-ahead strike against Hoffenheim.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Leverkusen 2-1 Cologne

Sven Bender (right) helped Leverkusen complete a second-half comeback in their second consecutive game. The Leverkusen defender finished off a header from Jonathan Tah from a corner to give the home side the lead.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Hertha Berlin 2-1 Hamburg

Defenders were the driving force for Hertha on Saturday as they topped Hamburg in the German capital. Karim Rekik (right) doubled Hertha’s lead just after the halftime break, a lead Hamburg were not able to recover from.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Schalke 1-1 Wolfsburg

Nabil Bentaleb (left) scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season after missing time with injury. He converted a penalty to give Schalke the lead in the first half, but Wolfsburg denied Schalke the three points with a stoppage-time equalizer.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Mainz 1-1 Frankfurt

Mainz defender Stefan Bell looks despairingly on as he turns the ball into his own net to give Eintracht Frankfurt the lead in the Rhein-Main derby. His blushes were spared, however, as Suat Serdar grabbed a second-half equalizer.

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich top Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund stunned by Hannover

Stuttgart – Freiburg

Near-neighbors geographically and in the table: Stuttgart welcome Freiburg with both teams needing a win in the battle against relegation. The South-West derby is a chance for Freiburg to turn solid recent performances into points. Will the victory over Dresden in the cup (pictured) provide the springboard for success?

Author: Davis VanOpdorp