Ouédraogo has gotten his name on the scoresheet in two of his three starts, scoring a goal and adding an assist. The 19-year-old also capped a solid summer training camp by adding an assist in Leipzig’s opening round Pokal victory. Signs are emerging that the once highly touted mega-talent may finally be close to living up to his potential.

Ouédraogo addressed his disappointing first season with Leipzig and his new chance for both club and country at a Wednesday DFB press event. The teenage talent also isn’t the only one looking forward to a coming “DFB Field Trip” that will see Antonio Di Salvo’s U21s meet up with Julian Nagelsmann’s senior team in Belfast over the weekend.

“There was a Iot of bad luck and it was a tough time,” Ouédraogo said of his disappointing 2024/25 season. “This summer was primarily about staying healthy and gradually getting back into my rhythm. I never thought it would actually go so well, but I’m definitely grateful for it. Here [at the U21s], it’s about me making my mark and showing that I exist.”

When he meets up with the senior team, Ouédraogo will have a chance to see club teammate Ridle Baku  – who himself has proven that no amount of adversity is too much to overcome – in a senior DFB tricot. Baku returned to the German national team after an absence of nearly four years last week. 

“[Ridle] is a sign,” Ouedraogo noted with a smile. “That you can and should always keep working on yourself and that a comeback is always possible. After all, he was last there almost four years ago.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Playing alongside Johan Bakayoko, Yan Diomande and Antonio Nusa – two of which like Rômulo joined in the summer – the Brazilian referenced Timo Werner as a player who has helped him adapt to life in the Bundesliga. Leipzig’s top scorer has 113 goals but hasn’t had a look-in at the Saxony club for some time now, although he’s still able to offer his assistance to his teammates.

“Timo is a really good boy, very funny – I like him. He supports me every day in training, praising me with words like ‘good’ or ‘bravo’. He’s a great player. It’s good to have him on the team,” said Rômulo, via Bild.

Is Rômulo destined for the Brazil national team?

Rômulo has already been linked with a call up to the Brazil national team, but it’s currently not something that the 23-year-old is focused on. “My focus here is on Leipzig. If I do a good job here, maybe one day I’ll be there soon.”

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

“I have time and I’m young,” Diomande remarked in a recent interview with transfermarkt.de. “But, I’m also impatient because I want to be among the best. I also need to work on my dribbling, my passing, and my defense, as well as improve my teamwork.“

Despite his young age, Diomande’s professional journey has already brought him to a diverse range of geographical locales. Born in Cote d’Ivoire’s former capital and largest city Abidjan, Diomande moved to the United States at a very young age. Growing up in Florida, he honed his skills both at a private academy and American high school.

“I went to the USA to study and play football,” Diomande noted in the transfermarkt interview. “I tried out for a few [MLS] teams like the Colorado Rapids and Charlotte FC, but it didn’t work out. I eventually realized that [the USA] wasn’t quite right for me. Football doesn’t have the same status there as basketball or American football.”

Diomande ultimately gleaned valuable experience in a private sporting academy in Daytona Beach, the Yulee High School varsity team, and AS Frenzi of the United Premier Soccer League. There was also a brief audition with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. The youngster emphasized that he had learned a lot from such experiences, even if they didn’t end up working out. 

“I was far away from my family and it was difficult to live alone,” Diomande said. “I had to learn to control my emotions. Now I’m more relaxed and can cope better with being far away from home. That helps me here at RB Leipzig.“

Before the summer transfer window brought him to Germany, Diomande travelled to Spain in order to fully begin his professional career with La Liga outfit CD Leganes. That too, proved an immensely helpful experience for him. Last may, his performances in the Spanish top division led to him being able to represent his native country at the highest youth level. 

“In Spain, it’s more about spending time on the ball,” Diomande said when commenting on that particular chapter. “In Spain, I only had to worry about playing football, but here I have to go to the gym. You have to push yourself harder on the pitch. I go to the gym to get stronger because it’s much more physical here.”

