There’s naturally reasoning behind the benching of both players, but the fact that neither one has at least not gotten a token relief appearance remains curious. Kumbedi – a highly coveted deadline day signing – was supposed to take some of the load of Wolfsburg right back Kilian Fischer. Dardai’s complete absence from the pitch is odd given the fact that the midfielder can also fill in as a centre-back; something the team desperately needs. 

In Kumbedi’s case, it appears that the language barrier is keeping the Lyon loanee from breaking through in training. The French U21 international – per Kicker – doesn’t have a solid grasp of either English or German. This obviously wouldn’t have been a problem in the days of Joshua Guilavogui’s VfL captaincy or even when Maxence Lacroix was with the club. At present, however, there are no Frenchmen on the team apart from the injured Mathys Angely. 

Dardai seems to have been squeezed out at all his positions. In central midfield, Simonis is busy trying to figure out a way to integrate record signing Vinicius Souza into the team. Christian Eriksen’s arrival leaves him without much prospect of working in attacking midfield and the roster is loaded down with wingers/attack-minded midfielders. 

Dardai’s experience in central defense is actually rather scant. Simonis’ reaction to Denis Vavro’s long-term absence has been to fall back on want-away centre-back Moritz Jenz whilst giving deadline day acquisition Jenson Seelt auditions in friendlies. There simply appears to be no place for the youngest Dardai brother, whose elder siblings Palko and Marton are still earning minutes elsewhere. 

With an estimated market value of €12m, Bence Dardai happens to be a rather expensive player to be doing nothing more than gracing the dugout. Bence’s lack of playing time also renders him non-candidate to represent the heritage country he so proudly committed to last February. 

While Bence’s older brother Marton is off on international duty with the Hungarian national team this week, Bence was stuck preparing to contest a friendly against Marton and his former club Hertha BSC. Bence at least played 90 minutes in the unofficial 0-2 loss. 

Despite all the adversity, Bence attempted to conduct himself with professionalism and class in a recent interview with Kicker. In point of fact, the 19-year-old expressed enthusiasm about facing his former club.

“It’s a special game for me,” Dardai said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing many familiar faces again. Athletic trainers, physios, and former teammates. It’s also important for me to get playing time.“

“I don’t have any strong arguments at the moment,” Dardai – who made 25 appearances across all competitions under Ralph Hasenhüttl last year – said of his current playing-time situation. “It’s a difficult phase that I just have to get through.

“Of course, I had hoped for more, especially because I showed last season that I can play at this level,” Dardai nevertheless continued. “So it’s bitter to not be playing at all at the moment. I assumed that I would at least get some minutes this season.”

“The coach is relying on other players and some new players have joined,” Dardai concluded. “I really want to play. I really want to help the team, but there’s brutal competition. Such phases are part of development. I’ll continue to fight for minutes. Perhaps this will make me stronger.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Kicker reports that Arnold’s thigh injury may be serious enough to sideline the skipper for months. Simonis confirmed that Arnold is scheduled for further examinations tomorrow. After winning their opening Bundesliga match against the league’s current last-placed side, 1. FC Heidenheim, Simonis’ Wolfsburg drew twice before losing their last three fixtures heading into the October break. 

Germany’s green company team presently finds themselves 15th-place in the Bundesliga table. Simonis’ team have also lost their last two test fixtures against 2. Bundesliga opponents Paderborn and Hertha. The newly appointed head coach – by far the most inexperienced of the 18 coaches in the German top flight – also answered questions about job security after the Hertha loss. 

“Of course, we have to deliver,” Simonis said. “We have to win games. I [still] don’t feel any particular pressure because we know – and it’s obvious enough – that we need time.“

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

All professionals associated with the Wolfsburg project expressed their dissatisfaction with the team’s form following yesterday’s loss. An editorial published by highly respected German footballing journalist Thomas Hiete of Kicker strongly avers that the VfL front office has once again failed to put a coherent project together. Danish managing director Peter Christiansen – now in office for 15 months – doesn’t appear to be succeeding in his task. 

Yesterday’s passive and lethargic performance was labeled “anemic” by VfL right back Kilian Fischer. Head coach Paul Simonis and VfL sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz concurred. Hiete calls into question whether Danish managing director Christiansen’s call for a “Wolfsburg brand of exciting and thrilling football” is something that can be achieved with an eager-to-please rookie coach. 

“That was not enough in all areas,” Schindzielorz remarked in the mixed zone yesterday. “There was only one team on the pitch that wanted to win and that was Augsburg.“

“There must never be a lack of intensity or energy,” a perplexed and angry looking Simonis added at the post-match press conference. “Those things should be easy to achieve.“

“There are dangerous symptoms emerging in Wolfsburg,” Hiete writes. “Symptoms of a relegation candidate. Christiansen has not made any visible progress with his plans. What does Wolfsburg actually stand for?”

