Looking Around the League: Bayern Drop Points and Schalke Snatch Their First Win

If Borussia Dortmund are to seriously compete for the Bundesliga title this season, then every single point in the league standings will be absolutely vital. Opponents like Bayern Munich don’t slip up often, so in the rare instances that they do, Dortmund desperately need to ensure that they take full advantage. With Bayern dropping two points in a 2-2 draw against VfB Stuttgart, this weekend was such an opportunity, which is what makes Saturday’s loss to RB Leipzig so frustrating.

Union Berlin, on the other hand, took full advantage of Bayern’s slip-up and now find themselves on top of the Bundesliga table. Freiburg sits right below them and Bayern, Dortmund, and Hoffenheim are tied at third. Union Berlin grabbed a goal after less than three minutes and then managed to hold out for the rest of the game.

Results

Werder Bremen 0-1 Augsburg

Hertha Berlin 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen

TSG Hoffenheim 4-1 Mainz 05

RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich 2-2 VfB Stuttgart

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Wolfsburg

Schalke 04 3-1 VfL Bochum

FC Köln 0-1 Union Berlin

SC Freiburg 0-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Live Table

Schalke Finally Get Their Win

Hey, look at that! Schalke have finally won a game. It may have come against last-place VfL Bochum, but it’s a win, and it’s more than BVB earned this weekend, so in some sense, I have no room to criticize them. Bochum’s loss to Schalke was so shameful that they promptly fired head coach Thomas Reis.

Two other coaches who were on the hot seat heading into the weekend, Niko Kovac and Gerardo Seoane, managed to keep their jobs for another weekend even though the latter’s team, Bayer Leverkusen, dropped points again in a 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin. Kovac managed to keep his job another week with a 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Bayern Surrender Late Lead to Stuttgart

Over my decade or so of watching Bundesliga football, I’ve seen Bayern Munich score far too many last-minute penalties and other winners, with very few similar results going the other direction. Because of this, this weekend’s turn of events between them and Stuttgart came as quite a surprise. Despite holding a late lead in stoppage time, Bayern surrendered it after Matthijs de Ligt committed a foul in the box, and the subsequent penalty was converted by Serhou Guirassy.

Your Thoughts

Do you think that Union Berlin will be a title contender this season?