We’re six games and one and a half international breaks in, and this is the first roundup article of the season. There just hasn’t been much to talk about yet. It’s not that nothing has happened. But everything
has gone more or less as we expected coming into this season, with only a few exceptions. Still, six games in and halfway through the lull of an international break, it seems like the perfect time to take stock and assess the main narratives developing in the Bundesliga this season.
Results
Here are the results from Matchday 6:
Hoffenhim 0-1 FC Köln
Augsburg 3-1 Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Union Berlin
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 RB Leipzig
Werder Bremen 1-0 St. Pauli
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Bayern Munich
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Heidenheim
Hamburg 4-0 Mainz
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0 Freiburg
Standings
Bayern Good, Gladbach Bad, FC Köln… Decent?
It comes as no surprise that Bayern Munich are top of the table. They were expected to dominate this season, and that is exactly what has happened. Still, it is perhaps a little surprising that they haven’t dropped a single point yet and already have a goal difference of +22. Bayern have looked very, very good so far. Their offense is absolutely lethal, and so far, at least, they look a little less error-prone at the back. I still think teams with enough quality can potentially get at this Bayern side, but there aren’t many with enough quality in the Bundesliga, and even with sufficient quality, it will be difficult to contain their offense.
At the other end, a poor Heidenheim is propping the rest of the table up, and it doesn’t look like that will change any time soon. Borussia Mönchengladbach join them in the relegation zone, which has been one of the bigger surprises so far this season, and Mainz find themselves in the playoff spot. In Mainz’s case, it has been a very inconsistent start to the season, probably not helped by European football adding to their schedule, but I’d be surprised if they are still here for much longer. Die Fohlen don’t look like a team that belongs in or around the relegation zone either. Still, I am a little less confident that we are not watching the bottom fall out of a generally solid team amid the current upheaval at the club. I think they will be okay, but I would be hesitant to stake any money on that.
Part of the reason these clubs find themselves so low down the table is that several of the preseason favorites to suffer the drop have so far performed above expectations. Augsburg seem like they are obviously very bad, yet they find themselves with six points, and I don’t entirely know how. St. Pauli continue to confound all expectations and look like they’ve got what it takes to finish well clear of any danger. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all has been the two promoted sides: Hamburg and FC Köln. I remain pretty skeptical that Hamburg are any good, and I would expect them to join Augsburg in eventually sliding down the table. But, so far at least, FC Köln look like the real deal! They are not the sixth-best team in the Bundesliga, but they are pretty good, and having picked up ten points already, they have a chance to not only secure their place in the Bundesliga for another season but to push on and have a really good season.
Your Thoughts?
What are your big takeaways from the Bundesliga six games into the season? Who has impressed you most? Who looks abysmal? Let us know in the comments.
