By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
16 matchdays have taken place and it has turned into one of
the most unpredictable seasons the Bundesliga has known in recent memory. 368
goals have been scored in 135 matches. 7 managers have already been sacked and
1 side is still unbeaten going into the winter break.
The traditional pecking order has been shaken up. VfL
Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach find themselves in relegation scraps
rather than a European battle, FC Schalke 04 made the worst start in their
history and Borussia Dortmund’s domestic problems continue to frustrate their
fans and those from afar.
The story of RB Leipzig is an intriguing one, even if it
doesn’t make them very popular. Their rise to stardom, coupled with a vast
improvement from Eintracht Frankfurt, Hertha BSC’s consistency and strong unity
at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim means the top six looks very different to what it
normally would at this stage of the year.
As I work on Bundesliga projects in my professional role,
I’ve decided to lookback at a dramatic first half of the 2016/2017 campaign.
Matchday
1: Six of the best for Bayern
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| Robert Lewandowski hit a Matchday 1 hat-trick for the reigning champions |
On opening night, defending champions FC Bayern München
signalled their intentions for the season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti. SV
Werder Bremen were awful as they folded 6-0 in the Allianz Arena. Robert
Lewandowski (pictured) carried on from where he’d left off the previous season – scoring
freely with a hat-trick.
Lewandowski’s main striking rival for the Golden Boot is
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and he got two goals the next day as Borussia
Dortmund edged out Mainz 2-1. Hamburger SV and FC Ingolstadt 04 played out a
1-1 draw. It wasn’t known then, but mid-October would be the next time either
of these sides even collected a point.
Matchday
2: Keita stuns Dortmund
After an encouraging draw with Hoffenheim on Matchday 1, RB
Leipzig made everyone sit up and take notice on Matchday 2. Naby Keïta scored
an 88th minute winner to stun Borussia Dortmund. Already, Thomas
Tuchel’s side were playing catch-up to Bayern, who beat Schalke 2-0 in
Gelsenkirchen.
Joel Pohjanpalo made a telling impression on the Bayer 04
Leverkusen vs. Hamburger SV clash. Trailing 1-0 with 20 minutes left, he was
brought on by manager Roger Schmidt and scored a 13-minute hat-trick to ensure
Leverkusen prevailed 3-1. Mainz and Hoffenheim played out a crazy game at the
Opel Arena that ended 4-4. The home side were 4-1 ahead at the interval, but
two goals by Mark Uth and Adam Szalai’s first Bundesliga goal in nearly two
years rescued a sensational point for Hoffenheim. SV Darmstadt 98 got their
first win with Sandro Sirigu’s fluky injury-time goal enough to beat a wasteful
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0.
Matchday 3
& 4: All change at Bremen
The first managerial casualty came at Werder Bremen. Ukrainian
Viktor Skrypnyk was relieved of his duties after a miserable Matchday 3 in
Mönchengladbach. Bremen lost 4-1, having put in another inept defensive
display. Alexander Nouri came in to fill the vacancy but a late defeat to Mainz
on Matchday 4 left them propping up the table.
Joining them there were Schalke after defeats to Hertha BSC
(2-0) and 1. FC Köln (1-3). The pressure was already on for former Augsburg
coach Markus Weinzierl. Christian Pulisic had a birthday to remember as
Borussia Dortmund thumped Darmstadt 6-0. The American teen sensation scored
twice. Dortmund followed that with a stunning 5-1 away triumph at Wolfsburg in
their next match. Meanwhile, Mainz’s first win of the season at Augsburg was
overshadowed by a shocking tackle from José Rodriguez on Dominik Kohr.
Rodriguez had been on the field for six minutes and was rightly sent off. He
hasn’t been seen since.
Matchday 5
& 6: Bye-bye Bruno
The next manager to depart was Bruno Labbadia at Hamburg.
Joshua Kimmich’s late winner saw Bayern pinch a 1-0 away victory on Matchday 5.
Labbadia went 24 hours later after just one point from five games. Markus
Gisdol replaced him.
