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

Blockbuster summer signing Samuel Mbangula opened up the scoring early, notching his second Bundesliga goal in the 2nd minute. After that, Werder weren’t able to convert their momentum, and several additional scoring chances, into a second goal. The hosts were at least able to defend consistently over the course of the additional 88 minutes. 

Speaking to Sky Germany afterwards, Bremen head coach Horst Steffen praised his team for its solid defending throughout and added that – on a cumulative basis – Werder contributed “about a half hour of decent football“. Steffen also conceded that “an equalizer would not have been undeserved” as the visiting Kiezkicker got their looks in as well.

“We didn’t do well in many situations,” Friedl noted in his post-match interview with DAZN. “And we made many mistakes. Such victories come over the course of a season. One can take them. I’m happy that we won today, even if it was an ugly win.”

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

Historic Harry 

Harry Kane scored a brace on Friday evening as Bayern Munich comfortably brushed aside Werder Bremen to truly kick off the Oktoberfest season. While Bayern are enjoying their best start to a Bundesliga campaign since 2016, Harry Kane also wrote his name into history once again. 

The Englishman’s two goals brought his overall Bayern tally to 100 in just 104 games. He is now the quickest player to register 100 goals for a club in Europe’s top five leagues. He surpasses both Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City), who both achieved 100 goals in 105 games. With 10 Bundesliga goals already this season, Kane appears to be in the form of his life as Bayern go marching on. 

The game against Bremen also saw Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka make their 300th Bundesliga appearance, whilst youngster Tom Bischof was granted his first start for Bayern. 

Bayern are now eight wins from eight in the Bundesliga and face Eintracht Frankfurt away in matchday 6. 

The 10-Goal Game 

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt may just have hosted the most bizarre and entertaining game of the season as they played out a cracking (and at times hilarious) 4-6. 

Gladbach are yet to win this season, have sacked their head coach, and have been woeful at defending so far. When the halftime whistle blew and Frankfurt were 5-0 up, you feared that the Eagles could easily make it double-figures. Frankfurt immediately made it 0-6 within two minutes of the restart, leaving the Gladbach fans who had stayed in the ground possibly regretting that decision. 

Interim Gladbach coach Eugen Polanski looked dumbfounded as he witnessed the lack of defending. For a top-flight side, it was shambolic. 

However, what transpired almost saved Polanski’s blushes and possibly gives him the most credit at full-time. Gladbach and Frankfurt seemingly reserved roles as the home side went on to score four second-half goals whilst the away side took the role of not defending. 

“During the game I was in shock,” Polanski answered when a reporter asked him what words he found for the team at the half. “It was my job at the half to tell the team that things could be different. After that lifeless first half that doesn’t work at Bundesliga level, it got a little loud at the break.” 

“That was a desolate performance by the team,” BMG sporting director Roland Virkus told Sky Germany. “We lacked everything you need in football and were rightly 0-5 down at half-time. It must be said that the team made progress after the break, but one can’t sugarcoat a game like this. [Interim head coach] Eugen [Polanski] retains our support, but we all have to take a look at this together.“

Gladbach remain winless, and bizarrely, Frankfurt have conceded eight goals in two games.

Dortmund Dominance 

Borussia Dortmund continued their unbeaten start to the season with an impressive 0-2 win away at Mainz 05. 

With the win, BVB stay second, are looking like the early contenders to Bayern, and even set a new Bundesliga record. 

Niko Kovač’s side were in the lead at half-time for the 10th league game in a row – a new milestone in Germany’s top flight.

Daniel Svensson opened the scoring for Borussia Dortmund, netting his second Bundesliga goal for his new club after capping off a fine counter-attack after Mainz’ Paul Nebel hit Gregor Kobel’s post at the other end. Karim Adeyemi then doubled Dortmund’s lead in the 40th minute after another superb counter-attack, giving BVB a 0-2 lead.

Speaking after the game, Kovač commended his team’s performance: “The team played very disciplined and organised for 90 minutes. We scored the goals at the right time and were a bit lucky with the shot that hit the post, which led us to score our first goal right afterwards. I saw a team today that finished the game the way we should on the road. We didn’t concede anything else – or at least very little. So I’m very happy and proud of the boys that they rewarded themselves with this performance.”

Around The Grounds

Union Berlin and Hamburg played out a 0-0 draw, but the main story came from the stands. Union fans were protesting the pre-match deployment of the federal police against supporters of the Berlin club. HSV fans were also protesting the late kick-off on Sunday evening, having made the two-hour train journey to the capital. Banners expressed that the late kick-off should only be reserved for those competing in European competitions. Given the notorious Deutsche Bahn delays, the protests seem justified.

