The sixth matchday of the Bundesliga was filled with intrigue, especially regarding late goals. In a matchup between the top two teams in the table, Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt battled it out to a thrilling 3-3 draw, Holstein Kiel magically found a draw against Bayer Leverkusen, and Leipzig stayed undefeated to move into a tie with Bayern at the top of the table.
The Bundesliga will take next weekend off due to the international break, but Saturday the 19th will showcase a few juicy matchups:
- Stuttgart at Bayern Munich
- Eintracht Frankfurt at Bayer Leverkusen
- RB Leipzig at Mainz
- Augsburg at Freiburg
This series will recap each team’s performance and rank the Bundesliga teams following each matchday. The ranking system is based on the quality of performances, opponents, and recent matches.
1) Bayern Munich
Previous Ranking: 1
Bundesliga Results: WWWWD + 3-3 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayern drove at Frankfurt with full force for 90 minutes but the ricochet was just as painful. Kim Min-jae, Dayot Upamecano, and Michael Olise each scored a well placed goal. Ultimately, Bayern’s game plan didn’t adequately account for Frankfurt’s lightning counterattacks.
2) Eintracht Frankfurt
Previous Ranking: 2
Bundesliga Results: LWWWW + 3-3 draw vs Bayern Munich
Frankfurt was more or less outplayed, but league leading scorer Omar Marmoush (8 goals) didn’t really care. Marmoush answered Bayern’s first goal almost immediately and then snuck out for another breakaway in stoppage time to earn a point. Frankfurt has to play Leverkusen in a couple weeks but Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike look unstoppable right now.
3) RB Leipzig
Previous Ranking: 4
Bundesliga Results: WWDDW + 1-0 win at Heidenheim
After a heartbreaking loss to Juventus in the Champions League, Leipzig rebounded with a narrow victory on the road. Per usual, Loïs Openda played the role of “game changer” by beating the Heidenheim goalkeeper with an unlikely near post goal in the 59th minute. Péter Gulácsi and Leipzig’s brick wall defense produced the fourth clean sheet in the last six matches. Leipzig heads into the international break tied with Bayern at the top of the table.
4) Bayer Leverkusen
Previous Ranking: 3
Bundesliga Results: WLWWD + 2-2 draw vs Holstein Kiel
Leverkusen’s Jekyll and Hyde personality was back on full display. Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann scored easy goals in the first eight minutes and Leverkusen was off to the races. Leverkusen fell into a lull and allowed the underdog to recover. Leverkusen is still in the top five but is lacking the magical touch that defined last year’s undefeated campaign.
5) Freiburg
Previous Ranking: 7
Bundesliga Results: WLWWL + 1-0 win at Werder Bremen
After the surprising loss last weekend, Freiburg played a more controlled match where both teams sat deep and took less chances. The strategy paid off when Ritsu Doan found the game’s only goal in the 75th minute. Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu made three big saves throughout the match to hold the clean sheet.
6) Union Berlin
Previous Ranking: 10
Bundesliga Results: DWDWL + 2-1 win vs Borussia Dortmund
Union Berlin’s pressure overwhelmed a lethargic Dortmund team into two first half goals. Kevin Vogt placed a precision penalty kick in the 26th minute, and Yorbe Vertessen hit a loose ball from the top of the box for the game winner right before halftime. For a team that has been struggling to score, finding 14 shots against a top tier side is a healthy recipe for an upset.
7) Stuttgart
Previous Ranking: 6
Bundesliga Results: LDWWD + 1-1 draw vs Hoffenheim
When all hope was lost, Deniz Undav earned a penalty kick late in stoppage time and super sub Ermedin Demirović scored off his own rebound to steal a point. Stuttgart were the better team but gave away a goal right before halftime. Stuttgart continues to be a tough out for every opponent but needs to earn more wins and less draws if they want to play in the Champions League again next season.
8) Borussia Dortmund
Previous Ranking: 5
Bundesliga Results: WDWLW + 2-1 loss at Union Berlin
Earlier in the week, Dortmund crushed Celtic and found themselves at the top of the Champions League table. That success did not translate back to the Bundesliga where Dortmund was lifeless for the first half. In the second half, Gregor Kobel made a couple big saves and Julian Ryerson scored in the 62nd minute to keep it close. But it wasn’t enough as Dortmund slid back down the table.
