Schalke go 0 out of 4 to slip from crisis to meltdown. Wolfsburg and Stuttgart grab their first
wins. Other top clubs keep stuttering. The little ones keep rocking the table.
Schalke 1-3 Dortmund. Schalke had lost their previous matches as well, but at
least there was something of an upward spiral, with hints of better attacking football or a
slightly more stable defense.
Ten-man Bayern beat Schalke, to reclaim the top of the table. Ten-man Leverkusen lose against
Frankfurt, to reclaim their choke label. Dortmund suddenly face the possibility of Champions League
football. Hertha suddenly face the possibility of Bundesliga survival.
Bayern. Bayern's top of the table clash with Schalke lived up to the hype for the
first 45 minutes, at least as far as intensity and drama went, which in times of regular let downs
by top games, was good enough.
Leverkusen lose at last and do it in style. Bayern drop points and keep the top spot. Schalke
emerges from the shadow. Hannover stop the downward spiral for the moment.
Leverkusen. In hindsight, it's easy to say it had been coming. What's certain
though is, that Leverkusen's defeat at the hands of Nuremberg (2-3) was preceded by a number of
draws and victories, that were no longer confident, but rather bumpy and lucky at times.
The new season is here, ready to fill statistics books.
460.000. The Bundesliga sold close to 460.000 season tickets this year, easily
topping last year's record of 435.000 season tickets. Borussia Dortmund contributed the most to
this record with 51.000 season ticket holders.
But if it does, now would be the time. Hoffenheim take the first step towards their maiden
Bundesliga title, while newly promoted Kaiserslautern and St. Pauli will be eager to protect their
place in the Champions League. Bremen, Dortmund and Stuttgart face a tough battle for Bundesliga
survival.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Wolfsburg.
Goals galore, upsets, epic comebacks and all-winning away teams except for the one that was
expected to win and then fell to a newly promoted side.
Kaiserslautern 2-0 Bayern Munich. The Friday night match unfolded as everybody
expected. Bayern took the ball. Bayern kept the ball.
Schalke and Wolfsburg, this summer's biggest spenders, start their campaigns with zero points
out of nine. Somewhat vindicates Stuttgart's austerity, who spent €30m less and still achieved
the same result. At the other end of the table, a couple of relegation or midtable bound clubs
wonder what they are doing up there.
Matchday 4 produced a couple of statistical firsts.
0. Bayern scored 0 goals in their past three Bundesliga games. The last time
Bayern went without a goal for three Bundesliga matches was 12 years ago. The goal drought combined
with just 5 points from four matches tops last season's bad start, making this one the worst in 34
years.
Schalke go 0 out of 4 to slip from crisis to meltdown. Wolfsburg and Stuttgart grab their first
wins. Other top clubs keep stuttering. The little ones keep rocking the table.
Schalke 1-3 Dortmund. Schalke had lost their previous matches as well, but at
least there was something of an upward spiral, with hints of better attacking football or a
slightly more stable defense.
Matchday 4 produced a couple of statistical firsts.
0. Bayern scored 0 goals in their past three Bundesliga games. The last time
Bayern went without a goal for three Bundesliga matches was 12 years ago. The goal drought combined
with just 5 points from four matches tops last season's bad start, making this one the worst in 34
years.
Schalke and Wolfsburg, this summer's biggest spenders, start their campaigns with zero points
out of nine. Somewhat vindicates Stuttgart's austerity, who spent €30m less and still achieved
the same result. At the other end of the table, a couple of relegation or midtable bound clubs
wonder what they are doing up there.
Goals galore, upsets, epic comebacks and all-winning away teams except for the one that was
expected to win and then fell to a newly promoted side.
Kaiserslautern 2-0 Bayern Munich. The Friday night match unfolded as everybody
expected. Bayern took the ball. Bayern kept the ball.