Hiete goes on to reference specific new acquisitions in the summer transfer market that are not being used properly by Simonis. Chief among these is €18m Sheffield United signing Vinicius Souza, whom Hiete argues is being wasted as an attacking midfielder in order to keep him from encroaching on VfL captain Maximilian Arnold’s territory. 

“All observers see the Brazilian as a classic defensive midfielder who – with his strength in one-on-one situations in front of the defense – could be of great value to the team,” Hiete writes. “But because he can’t get past captain Arnold, Simonis is trying a lazy compromise positioning Vinicius Souza more offensively as a link-up player. This only partially fits his profile.“

Hiete also questions why German left back Aaron Zehnter – after a conspicuously strong start – has been replaced by Danish fullback/winger Joakim Maehle. The versatile Sane can literally play in all manner of positions. There doesn’t seem to be a strong case for allowing Zehnter to be phased out. 

There’s also evidence that other Danes – such as Jonas Wind, Christian Eriksen, and Adam Daghim – are being used above more qualified players. Moreover, Deadline day additions such as Saël Kumbendi and Jenson Seelt are either being barely used or not used at all.

Is the inexperienced Simonis trying too hard to impress his Danish managing director? Did Christiansen and Schindzielorz hire someone too eager to placate players and bosses and too cowardly to construct his own project?

“It’s by no means bad luck coincidence that Wolfsburg has only picked up two points since their opening day win against Heidenheim,” Hiete writes. “Time and again, serious individual errors already destabilize the team’s fragile structure. Simonis opens himself up to criticism with his personnel selections.”

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

The VWers haven’t won at the Volkswagen Arena since a brace from the departed Lukas Nmecha lifted them above Borussia Mönchengladbach on January 14th of the current calendar year. Nine months certainly constitutes a long wait for a home win for Germany’s green company team.

Captain Maximilian Arnold seemed to the think that the company club from the company town received unfair treatment merely because of who they were.

The 31-year-old thought that a 16th-minute handball from Leipzig’s Assan Ouédraogo – by last weekend’s standards at least – should have resulted in a penalty for Wolfsburg.

Match official Robin Braun was alerted to the possibility by the VAR-review team in Germany’s famed Kölner Keller. Braun took a look at the scene himself on the pitch-side monitor before waving it off.

Braun might have declined to give the penalty based on the fact that VfL defender Kilian Fischer’s shot was heading well wide of the goal anyway. Braun could have also considered the contact from Ouédraogo minimal and unintentional. 

“Come on, what the hell is going on here?” Arnold railed in the mixed zone. “In my opinion, that’s a clear penalty! I always have the feeling that one can only get away with that in Wolfsburg. I don’t think it’s good. I don’t understand it, I don’t accept it, and I don’t think it’s right.”

Arnold’s head coach concurred. 

“I can’t understand how anyone can not see that,” a visibly distraught Paul SImonis added. “I don’t know. It’s unbelievable.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

A slender 0-1 away win against Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon nevertheless left former Wolfsburg chief personnel executive Marcel Schäfer dissatisfied. The current Leipzig sporting director wasn’t entirely sure his team deserved the win, and was quick to reference the Bayern blowout on opening day when explaining why. 

The xG of the match (Wolfsburg 2.96, Leipzig 2.41) didn’t reflect the final scoreline. When one takes into account that Leipzig were awarded (and missed) a penalty, an additional 0.75 xG can be shaved off the RasenBallSport total. Schäfer made clear that he wasn’t happy with either the team’s cohesion or defending in his post-match interview with Sky Germany.

“Wild is a good way to describe this game,” Schäfer told Sky. “When you allow so many shots on goal [22, to be precise, from Wolfsburg], one has to say that that defensively, you’re not playing as cohesively and consistently as one would like. I’m not so happy with the second half because we didn’t manage to maintain control and bring calm to our game.

“We have to be honest with ourselves,” Schäfer continued. “We were lucky in one or two situations and can thank Pete [Peter Gulacsi for some big saves]. Despite the victory, the performance and the manner in which it was achieved was not quite what we would have liked. There are a few things we did well, but there are just as many things we need to work on and improve as quickly as possible.

“We gave up too much space and allowed too many chances,” Schäfer concluded. “If [Michael] Olise, [Luis] Diaz, or Harry Kane had been on the pitch…well then…That explains the match in Munich.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

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

Speaking after the game, the Dutchman commented on Wolfsburg’s performance.

“It was a big test for us today against a Champions League team. We were too passive in the first half; it wasn’t good from us. We showed a bit more initiative and aggression in the second period. We then had our chances – the biggest one obviously being the ball that hit the crossbar. We played against a strong team and at some point had to open up to go for the equaliser. That’s how Dortmund created some good opportunities again. Overall I’m obviously not satisfied with the result, but I did see a team that can match up to a Champions League side. And that’s also very important at this stage of the season”

After winning their opening game of the season, it means VfL are now winless in their last three Bundesliga games with successive draws against Mainz and Cologne which preceded Wolfsburg’s 1-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder