After a month of fixtures, there’s a surprise at the top of the Bundesliga – well, not quite at the very top – but all around Bayern München are clubs not that used to the dizzy heights of the Champions League placings.
By Chris Williams, our Bundesliga expert
Union Berlin, unbelievable!
Urs Fischer’s side have exceeded all expectations so far. Comfortably now the best team in the capital, Die Eisernen built upon their opening derby-day win over Hertha by dispatching RB Leipzig and then Schalke with optimum ease.
Scoring 11 goals across four games, only a 0-0 draw with Mainz on Matchday 2 has stopped Union from topping the table – 10 points from a possible 12 is their return, the same as perennial champions Bayern München.
Jordan Pefok and Sheraldo Becker have lit the league up as a partnership. With seven goals, the duo have also notched up 11 goals and assists combined.
Becker leads the way slightly with four strikes – increasing to six when factoring in his assists. This gives the Dutch-born Surinamese forward a goal every 75 minutes. It might be early days but he’s the man to beat in the race for the coveted Torjägerkanone, the Bundesliga’s top-scorer trophy.
Such was Union’s dominance in their last game against Schalke, second-half substitute Sven Michel even managed to grab two goals despite only being on the pitch for 19 minutes.
It was a performance that saw the 32-year-old join teammate Becker in the FotMob Bundesliga Team of the Week for match week four.
Nobody’s back up
Yann Sommer has been linked with a move away from Gladbach during this transfer window. Manchester United was touted as one possible destination; to challenge the under-pressure David de Gea, but, the 33-year-old showed why he is no one’s understudy last Friday against Bayern.
The Swiss shot-stopper broke a Bundesliga record under the lights at the Allianz Stadium. Facing 20 shots on target, he pulled off an incredible 19 saves. Beaten just the once, late on by Leroy Sané, he almost saw off an xGOT of 4.33 in its entirety.
As the clock ticked past 80 minutes it looked like Gladbach’s wall wouldn’t be breached, but eventually, Bayern’s pressure told. Had it not been for Sommer, Die Fohlen would have left without a well-earned point.
Fantastic Freiburg
Christian Streich’s side from the Black Forest have consistently punched above their weight in the Bundesliga. Their size and financial reach should realistically find the Breisgau-Brasilianer in the bottom half of the table.
However, true to their 90’s nickname (so called because of their attractive style of play in the 1990s – the ‘Brazilians of Breisgau’), their brand of football more often than not sees them challenging for a Europa League place.
This season is no different, three wins from a possible four finds Sterich’s men in third place just one point behind Union and Bayern.
They have a highly experienced side, from the World Cup winning mentality of Matthias Ginter to the artful presence of Vincenzo Grifo. Often described as a team greater than the sum of its parts, Freiburg are one to watch.
It will be interesting to see (like Union) how they balance Europa League football with their domestic challenges.
Lower than normal
The Champions League trio of Dortmund, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen find themselves in 5th, 9th and 13th respectively – not the best start when you consider how thick and fast the games are about to come in September.
Three opening defeats saw Leverkusen head coach Gerardo Seoane put under immediate pressure, but a 3-0 win away at Mainz on Matchday Four has tapped a slight release valve on the air around the Swiss tactician.
Out of the three early strugglers, it is Leverkusen who have arguably the more winnable matches in September, another set of failures over the coming four weeks could signal the first dugout departure of the season.
(Images from IMAGO)
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