FC Heidenheim secured their first win of the season as they beat FC Augsburg 2-1. FCA drop to 16th as the pressure mounts on head coach Sandro Wagner. 

Elsewhere, there were wins for Bayer Leverkusen (1-2 vs St. Pauli), RB Leipzig (0-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg), and VfB Stuttgart (1-2 vs FC Köln). SC Freiburg and TSG Hoffenheim played out a 1-1 draw. 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

Nathan Tella’s participation is questionable with the Nigerian attacker struggling with a knee problem, and so there could be successive starts for Eliesse Ben Seghir. Claudio Echeverri and Jonas Hofmann remain alternatives, but don’t expect too much to change from Leverkusen.

As for St. Pauli, Martijn Kaars – a summer arrival from 2. Bundesliga Magdeburg – has featured in three of his new club’s four league games this season, but the Dutch forward could earn his first start in place of Andréas Hountondji.

Club captain Jackson Irvine continues to recover from a long-term foot injury and Saturday’s game against Bayer Leverkusen is likely to come too soon for the Australian midfielder.

St. Pauli vs Bayer Leverkusen Predicted Line-Ups

St. Pauli: Vasilj – Wahl, Smith, Dzwigala – Saliakas, Sands, Fujita, Oppie – Sinani – Kaars, Pereira Lage

Bayer Leverkusen: Flekken – Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba – Vazquez, Andrich, Aleix Garcia, Grimaldo – Tillman, Ben Seghir – Schick

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Neither side have met in German’s top division before but both sides will be brimming with confidence.

Last weekend, the visitors defeated 1. FC Heidenheim 2-1, for their first league win of the season after defeats to city rivals FC St. Pauli (0-2) and FC Bayern Munich (0-5).

The Köpenickers picked up their second league win of the season, with a spectacularly 4-3 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, thanks to a hat-trick from Scotland forward, Oliver Burke.

A win for either side at this early stage of the season will calm any nerves of relegation and have fans dreaming of European qualification.

Union Berlin

Harry Hat-trick

Following on from his brace in the Champions League midweek, Harry Kane notched his 9th Bundesliga hat-trick as Bayern Munich beat TSG Hoffenheim 1-4 in Sinsheim. In doing so, Kane also broke a new Bundesliga record. Following on from his first goal, the England captain went on to convert two penalties – this is the first time in the league’s history that a player has converted all of their first 17 penalties. 

Vincent Kompany made five changes from the side that beat Chelsea in midweek, but it did little to disrupt their early-season flow. It was one-way traffic from the majority of the game, and a late Joshua Kimmich own goal did little to dampen the spirits as Bayern maintained top spot and their 100% record. 

Union Upset Frankfurt 

Union Berlin pulled off a shock result on Sunday evening as they came out 3-4 winners away at Eintracht Frankfurt. The Eagles had hammered Turkish champions Galatasaray 5-1 in midweek and were favourites to do something similar against Union. 

However, a front-three masterclass from Union took Frankfurt and possibly the league by surprise. 

Summer recruit, Ilyas Ansah, got Union going with a superb finish and bringing his season record to four goals in as many games. Scotsman Oliver Burke then doubled Union’s lead just past the 30-minute mark, with Union only registering around 30% possession. Frankfurt did manage to pull one back before halftime, but it couldn’t stop what was to come.

Two goals in three minutes from Oliver Burke not only secured his hat-trick, but put Union in a commanding lead with 30 minutes still to play. Burke’s second was a fantastic towering header, and his third was a delicate chip over the onrushing goalkeeper. 

Can Uzun and Jonathan Burkardt (his first for Frankfurt) scored two goals late on, but Union hung on for a famous three points. 

Speaking after the game, Union head coach Steffen Baumgart, who was sent off for complaining about Burkardt’s penalty goal, spoke frankly after the match: 

“I’m sorry, but actually I’m not sorry because I don’t want to hold back on my emotions. I kicked the paper onto the pitch because I saw others do it. The lads will have to do without me next week.“

Gladbach Goal!

Music to the ears of Borussia Mönchengladbach fans, they’ve finally registered a goal this season, and it’s come at the expense of their rivals, Bayer Leverkusen. 

Gladbach went into Sunday’s game as underdogs but put on a valiant performance and scored late on to secure a much-needed point and first goal of the campaign. Following last week’s 0-4 loss to Bremen, Gladbach looked refreshed under the interim management of Eugen Polanski. 

The former Polish international declared himself largely satisfied with his team’s performance, which sees them move to two points, but now with the opportunity to really kickstart their campaign. 

After the game, Gladbach sporting director Roland Virkus confirmed that Polanski is being considered as a permanent candidate. 

Polanski himself thought Gladbach were unlucky not to win it:

“With a little luck, we could have won,” Polanski continued, referencing Jens Castrop’s disallowed goal in the 23rd minute. “In the Regionalliga, that goal would have counted. I ended my playing career [in 2018] when there was no VAR, and I’m very happy about that. Now, I have to put up with this crap.“

Around the Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Hamburg secured their first win of the campaign in what seemed like an early six-pointer against FC Heidenheim. Both clubs occupied the bottom two spots going into this won, but it’s HSV who move away following a convincing 2-1 win. Goals on either side of the half from Luka Vušković and Rayan Philippe were enough to get HSV over the line. A late consolation for Heidenheim did little as they look to already be in danger of relegation.   

Borussia Dortmund stay within two points of Bayern after overcoming VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 on Sunday night. A first-half wonder striker from Karim Adeyemi was enough for Niko Kovač’s side as they go back to second in the table. 

Elsewhere, there were wins for RB Leipzig (3-1 vs FC Köln), VfB Stuttgart (2-0 vs St. Pauli), SC Freiburg (0-3 vs Werder Bremen), and Mainz 05 (1-4 vs FC Augsburg). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

Though it remains very early in the season, it’s fair to say that Blessin’s Buccaneers haven’t furnished anything close to a disappointing performance since we last checked in with them after the Pokal opener. The dramatic 3-3 home draw against Dortmund at the Millerntor was followed up by the 0-2 “derby delight” victory over Hamburger SV at the Volksparkstadion. A 2-1 home win over FC Augsburg on Sunday keeps this sailing high and hot.

The Augsburg-St. Pauli fixture this past weekend supplied those interested in Bundesliga football with plenty of talking points. With Augsburg having already received their latest detailed tactics check, we’ll follow the Jolly Roger north to Hamburg and try to assess just how long this pirate ship can keep afloat. Yes, the author acknowledges the preponderance of references here is getting grating yet again. Let’s talk football.

Interesting Developments, St. Pauli

Danel Sinani fits into the puzzle

The last St. Pauli section expressed absolutely no confidence that Danel Sinani would factor into Blessin’s regular season plans. How could this have honestly been foreseen? The Luxembourg international featured very sparingly as a starter until Blessin finally reworked his system around match-day 25. Sinani got off to a decent start as a distributor/director behind the two-striker-set before tanking hard at the end of the season. Looking back, a lot of that may have been related to the fact that Blessin often played a back seven that left the 28-year-old stranded in midfield.

In any event, Sinani plays absolutely lights-out at the moment. The former Norwich professional rakes in both the official scorer points and the unofficial “brownie points”. The set-piece stunner that took the Augsburg match caps a run of three fixtures in which Sinani received top marks in virtually all German press sources. Again, when one looks back, most German football pundits should have predicted this. The top-notch ten often served as the “diamond in the rough” during multiple wretched eye-sore St. Pauli fixtures last year. Not unforeseeable that he’d do even better with better talent in front of him.

The Andreas Hountondji Show

This phenomenon was correctly predicted. Even before pre-season primer time, Hountondji’s signing this summer generated plenty of excitement. The 23-year-old’s three Bundesliga goals through three match-days is indeed a new St. Pauli club record. Having observed Hountondji’s explosive potential, one can now hardly wait for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations; at which this attacker will feature alongside Benin national team captain Steve Mounié. For now, it’s great fun watching Hountondji and his fellow new summer addition Mathias Pereira Lage work together up front. Wonderful duo, this!

Possession bossers

The Kiezkicker managed to retain a slight edge against Dortmund in terms of possession in the opening match. Something like that rarely occurs against BVB. Blessin’s squad maintained midfield dominance throughout in the total mismatch that was the Hamburg derby and generated a highly impressive 57-43 split in the Augsburg match. Most of this stems from the marvelous midfield duo of new signing Joel Chima Fujita and returning American James Sands. This pair synchronize their forward movements as if they’ve been playing together for years. Captain Jackson Irvine might not find a way back into the XI!