9) Wolfsburg
Previous Ranking: 9
Bundesliga Results: LWLLD + 3-1 win at VfL Bochum
Wolfsburg earned a much needed victory over bottom dweller Bochum. The stats indicate an even match but Wolfsburg created much better chances and the score line could’ve been much worse if a pair of second half shots hadn’t clanked off the post. Jonas Wind delivered a brace and Mohamed El Amine Amoura added a pair of first half assists.
10) Heidenheim
Previous Ranking: 8
Bundesliga Results: WWLLW + 1-0 loss vs RB Leipzig
The momentum from Heidenheim’s first ever Conference League win was stymied by undefeated Leipzig. Heidenheim are the favorites in their next six matches and will need to ride that confidence into a brutal stretch of games against Wolfsburg, Leverkusen, Chelsea, Frankfurt, and Bayern.
11) Mainz
Previous Ranking: 13
Bundesliga Results: DDLWL + 3-0 win at St. Pauli
Jonathan Burkardt scored his second brace in three games, including a magnificent header flicked over the opposing goalkeeper. Bayern loanee Armindo Sieb scored on a well placed breakaway and Robin Zentner was produced four game changing saves. Mainz is rounding into nice form and will start pushing for a top six spot.
12) Werder Bremen
Previous Ranking: 12
Bundesliga Results: DDWLW + 1-0 loss vs Freiburg
Bremen didn’t play a terrible match but didn’t do enough to win either. Felix Agu’s shot in the 17th minute was Bremen’s best opportunity, but Freiburg’s goalkeeper was barely able to keep it out.
13) Augsburg
Previous Ranking: 16
Bundesliga Results: DLWLL + 2-1 win vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
After an ugly showing last weekend, Augsburg edged out a narrow win. Keven Schlotterbeck shelved a volley in the 38th minute and Alexis Claude-Maurice got a favorable deflection for the game winner in the 65th minute.
14) Borussia Mönchengladbach
Previous Ranking: 11
Bundesliga Results: LWLLW + 2-1 loss at Augsburg
Gladbach’s scoring woes continued, despite dominating possession (66%) and Tim Kleindienst clawing back into the match with a goal in the 72nd minute. In the wake of Kai Havertz’s injury, Kleindienst earned a call up to the German national team for the upcoming Nations League matches.
15) Hoffenheim
Previous Ranking: 15
Bundesliga Results: WLLLL + 1-1 draw at Stuttgart
Hoffenheim hunkered down and almost pulled off the upset but a stoppage time penalty kick cost them two points. Oliver Baumann was incredible between the posts, even saving the penalty kick itself before the rebound was tapped in. Baumann will take his hot streak to the German national team for his first international start.
16) St. Pauli
Previous Ranking: 14
Bundesliga Results: LLLDW + 3-0 loss vs Mainz
St. Pauli failed to scored for the third consecutive match, despite registering 19 shots. It didn’t help that Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner was spectacular and made a few difficult saves look routine. If St. Pauli wants to avoid relegation, they should start exploring the possibility of a January loan that brings in a true finisher or two.
17) Holstein Kiel
Previous Ranking: 18
Bundesliga Results: LLLDL + 2-2 draw at Bayer Leverkusen
Holstein Kiel found themselves down 2-0 in the first eight minutes, which was almost identical to the 6-1 shellacking Kiel received from Bayern last month. Against the defending champions, Kiel kept their resolve and Max Geschwill scored a header right before halftime. In the 69th minute, former Bayern II product (and forever beloved at BFW) Jann-Fiete Arp buried a penalty kick to earn the valuable point on the road.
18) VfL Bochum
Previous Ranking: 17
Bundesliga Results: LLLDL + 3-1 loss vs Wolfsburg
Bochum’s poor form continued but at least they didn’t squander a lead this time. Bochum is still struggling to find an identity and things are beginning to look dire as the other relegation zone clubs start to find points in random matches.
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