The Bundesliga is back with a bang! Matchday 7 gave us Der Klassiker, a Harry Kane masterclass, 7-goal thrillers, a Stuttgart surge, and Gladbach still waiting on three points. Here are all the talking points from matchday 7 in the Bundesliga.
Kane’s Klassiker
Bayern Munich won Der Klassiker for the first time in four attempts on Saturday evening. Bayern completely bossed the first half and went in 1-0 up at the break thanks to a Harry Kane header (12 goals in 7 Bundesliga matches for the Englishman).
Dortmund simply couldn’t get out of their half in the first 45 minutes. Bayern’s press and BVB’s sluggish passing resulted in goalkeeper Gregor Kobel kicking the ball out for a corner, Bayern hitting the post, but somehow only scoring one goal.
In the second half, Dortmund were much improved. Niklas Sule came off, and Nico Schlotterbeck went more central in defence. This allowed BVB to be more confident on the ball and actually able to pass their way out of trouble at times. Despite the improvement, Bayern went 2-0 thanks to Michael Olise and a Jobe Bellingham mistake at the back.
Julian Brandt did score with five minutes to go, after being on the pitch for only 30 seconds. However, the tie belonged to Harry Kane.
Apart from physically playing between the goalposts, Kane covered positions in defence, midfield, and in attack. The England captain helped set up Bayern’s second with an outrageous cross-field ball, while in the final minutes, the forward was making tackles on the edge of his own box as he helped Bayern get over the line. It truly was the overall performance.
With that, Bayern maintain their 100% record and go five points clear at the top. Dortmund drop down to 4th after their first loss of the campaign.
Leverkusen Click
Bayer Leverkusen made it three wins on the bounce as they overcame a late scare to beat Mainz 05 3-4. Die Werkself showed, particularly in the first half, that they still have quality and should be fighting within the top four this season.
Alejandro Grimaldo continues to be the leader of this team with two goals, but Christian Kofane has impressed in the absence of Patrik Schick, and his tally is now three in his last three. Jonas Hofmann, who looked to be heading towards the exit, has seemingly revived his career at the BayArena. The midfield pairing of Aleix Garcia and Equi Fernandez also impressed. While Martin Terrier scored on his return from injury. Overall, it was the type of performance that Leverkusen needed to show that their quality is still there, and all they needed was a break to tinker with things.
Stuttgart are Back
VfB Stuttgart shoot up to 3rd in the Bundesliga after an impressive 0-3 win in Wolfsburg. After a shaky start to the season, the Swabians have now made it four wins on the spin.
The duo of Angelo Stiller and Chema Andres look as if they have been playing together for several seasons, not just games. While the other summer signings in Bilal El Khannouss and Tiago Tomas were impressive, the former created the most chances in the game (five) and his total of the season is now three goals and one assist in seven games, since joining on loan from relegated Leicester. He has hit the ground running and looks like another shrewd signing by Stuttgart.
VfB travel to Fenerbahçe in midweek before hosting strugglers Mainz in matchday 8.
Around The Grounds
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Koln drew 1-1 with FC Augsburg, but it was Koln’s Said El Mala who stole the headlines. In just 245 minutes of Bundesliga football, the German U21 has scored three goals, registered one assist despite only starting 1 out of 7 fixtures. The 19-year-old has recently attracted interest from Bayern Munich, PSG, and Inter.
RB Leipzig extended their unbeaten run to six games in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win against Hamburg with Christoph Baumgartner the star of the show. Despite losing 6-0 to Bayern on the opening day, Ole Werner looks like his bulls could be the team to push Bayern at the top this campaign.
Borussia Monchengladbach are still waiting for their first win of the season, following a 3-1 loss to Union Berlin on Friday night.
Elsewhere, there were wins for TSG Hoffenheim (0-3 vs St. Pauli), whilst the points where shared between SC Frieburg/Eintracht Frankfurt (2-2) and FC Heidenheim/Werder Bremen (2-2).
GGFN | Jamie Allen