Leipzig and the Bundesliga have thus far proven a very good fit for Diomande. As soon as German footballing journalists began to scout the young talent RB paid €20m to acquire (despite a €1.5m estimated market worth) in training camp, it quickly became apparent that something special was brewing. Diomande scored in the opening round Pokal fixture and has started under Ole Werner in three of the club’s six Bundesliga fixtures. 

Even though reporting late cost him a start against Borussia Dortmund last Saturday, Diomande made an excellent impression off the bench. The left-winger’s progress on the national level also continues apace thanks to a call-up to the Ivorian senior men’s national team during the current October international break.

Diomande will serve alongside Bundesliga veteran Sebastien Haller and Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré on the roster of the defending African continental champions. If he’s able to make an excellent impression, Diomande will get a chance to help Cote d’Ivoire defend their title at AFCON 2025 this January.

“It’s great to be on the senior team,” Diomande noted in his interview. “I’m proud because that was my dream. A very big dream. I always wanted to play for my country in the senior national team and today I’m there. I’m very excited.

“Leipzig was the best option for me,” Diomande added of his current club station. “Willi Orban and Castello Lukeba are my favorite teammates. We challenge each other. They may be defenders, but they challenge me in training and make me a better player. I like that about them.

“We have a young team that has undergone many changes this summer,” Diomande said of the Leipzig project in general. “Our collective goal is to qualify for European competition. My ultimate personal goal is the Champions League. I came to Leipzig to play in the Champions League. That’s why I’m here.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Hamburg Make Mince Meat of Mainz 

Hamburg made it back-to-back home wins as they battered Mainz 05 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. HSV were on top from the first minute and found themselves 2-0 up after just nine minutes thanks to goals from Albert Sambi Lokonga and Rayan Philippe. Philippe would add to his first goal in the second half, bringing his tally for the season to three goals from six games. The forward had a failed move to Mainz in the summer and mocked the situation with his celebration by mimicking a phone call. 

HSV head coach Merlin Polzin opted for a new 3-4-3 formation, and it worked a treat against a side that was so successful last campaign. 

“We’re progressing and one can see that in our play with the ball and against the ball. We’ve more steps to take, but one senses – and this is vitally important – that the team is finding out who they are and the connections are getting better. The players need to feel it on the pitch,” explained Polzin. 

HSV move up to 9th in the Bundesliga, whilst Mainz drop to 16th. 

Bayern Breeze Past Frankfurt

Ahead of this one, it was billed as Bayern’s first big test this season. However, when Bayern went 0-1 up after 17 seconds through Luis Díaz, it was anything but a real test. 

Bayern once again dominated and showed just how powerful their forward line is this season. Vincent Kompany’s side went 0-2 before the break through a Harry Kane curled effort from 20 meters out. If you haven’t seen the goal already, I urge you to take a look. 

Diaz added to his first-half goal late into the second half to make sure that Bayern go six wins from six games in the Bundesliga. 

“I don’t think these games should be used as a yardstick to evaluate the boys right now,” Toppmöller insisted when conducting a post-match interview with Sky Germany after the match. “It’s important for us to know that we still have a little room for improvement in order to compete at this level.”

“No one has been able to keep up with Bayern at their level thus far [this year],” Toppmöller continued, adding special praise for Harry Kane’s distance effort that made it 0-2 in the 27th minute. “That was a typical Bayern goal and Harry Kane’s finish was simply world-class.”

For Frankfurt, it’s now 12 goals conceded in four games in all competitions. There’s no question that Frankfurt have an excellent team, but right now, their defensive displays will be worrying head coach Dino Toppmöller. Bayern stay top as Frankfurt drop out of the European places for the first time this season (7th).  

Dortmund Leipzig Stalemate 

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig played a rather dull 1-1 draw that was billed as “the battle of the Bayern chasers”. In fact, the final xG stats (Dortmund 0.88, Leipzig 1.05) illustrate that the final scoreline was even a little generous. 

Dortmund remain undefeated this season ahead of their showdown with Bayern after the international break. Leipzig, meanwhile, continue their undefeated run since being battered by Bayern on opening night. 