Excellent personnel depth

Having a healthy XI that clicks early always helps, but (as we’ll cover in a bit greater depth below) Blessin has almost perfect straight-arrow plug-ins should certain players succumb to injury. Credit sporting director Andreas Bornemann for putting together a balanced squad specifically designed to avoid the pitfalls of last season. The blockbuster signing of Magdeburg striker Martijn Kaars counted as quite the coup. Bornemann and the administrative team also skillfully ensured that, transfer balance wise, smart summer sales like that of Philipp Treu ensured that the club wasn’t over leveraged.

Tactics Check, St. Pauli

We’ve far fewer graphics in this section as Blessin has been rolling out the exact same XI since the Pokal Round. No reason to change what works perfectly well. The tight battle for the starting right wingback slot between Arkadiusz Pyrka and Manolis Saliakis looks to rage on for quite some time, with Blessin often giving the discontented Greek more meaningful minutes late in matches in order to help him prove his case. Late transfer window addition Kaars receives his relief minutes as well whilst Blessin tries to effectively manage Hountondji’s workload.

Lineup—St. Pauli (Matches 1-3)

Wingbacks Pyrka and Louis Oppie have had their ups-and-downs since an especially impressive dual debut on against Dortmund on match-day one. Both actually struggled to keep the approach play coherent for much of the Augsburg match and ultimately couldn’t nail down their rhythm. It was definitely an inelegant and several key actors. One loved the fight in the duels the back-three, but there were far too many inaccuracies in the back-builds. Play improved slightly after the break.

Lineup—St. Pauli (46th minute)

Kaars worked more as a service striker while the back-three flattened out. This led to Pereira Lage getting some solid looks in and it shouldn’t be long before the Portuguese Frenchman nets his first Bundesliga goal. Instead, it was Sinani’s turn to again grab the glory with a set-piece stunner (deflected slightly of Augsburg’s Cedric Zesiger) in the 78th. Call it an “ugly win” if one must, but – as we all know – those points count just as much as the others. 

Upcoming fixtures and assessment, St. Pauli

Friday, September 19th

VfB Stuttgart (A) 20:30

Saturday, September 27th

Bayer 04 Leverkusen (H) 15:30

Saturday, October 4th

Werder Bremen (A) 15:30

A very tough fixture list in the coming weeks might see the “Boys in Brown” tumble back down to earth somewhat before the next international break. Despite all of their early stumbles, Stuttgart away poses quite the challenge. The match against totally unpredictable Leverkusen at the Millerntor in a couple of weeks’ time counts as one to circle. Now that Bremen are back in form, there isn’t a guaranteed three points on this docket. 

St. Pauli’s first loss of the season will most definitely come soon. Slipping out of the spotlight into some more mid table obscurity doesn’t automatically count as a disastrous development for this club either. Many of the new arrivals are due for some adversity and it’s always a positive thing if a second-year top flight team traverses it early. No need for European dreams this season. Surviving last year served as “dream come true” enough for them. 

GGFN | Peter Weis

Köln Spoil Wolfsburg Party 

FC Köln continued their unbeaten start to the season with a thrilling 3-3 draw in Wolfsburg. The Wolves were celebrating the occasion with the club’s 80th birthday. Head coach, Paul Simonis, thought he had gifted the club with three points not once, but twice. 

Wolfsburg were in the lead 2-1 going into the 90th minute, with a whopping 14 minutes added on. However, in the 91st minute, midfielder Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson scored his first goal for Köln to make it 2-2. 

Party spoiled? Perhaps not. Wolfsburg fans would have thought it was written in the stars when club legend Maximilian Arnold scored a trademark free kick in the 99th minute to make it 3-2. You can forgive the players and fans alike for celebrating as if the three points had been rescued. 

However, Köln became the ultimate party-poopers in the 104th minute when midfielder Jakub Kamiński scored to make it 3-3. Since the recording of the precise minute of injury time goals began in the 1992/93 season, no German top-flight professional has scored so late. 

Oh, and it just so happens that Kamiński is playing for the Billy Goats on loan from Wolfsburg! 

The draw continues Köln’s impressive start to the campaign and keeps them in 3rd position. For Wolfsburg, they also remain unbeaten but have now drawn twice and won once. They occupy 8th position after a birthday thriller no one will forget in a hurry. 

Debut Win for Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen

Kasper Hjulmand began life at Bayer Leverkusen with an impressive 3-1 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night. 

