Bundesliga Match Day 2: Weekend Wrap-up
- Chuck Smith
- Sep 3, 2018
- 5 min read
We are only two games into this season and as much as I have doubted them, Wolfsburg has certainly played like they are legit as they improved to 2-0-0 after dispatching Bayer Leverkusen 3-1.
Die Werkself's Leon Bailey opened the scoring in the 24th minute and it appeared that Leverkusen was on its way to shaking off a season-opening loss to Borussia Monchengadbach. Wolfsburg, however, was not ready to quit and subsequently scored three unanswered goals to sweep aside a stunned Leverkusen side.
After being the benefactor of an own goal, the Wolves used goals from Wout Weghorst and Renato Steffen to stomp all over Die Werkself. Wolfsburg has been nothing short of impressive so far...just a year after they looked lost and hapless for an entire campaign.
You can say what you want about Bruno Labbadia, but he has done WONDERS with Wolfsburg so far this season. They have progressed from an also-ran to a team to watch now in the Bundesliga.
For Leverkusen, it was yet another disappointing effort. For a team with so much offensive talent, the offense has really failed Die Werkself. It almost feels like a lack of cohesion is causing all of that offensive talent to under-perform. Julian Brandt, Bailey, and Kai Havertz are the only "must haves" in the lineup, which leaves quite a few players battling for playing time and subsequently pressing when they are on the field.
It's a problem that Heiko Herrlich will need to solve ASAP!
Predicted score: Wolfsburg 3, Bayer Leverkusen 1 (L)
One of the great running themes on the Barell is how god awful my picks are. If you came to see me embarrass myself, you won't be disappointed!
Hannover 96 0, Borussia Dortmund 0: Dortmund could not control itself and it fell right into the type of game that Hannover wanted to play, which resulted in a thoroughly disappointing effort from BVB. Already missing Christian Pulisic and with Mario Götze anchored to the bench, Dortmund struggled to not only generate much offense, but even to seize control of the game from an out-manned, but not out-gunned Hannover side.
Hannover, meanwhile, will continue to try and exert its will on whoever it plays. H96 doesn't need to be pretty, but it is how Hannover must survive...and they've gotten extremely adept at executing that style of play.
Predicted score: Borussia Dortmund 3, Hannover 96 1 (L)
Hoffenheim 3, SC Freiburg 1: Die Kraichgauer used a brace from Adam Szalai to pace the offense before Andrej Kramaric added an extra time goal to bury Freiburg. Breisgau-Brasilianer is not off to a banner start and should use the international break to gain its bearings a bit.
Predicted score: Hoffenheim 2, SC Freiburg 1 (W)
FC Nürnberg 1, Mainz 1: Der Club's Mikael Ishak scored a 48th minute goal to counter an earlier goal from Mainz forward Jean-Philippe Mateta to knot the game and get both teams a point. It is hard to argue that either team should be disappointed with their results after two games.
Predicted score: FC Nürnberg 2, Mainz 1 (L)
FC Augsburg 1, Borussia Monchengldbach 1: My long and storied love-hate relationship with M'Gladbach is back and here to stay. Whenever I feel like I have a good bead on Die Folen, they prove that I have NO CLUE.
24-year old Austrian Michael Gregoritsch traded goals with Augsburg's Alassane Plea to account for the scoring in this one, but both teams are likely more than happy to walk away with a point. Both have impressive offensive units, but are wildly inconsistent from a team standpoint. This match will be interesting to see when the teams meet again later in the season.
Predicted score: FC Augsburg 3, Borussia Monchengladbach 2 (L)
Werder Bremen 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 1: Milot Rashica's goal in the sixth minute of extra time secured a CRAZY victory for Werder Bremen over Eintracht Frankfurt in what was probably the Bundesliga game of the weekend. Die Werderaner continues to show why they are on the rise. Yuya Osako's 20th minute goal gave Werder Bremen a 1-0 lead before Sebastian Haller's 54th minute PK equalized the game. Die Adler will assuredly have some up-and-down moments, but I'm looking at them to eventually get straightened out in time to compete for a top six position.
Predicted score: Eintracht Frankfurt 2, Werder Bremen 1 (L)
Bayern Munich 3, VfB Stuttgart 0: Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller, and Robert Lewandowski were an unstoppable force up front for Bayern, while Thiago Alcantara looked extremely good sitting deeper at the "6." When you factor in how excellent Joshua Kimmich was as well, you could say that Bayern is sitting very pretty as it heads into the international break.
Stuttgart meanwhile lost another, uninspired contest. Die Schwaben will likely look very closely at Tayfun Korkut and if he is the right person to get Stuttgart headed in the right direction before it digs itself hole right into relegation.
Predicted score: Bayern Munich 4, VfB Stuttgart 0 (W)
Fortuna Düsseldorf 1, RB Leipzig 1: RB Leipzig's consistently poor play continues! Jean-Kevin Augustin, again, supplied the only offense for Die Roten Bullen, which has been awful in its first two Bundesliga games this season. It would be less concerning if maybe Leipzig didn't spend all of last season on a roller coaster, but there is a lot of reason for concern and no apparent solutions.
Fortuna Düsseldorf's ability to secure a point was a HUGE as it looks to build its way into a capable top flight team. Matthias Zimmermann's 47th minute goal gave Flingeraner a lead before Augustin's equalize 21 minutes later. So far, so good for Fortuna Düsseldorf as it navigates its way through the Bundesliga.
Predicted score: RB Leipzig 3, Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 (L)
Hertha Berlin 2, Schalke 04 0: A missed penalty 14 minutes into the game by Daniel Caligiuri set the tone for Schalke in a dismal effort against Hertha Berlin. Slovakian midfielder Ondrej Duda banged home two goals, including one in the sixth minute of extra time to officially cement this as a miserable start to the season for Die Königsblauen. Hertha improved to 2-0-0 and has not yet conceded a goal. After an uninspired and uneventful 2017-2018 campaign, Die Alte Dame could be in line for a better season under Pal Dardai.
Some idiot said Sebastian Rudy was going to boost Schalke, but that did not work out so well. Die Königsblauen is not playing the assertive style that Domenico Tedesco implemented last season and the longer this less-than-mediocre play festers, the harder it will be for the squad to find its form. Schalke absolutely needs more out of Mark Uth among others.
Predicted score: Schalke 04 2, Hertha Berlin 0 (L)
PLUG ALERT: On Tuesday, I'll be taking a close look at Leon Goretzka's first Bundesliga start for Bayern and what he brought to the table for Die Roten.
PLUG ALERT 2: If you are looking for daily Bayern Munich coverage, check out BavarianFootballWorks.com where I am on staff. The site has a group of talented writers and is led by John N. Dillon. You can get a daily dose of news, info, and opinions there and as always, check in here for your greater Bundesliga coverage.
Weekly record: 2-7
Season record: 8-10
Note: Predicted ties count as a win if correct and as a loss if there is a winner; conversely if a game is predicted to have a winner but ends in a tie, it will count as a loss.
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