In truth, both teams will probably be satisfied with the draw as Dortmund and Leipzig stay 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 

Around The Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Heidenheim still remains bottom following a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians scored the winner just past the hour mark from time to add even more misery on Frank Schmidt’s side. Heidenheim stay bottom, whilst Stuttgart shoot up into 4th. 

Bayer Leverkusen have put their early-season woes behind them as they go 5th with a 2-0 win against Union Berlin. It’s the first time that B04 has registered back-to-back Bundesliga wins this season as new head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks to be making a positive impact on his squad. 

Borussia Mönchengladbach still remain winless going into the international break after a 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg. Despite that and amid all the administrative turmoil at Borussia Mönchengladbach, interim head coach Eugen Polanski has been given the green light to continue his audition on the sidelines.

There were also wins for FC Köln (0-1 vs TSG Hoffenheim), Werder Bremen (1-0 vs St. Pauli), and FC Augsburg (3-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

Baku – arguably the best RB Leipzig player on the pitch in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund – has been answering questions about his absence from the German national team for far too long. This weekend, the now 27-year-old was happy to keep the focus on his domestic team. 

“A lot of teams would come here [to Signal Iduna Park] and drop points,” Baku told Sky Germany after the draw. “I’m very, very proud of the team and its performance. We’re finally bossing play. [Defensively], We were a bit lacking last year, but this year we’re doing it and doing it consistently.“

“We’re one of the best teams in the league,” Baku continued. “That’s the level that we want to play at. We want to prevail against all teams.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

It was later leaked that Diomande arrived too late to board the team bus ahead of the trip to the stadium. Werner played down the issue when asked about it. Whether or not Werner was joking about Diomande setting his watch (literal or figurative) ahead an hour in order to confirm to Winter Standard Time isn’t clear.

In any event, it is clear that Diomande will not be sanctioned. 

“With Yan there’s no need to make a big deal out of it,” Werner said when questioned about Diomande’s lack of punctuality at the post-match press conference, adding with a grin: “He’s already operating on Winter Standard Time. He’ll arrive at the next team meeting on time.

“He’s a great lad who’s gotten off to a great start with us,” Werner continued. “He also showed what he’s capable of today and we have a lot to look forward to. Such things happen. I think they’ve happened to all of us.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Some interesting storylines still emerged. Dortmund remain undefeated this season ahead of their showdown with Bayern after the international break. Leipzig, meanwhile, continue their undefeated run since being utterly humiliated by Bayern on opening night. Ole Werner’s RasenBallSportler have now won four and drawn once since the 6-0 FCB shellacking. In their last 450 minutes of Bundesliga football, the German Red Bulls have conceded only two goals. 

The rundown of the match:

Baumgartner scores against BVB again

After not registering any tallies against Dortmund during the 2024/25 season, Leipzig’s Christoph Baumgartner got back on the scoresheet against the team he struck against twice during the 2023/24 campaign. The Austrian midfielder found himself in the right place at the right time off a 7th-minute free-kick. RB captain David Raum played short. Nicolas Seiwald, Baumgartner’s Austrian compatriot, then swung in a diagonal. An excellent aerial win from new Germany U21 call up Assan Ouédraogo placed the ball right on Baumgartner’s boot.

A simple first-time drop kick finish from close range made it 0-1 in favor of the guests. Prior to the opening goal, not much happened from open play. The two sides traded half-chances off corners in the opening five minutes. BVB and German national team returnee Nico Schlotterbeck found himself booked for a late sliding tackle on RB striker Romulu on a run just past the halfway line in the 6th-minute. This resulted in the set-piece that led to the opening goal.

Baumgartner scores at the wrong end

Schlotterbeck ended up redeeming himself with a fine clearance of another Raum set-piece take in the 19th-minute. Two minutes after that, Baumgartner earned the second booking of the match for a rough challenge on Dortmund’s Yan Couto. Baumgartner would find himself on the wrong end of another encounter with Couto shortly thereafter. Couto was technically credited with the 23rd-minute equalizer, but it was Baumgartner who deflected the former Manchester City wingback’s shot in.