The former Mainz 05 man didn’t have to wait long for his first goal when Alejandro Grimaldo fired in a free kick after just ten minutes. Before halftime, a Patrick Schick penalty doubled B04’s lead. 

Can Uzun pulled one back for the Eagles, and when Robert Andrich was sent off for a second bookable offence just five minutes later, Hjulmand was made to sweat. 

Leverkusen showed what they’re made of, held off Frankfurt’s attack, and wrapped up the evening with another Grimaldo free kick in stoppage time. 

After the victory, Hjulmund expressed his happiness to be back in football and Germany: “I’ve missed working in football. My last game with the national team was also here in Germany, but I’ve also missed the Bundesliga. I really like the Bundesliga. Football here in Germany is for the people. There’s great passion for the game. I love it. It was really nice.”

B04’s first win of the season puts them in 10th, whilst Frankfurt drops to 5th. 

For both sides, their attention now turns to the Champions League. Hjulmand takes Leverkusen to his homeland’s capital, Copenhagen. Frankfurt hosts Turkish side Galatasaray. 

Derby Day Delight for Freiburg 

SC Freiburg claimed the bragging rights in the Baden-Württemberg derby by scoring three goals in 11 minutes to overcome VfB Stuttgart. 

The visitors were leading for the vast majority of the game thanks to an outrageous backheel goal by Ermedin Demirović. The former Freiburg man made no mistake about where his loyalties now lie during his celebration. 

However, a late rally starting in the 81st minute would ultimately flip the game on its head. Igor Matanović got the sides level before Derry Scherhant gave Freiburg the lead just five minutes later. The game was wrapped up with Matanović’s second in stoppage time. 

A first brace in German football for Matanović as the super subs showed their worth in the derby. 

There was time for one more piece of drama when Johan Manzambi was sent off for Freiburg for dangerous play. 

Freiburg’s first win is welcomed and puts them level on points with Stuttgart. 

Around The Grounds

Elsewhere, Borussia Monchengladbach head coach Gerardo Seoane is under increasing pressure as Gladbach lost 0-4 at home to Werder Bremen. As reported by GGFN, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s next game will be decisive when it comes to the future of head coach Gerardo Seoane. Gladbach’s next game will be against Bayer Leverkusen this Sunday, and it is said that the game against his former employer will be his ‘final’. If he wins, he could be given more time; however, if Gladbach loses, the Swiss could be sacked. 

St. Pauli continue their best start to a top-flight campaign following a 2-1 home win against FC Augsburg. The rebel club now sit in 4th position and travel to Stuttgart on Friday. With their city rivals yet to score and goal this season, it’s a great time to be a Pauli faithful! 

Speaking of, Hamburg succumbed to a 5-0 hammering at Bayern Munich. The Bavarians with just too much firepower, as Harry Kane scored twice. The Englishman keeps up his record of scoring against every Bundesliga club he’s come up against. 

There were also wins for Borussia Dortmund (0-2 vs FC Heidenheim), RB Leipzig (0-1 vs Mainz 05), and TSG Hoffenheim (2-4 vs Union Berlin). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

“I cried and thought: ‘How will I get out of this?’,” Moukoko – as quoted by Kicker – told Danish broadcaster TV2. “‘When will things get better?’ Many people might just say, ‘Everything is fine’ when they’ve been through tough times. But I want to talk about it.

“[Some media outlets] will just do anything to get attention,” Moukoko continued. “People are always trying to find out something about me and write a story about it. In the end, I have to care less and just let them carry on.“

The fact that Moukoko’s Cameroonian birth certificate appears to have falsified his real age remains a story that the German footballing journalism establishment does generally accept, yet doesn’t make too big a point of reporting on. Dortmund’s official stance – buttressed by the release of official German documents – holds that no such falsification has ever taken place. 

The BVB-released documents still do not outright disprove the theory that Moukoko is four years older than his listed age as he did not move to Hamburg Germany until long after his birth. Moukoko began his academy career with FC St. Pauli in 2014. At the time, he was listed as a ten-year-old eligible to play for the U13s. The allegations claim that Moukoko was actually 14 years-of-age upon joining the U13s.

Performance-wise, Moukoko is off to a good start with his new Danish club FC Copenhagen. Moukoko has exceeded his goal total from last year’s lost loan stint with OGC Nice in Ligue 1 (two goals) with three goals in 12 appearances across all competitions for the Danish capital city outfit. The youngster helped Copenhagen qualify for the Champions League with a converted penalty in a crucial UCL playoff fixture. 

GGFN | Peter Weis