Javier Hernandez hit a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s epic 3-2
win over Mainz; the high point of a tricky second campaign in the Bundesliga
for the popular Mexican. Hernandez also scored in the next match; a 2-0 win
against Borussia Dortmund in what is Leverkusen’s high spot of an inconsistent
campaign. RB Leipzig continued to go about their business. A 2-1 win over FC
Augsburg lifted them into the top three. Both Bremen and Schalke got off the
mark too. Theodor Gebre Selassie’s header in the dying embers helped Bremen to
a 2-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg on Matchday 5. Schalke had to wait a further week
to taste glory before Breel Embolo’s double helped them to a much-needed 4-0
success over a travel sick Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Matchday 7
& 8: Penalty Power
Matchday 7 saw plenty of penalty power with a staggering 10
spot-kicks awarded. Only 50% of them though were converted. Emil Forsberg was
one of the players to miss from 12-yards but he struck from further out as RB
Leipzig left VfL Wolfsburg with a 1-0 win. It brought the curtain down on
Dieter Hecking reign at the Wolves. No wins in six saw him heading for the job
centre.
Two players were sent off in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-1 draw
with Hertha BSC. Emre Mor’s red card was especially harsh when Sebastian
Langkamp’s pathetic play-acting should have received a similar crime. Also drawing
was FC Bayern München, who despite playing against 10-men, were held 2-2 by Eintracht
Frankfurt. Augsburg and Schalke provided a couple of special goals in their 1-1
stalemate but the match was overshadowed by a sickening injury to Embolo. The
rising Swiss star suffered a broken ankle and a broken leg in a collision with
Konstantinos Stafylidis.
On the following weekend, Hoffenheim underlined their
growing potential with a 3-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen in the BayArena.
Leverkusen’s chances weren’t helped by Kevin Volland’s sixth-minute dismissal
against his former side. Boss Roger Schmidt was in hot water with the
authorities. For instructing Hoffenheim counterpart Julian Nagelsmann to "shut
your kisser," he was duly given a two-match stadium ban.
Dortmund’s difficulties continued as they drew 3-3 at lowly Ingolstadt and
needed a late goal from Pulisic to even rescue a point.
Matchday 9
& 10: Trebles galore
Matchdays 9 and 10 saw three more hat-trick heroes. First,
Anthony Modeste’s goalscoring prowess continued as he scored his first-ever
Bundesliga treble in 1. FC Köln’s 3-0 success over a hapless Hamburg. Hamburg
had now not even scored in seven successive matches. The job looked to be a poisoned
chalice for Gisdol.
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| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is top scorer so far, with 16 goals |
On the following weekend, Salomon Kalou put aside his
difficult start to the campaign that had seen him mourn the passing of two
family members. The Ivorian’s hat-trick helped Hertha BSC brush aside Borussia
Mönchengladbach 3-0. 24 hours later, Aubameyang (pictured) went one better as he scored
four of Dortmund’s five goals in their 5-2 destruction of Hamburg.
Bayern needed a Steven Zuber own goal to snatch a home draw
with Hoffenheim and that meant a 3-1 win over Mainz ensured RB Leipzig were now
only behind the champions on goal difference. Markus Kauczinski was fired by
Ingolstadt after a 2-0 home defeat to FC Augsburg. His miserable 10-game reign
at the helm brought back a paltry return of two points.
Matchday
11: New leaders
RB Leipzig played first on Matchday 11 and consequently had
the chance to go top for the first time in their short history. They should
have lost at Bayer Leverkusen. They trailed inside a minute to the fastest goal
of the season from Kevin Kampl and Hakan Calhanoglu had a chance to put the
hosts 3-1 ahead via the penalty spot. He missed and Leipzig show grit, resolve
and determination to storm back and win 3-2. Willi Orban’s 83rd
minute header put them top of the pile.
They stayed there too after Bayern lost ‘Der Klassiker’ to
Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Aubameyang settled the game with a goal
from close range inside the first quarter. It gave Dortmund their first win in
open play against their deadly rivals since 2013. All of a sudden, Bayern were
playing catch-up.
Maik Walpurgis was the surprise appointment at Ingolstadt
but he started well. A dipping volley by Moritz Hartmann was good enough for
their first win of the campaign away to Darmstadt. However, that goal was
outdone by a special free-kick from Marcel Risse in stoppage time to win the
Rhine Derby for 1. FC Köln against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Sadly, an ACL
injury a fortnight later has ended Risse’s campaign prematurely but he has made
his mark on this season.