The lead-up to the 1-1 featured some excellent play from the Westphalian hosts. Ramy Bensebaini lifted a useful ball in on the left. Maximilian Beier hustled to the touchline to collect and cut back for Serhou Guirassy. The BVB lead striker – rather than take a shot himself on the turn – alertly spotted Couto encroaching on the right. Couto didn’t hesitate to polish off Guirassy’s lay-off with his weaker left foot.

Excitement at both ends of the half

The two teams managed to score on their only real respective chances of the match. Neither side produced much of anything until shortly before the break during what was an intense midfield contest. There wasn’t another goal-scoring chance until first-half injury time. Raum was involved at both ends, whiffing on a shot in a promising position at 45+1 and then clearing a Karim Adeyemi effort away from an empty net at 45+3.

Dortmund didn’t appear to be quite into the game just after the restart. Schlotterbeck and BVB keeper Gregor Kobel had to intervene to stop solid efforts from Antonio Nusa, Romulo, and Johan Bakayoko between the 46th and 51st minutes. Matters then settled down again as the hosts were able to stabilize and hold a compact shape. Things then didn’t pick up for a while. 

The late pushes

Adeyemi made some decent incursions down the right for Dortmund while RB substitute Yan Diomande (on for Antonio Nusa in the 67th-minute) demonstrated his dribbling qualities on multiple occasions. Truly dangerous chances nevertheless failed to materialize. Baumgartner (70th and 77th minutes) tried to influence the match yet again with a pair of hopeful efforts. 

Egged on by the hometown crowd, Dortmund endeavored to find a late winner. BVB substitutes Jobe Bellingham, Julian Brandt Fabio Silva saw decent attempts on goal cleared away. Bensebaini came the closest to making something happen with a ranged shot that RB keeper Peter Gulacsi had some trouble handling in the 90th.

Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings

Gregor Kobel (6) – Ramy Bensebaini (7), Nico Schlotterbeck (6), Waldemar Anton (5),  – Daniel Svensson (5), Felix Nmecha (5), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Yan Couto (6) – Maximilian Beier (6), Karim Adeyemi (6) – Serhou Guirassy (6)

Substitutes: Julian Ryerson (5), Julian Brandt (6), Jobe Bellingham (6), Fabio Silva (5), Pascal Groß (4)

RB Leipzig  Player Ratings

Peter Gulacsi (5) – David Raum (6), Castello Lukeba (5), Willi Orban (4), Ridle Baku (7)  – Nicolas Seiwald (6) –Antonio Nusa (5), Christoph Baumgartner (6), Assan Ouédraogo (6), Johan Bakayoko (6)  –  Romulo (5)

Substitutes:  Ezechiel Banzuzi (5),Yan Diomandé (6), Conrad Harder (-), Andrija Maksimovic (-) 

GGFN Player of the Match: Ramy Bensebaini (7)

In a match full of forgettable performances, the Algerian international’s forward work sticks in the memory. Couto is able to commemorate his first Bundesliga goal thanks to an excellent forward chip from Bensebaini “from the deep“; something witnessed on two other occasions from him late on. There was also that excellent finish off the turn as the game entered second half injury time. 

Bensebaini racked up 72 touches, connected with 90 percent of his 48 passes, and won all but one of his eight ground duels. Two top-notch aerial wins from the 30-year-old also impressed. Widely regarded as something of a flop run his first two BVB seasons, the former Borussia Mönchengladbach defender has actually displayed strong form thus far this year. 

Tactical Review, Borussia Dortmund

Kovac hasn’t really employed any big tactical tweaks since the last time we checked in with Dortmund in depth. Kovac runs a simple enough 3-4-3 that works well with the interchangeable parts of his squad. Four changes from the UCL victory over Bilbao saw Schlotterbeck, Couto, Beier, Felix Nmecha start in place of Bellingham, Julian Ryerson, Niklas Süle, and Carney Chukwuemeka.

