Looking Around the League: Bayern, Freiburg, and Leipzig Shine While Dortmund and Union Crash and Burn

I was really enjoying how competitive the Bundesliga has been this season, but with three match days over the last week and a half, Bayern Munich have found their way back into the top spot, much to nobody’s surprise. While Bayern quickly climbed the table, our beloved Borussia Dortmund did the exact opposite. I could go into the dumpster fire that was Dortmund’s losses to Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach, but I’ll direct you to Anders’s reaction to the Gladbach game for that instead.

For the rest of the league, here’s your update:

Results

Borussia Monchengladbach 4-2 Borussia Dortmund

Leverkusen 2-0 Stuttgart

Augsburg 0-1 Bochum

Hertha Berlin 2-0 Köln

Hoffenheim 1-2 Wolfsburg

Werder Bremen 1-2 RB Leipzig

Schalke 0-2 Bayern Munich

Mainz 1-1 Frankfurt

Freiburg 4-1 Union Berlin

Standings

Bayern Munich Rise to the Top as Union Berlin Crumble

Recent table-toppers Union Berlin have fallen from grace. After a storming start to their campaign, holding first place in the Bundesliga table for four weeks, Union have crumbled. Freiburg dealt the capital club their most recent blow, with a 4-1 win in the Europa-Park Stadion that saw a total of four penalty kicks (two for each side) and a red card for Union’s Diogo Leite. As a result of their win, Freiburg move into second place, just four points off the top.

It was fun while Union was in first, but as we all expected, Bayern have returned. The record-breaking champions defeated Schalke to mark their fifth consecutive Bundesliga win, and their 10th consecutive victory in all competitions. Borussia Dortmund were the last team to take anything from Bayern Munich, claiming a point in their 2-2 draw at the beginning of October.

At the other end of the table, Bochum traveled to Stuttgart and battled it out. A 58th minute goal from Bochum’s Christopher Antwi-Adjej proved to be the difference. That’s two consecutive wins for Thomas Letsch’s men. They’ll head into the break with some confidence in their ability to rescue themselves from relegation. They currently sit just one point below both Stuttgart and the drop zone.

Elsewhere, Niko Kovac’s Wolfsburg have officially figured out how to play football. After a poor start and a lot of criticism, Wolfsburg have won four in a row and climbed the table to seventh. Xabi Alonso has also made his mark in Leverkusen, motivating his team through another win. Perhaps Leverkusen’s season will have a full turnaround?

And that’s it for the Bundesliga in 2022. Though we’ll have the World Cup to watch, I’ll still miss my weekly ritual of watching the Black and Yellows sabotage themselves on the pitch hoping Greg will bail everyone out.

Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

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