Matchday
12 & 13: Timo tumbles
On Matchday 12, the top two both won. RB Leipzig crushed
Freiburg 4-1, whilst Mats Hummels got his first goal for Bayern as they were
fortunate to scrap a 2-1 home win over Bayer Leverkusen. Borussia Dortmund’s
domestic form continued to be a mixture of the brilliant and the bad. They
produced the latter in Frankfurt, losing in the Commerzbank-Arena for a second
successive season. Haris Seferovic scoring a rare goal in a 2-1 triumph for
Frankfurt who had quietly sneaked into the top four.
There was a milestone for Hertha BSC captain Vedad Ibisevic.
He reached the tally of 100 Bundesliga goals in the capital club’s 2-1 triumph
over Mainz, although a soft red card did follow for the Bosnian later on.
Hertha didn’t miss him though in Wolfsburg; winning a classic 3-2 at the
Volkswagen Arena on Matchday 13. Kalou scored a late winner from the penalty
spot.
A hard-working 3-1 win in Mainz saw Bayern temporarily
return to the top but Leipzig responded with their eighth successive win in
controversial circumstances against Schalke. Timo Werner tumbled in the penalty
area in the second minute and conned the referee into giving a penalty that he
would score. It was a black mark in what has been a very impressive campaign so
far for Werner in his new surroundings.
Matchday
14: Defences on top
Now when you get 9 matches and just 13 goals in these games,
it can be quite depressing for the neutral. Matchday 14 in the Bundesliga was a
hands-down victory for defenders over attackers. Five of the 13 goals came in
Munich where Bayern stuffed Wolfsburg 5-0. Lewandowski of course scored twice.
Speculation was growing over the future of Valerien Ismaël as Wolfsburg coach
but it was sporting director Klaus Allofs who paid the price for their dramatic
fall from grace. Bayern went back to the top as Leipzig slipped up at
Ingolstadt to suffer their first defeat of the season.
Darmstadt axed Norbert Meier as their head coach but they
couldn’t reverse their fortunes. They finished the year with eight successive
Bundesliga defeats; the latest being a 1-0 loss to Freiburg. By contrast,
Hamburg were finding some form. They were unbeaten in four after defeating
Augsburg 1-0. That was despite Lewis Holtby collecting the first red card of
his career for a swinging elbow.
Matchday
15 & 16: Advantage Bayern
Two more matchdays remained before the winter break and it
was now a straight fight for top spot between Bayern and Leipzig. Both teams
won on Matchday 15. RB Leipzig cruised past Hertha BSC 2-0, whilst Bayern
needed a stunning goal from Douglas Costa to beat a brave Darmstadt side. Hoffenheim remained unbeaten after an entertaining 2-2 draw with Borussia
Dortmund. Marco Reus picked up a red card but the home side couldn’t make the
most of the numerical advantage.
Augsburg sacked Dirk Schuster as they felt he wasn’t playing
‘attractive
football.’ It was a weird move but they did inflict defeat on Borussia
Mönchengladbach through a Martin Hinteregger header. It increased the pressure
heavily on André Schubert and he wouldn’t survive the chop. Defeat at home to
Wolfsburg four days later saw Schubert become the seventh manager to lose his
job this season already. Hecking will succeed him at the BORUSSIA-Park in the
New Year.
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| Xabi Alonso and Thiago both excelled in Bayern's 3-0 win over Leipzig |
It was all poised for the top of the table shootout between
Bayern and Leipzig in the Allianz Arena. In the end, the new boys got a lesson
off the champions. Thiago and Xabi Alonso (both pictured) scored early goals and Emil
Forsberg’s lunge on Philipp Lahm shortly afterwards saw the Swede receive his
marching orders. Lewandowski completed the scoring before half-time to ensure
it is Bayern who lead the table at the turn of the year. Nevertheless, Leipzig
is here to stay and look well set for a top-four finish at least.
So, plenty of drama and intrigue has taken place in the
2016/2017 Bundesliga season. Four weeks off now for all teams as they reset in
warm training camps after the festive period. The January transfer window also
could be one of the busiest for some seasons as the elite look to fightback
against the dark horses.
Bayern might be on top but their grip on the Meisterschale
this season is certainly not as strong as it has been in recent seasons.
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