Lineup—BVB—(3-4-3)

Four of the five straight-arrow substitutions (Ryerson, Brandt, Silva, and Bellingham for Couto, Adeyemi, Guirassy and Nmecha) made perfect sense. When Pascal Groß attempted to play in Beier’s position, however, things got weird. Groß working near the touchline near the end led to two poor crosses from the left that might have otherwise resulted in better BVB scoring chances. Kovac probably opted for Groß over Chukwuemeka betting that the game would probably be decided on a dead ball.

Tactical Review, RB Leipzig

Leipzig’s tactical journey features many more twists and turns, in part due to the fact that we haven’t looked in on Ole Werner’s German Red Bulls since the week before the current Bundesliga campaign started. Slowly and steadily, Werner tries to get back to his pre-season 4-1-4-1 blueprint. We’ve seen 4-3-3s, 4-1-2-3s, and even 4-1-3-2s. What we witnessed today certainly counted as a mixture of all three approaches. The binding thread remains Werner’s desire to build around a solo midfield “holding six.”

Lineup—RBL—(4-1-2-3)

Everything became a bit of a free-for-all once Ezechiel Banzuzi and Yan Diomande entered for Nusa and Ouédraogo in the 67th. Diomande clearly had license to do whatever the hell he wanted to and, one can fairly say, managed to do a fairly decent job at that. There were plenty of rotations on the top axes prior to the substitutions anyway, proving that fluidity is encouraged within this team. 

On a technical level, both sets of wingers and fullbacks performed well. Ridle Baku – with the author’s inherent German bias noted – was probably the strongest RB actor on the pitch. The Mainz native is clearly buoyed by the return to the German national team that – in the opinion of most of – took far too long. Three successive incompetent Bundestrainers have failed to see the obvious solution when it comes to the team’s problem at right back.

Welcome back, Ridle! 

GGFN | Peter Weis

Saturday afternoon saw the turn of Augsburg vs Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen hosting Union Berlin, St.Pauli travelling to Werder Bremen, and the standout game of the afternoon being Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig. 

Here are the three things we learnt:

Borussia Dortmund struggle in their first big Bundesliga test:

Dortmund went down early on against RB Leipzig thanks to a Christoph Baumgartner opener, but they were able to rally and equalise through Yan Couto. However, apart from that, die Schwarzgelben struggled to impose themselves on the visitors. 

Via FotMob, Dortmund failed to register a big chance against Leipzig, and it looked as if their attacks struggled to get into the game, compared to the likes of Johan Bakayoko, Yan Diomande and Romulo for Leipzig. This could have potentially been the type of game to bring Carney Chukwuemeka on for, but instead, he remained on the bench. 

Simply put, Leipzig were just the better side on both the defensive and attacking ends. This could be because they did not have a midweek game, while Dortmund played Athletic Club. 

Dortmund can’t afford to get hung up on this result for too long, as after the international break, they face Bayern Munich. Considering that the Bavarians could go four points clear of them following today’s result, it will be a game they have to bring their best. 

However, as things stand, Dortmund will look like the only side that can come close to challenging Bayern this season. 

Bayer Leverkusen’s young attackers shine:

The wealth of attacking quality at Leverkusen’s disposal had failed to make their mark in the opening games of the season, but against Union Berlin, a rather unexpected pair took centre stage. 

Both Ernest Poku and Christian Kofane were the standouts for Leverkusen this afternoon. The former used his pace to help die Werkself counter Union, while Kofane was sharp enough to latch on to a Fredrick Ronnow mistake to score his first Bundesliga goal for the club. 

This was much needed for Levekrusen, as for much of the early stages of the season, they had to rely on Alejandro Grimaldo. The likes of Malik Tillman, Eliesse ben Seghir and Claudio Echeverri will still need to show their quality in the coming weeks. 

Kofane will be especially important in the absence of Patrik Schick, as there is no other recognised striker in the squad. 

The international break has come at the right time for Leverkusen. They currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga, but can now use the next two weeks to adjust to Kasper Hjulmand, as this will be the first extended period the Dane has with the team. After the international break, they face Mainz, and that should present a different-looking Leverkusen. 

Augsburg put some doubts to rest:

Heading into their game against Wolfsburg, Augsburg had not won a Bundesliga game since the opening day against Freiburg. This resulted in doubts starting to surface about head coach Sandro Wagner, but those were laid to rest today. 

Against the Autostadt side, Augsburg put in a commanding display winning 3-1, with Mert Kömur the standout player. The performance was reminiscent of their win against Freiburg in terms of the fact that they were clinical when it came to their finishing. There is still yet to be a clear sign of a style of play, but that will likely come with more time.

On Kömur, the 20-year-old was called up to the Germany under-21 national team. Considering he can also qualify for Turkey, the DFB must make sure they don’t experience the same fate they did with Can Uzun and Kenan Yildiz, and give Turkey their front three for the next generation. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

The only debutant in the squad is Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Nathanial Brown.  

The most notable returnee is Nico Schlotterbeck. The Borussia Dortmund defender was called up after he made his return following a meniscus injury. Other players who have earned recalls to the squad are Schlotterbeck’s teammates Maximilian Beier and Felix Nmecha. Jonathan Burkardt also makes a return. While Ridle Baku makes his first appearance in a German squad since November 2021. 

During the break, Germany will face Luxembourg in Sinsheim on October 10th, and three days later, they will face Northern Ireland in Belfast in the return fixture of their September game. The game against Northern Ireland will be an important one for Germany as they are currently level on points with the hosts, who made things difficult for them in Köln earlier this season. 

Germany’s Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann, Alexander Nübel, Finn Dahmen 

Defenders: Waldemar Anton, Ridle Baku, Nathanial Brown, Robin Koch, David Raum, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jonathan Tah

Midfields: Karim Adeyemi, Nadiem Amiri, Robert Andrich, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Jamie Leweling, Felix Nmecha, Angelo Stiller, Florian Wirtz

Forwards: Maximilian Beier, Jonathan Burkardt, Nick Woltemade

GGFN | Jack Meenan

At the beginning of this year, Klopp was appointed Red Bull head of global soccer, meaning he would be in charge of RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, as well as the other clubs in the Red Bull multi-club model. 

For example, the former head coach was involved in the hiring of Ole Werner, who is the current head coach of Leipzig, joining from Werder Bremen in the summer. 

However, Klopp’s appointment at Red Bull came with backlash. On the negative reaction to taking the job, the 57-year-old said:

“I knew it (would come). I’m German. I know what people in Germany think about the involvement of Red Bull in football. They love Red Bull. In all departments. But in football? No. So whatever, they want to do it that way.

Funnily enough, it was only in Germany where the reaction was like that. But that’s fine — no problem. Everybody can think what they want. You just have to accept that I do what I want as long as I don’t hurt anybody.

By the way, I don’t expect people to remember what I did for a specific club. The people in Mainz in the stadium now… they were little kids when I was there, so their parents had to tell them who I was. So that’s how it is, it is absolutely fine.

I don’t expect everybody to like what I do. I have to do it for the right reasons — for my right reasons. By the way, in Liverpool, people are overly happy that I do what I do because I am not coaching another team.

If I went to a foreign country, to Italy or Spain, people would have said, ‘Oh my God, that’s great.’ If I go to Bayern or whatever, then especially Dortmund fans would have said, ‘I don’t like it!’ I finished at Liverpool at 57. I was 100 per cent certain and sure that I will not finish working. I had a break for seven months or so. I enjoyed it — wow!”

The reason that people, especially in Germany, have disapproved of Klopp’s decision to join the Red Bull group is due to their stance on 50+1, the ownership rules in Germany. Technically, Leipzig does comply with the rules, but they only have a handful of members who vote on matters, making it very difficult for regular people to have a say due to those members being involved in the Red Bull structure in one way or another. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan