By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Matchday 2 of the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season will go down
as one of the most exciting of recent times. As the season progresses, it is
unlikely you will find so many stories of marvellous matches, glorious goals
and super substitutes.
The entertaining action was concluded by a fabulous match in
Mainz where the hosts and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim played out one of the best games
for a long time in the German top-flight.
Madness
and brilliance in Mainz
There are high hopes for a strong season at Mainz. Last
season’s sixth-place finish included fine home wins over Bayer 04 Leverkusen
and FC Schalke 04, plus being the only team to beat champions FC Bayern München
in their own backyard.
Martin Schmidt has built a strong reputation, but so has
his counterpart Julian Nagelsmann – the youngest coach in the Bundesliga. When
Mainz and Hoffenheim usually meet – goals are a guarantee. There were nine
goals in the two matches between the teams last term, including a Yunus Malli
hat-trick on Matchday 5.
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| Pablo de Blasis scored twice in an eight-goal thriller at the Coface Arena |
That trend was destined to continue from the moment Pablo de
Blasis (pictured) headed the home side infront inside of three minutes. De Blasis, one of
the league’s smallest players scored twice as Hoffenheim couldn’t deal with his
movement.
Further goals from debutant Levin Öztunali and Jhon Cordoba
had Schmidt’s side cruising at the interval. Some brilliant football had Mainz
4-1 ahead at half-time. Few at the Coface Arena could have predicted the
amazing turnaround from the visitors in the second half.
They were helped by Gaëtan Bussmann’s red card but even with
20 minutes to go, there was no change in the scoreline. Hoffenheim are made of
sterner stuff nowadays and they have a wealth of options in attack too. Mark
Uth scored a quick-fire double and then with six minutes left, the forgotten
man of the Bundesliga, Adam Szalai struck to rescue an unlikely point in a mad
and marvellous contest.
It was Szalai’s first league goal since striking against
Eintracht Frankfurt in December 2014. What a time for him to end the drought.
Both teams should do well this season but will need to improve their defending
capabilities in upcoming matches to fulfil potential goals of challenging for
European qualifying positions.
Szalai might have made his point from the bench but it was
nowhere near as pivotal as that of Joel Pohjanpalo. The 21-year-old Finnish international
was sent onto the field of play with 18 minutes left of Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s
home game with Hamburger SV. What happened next is a 10-minute period he will
never forget.
Pohjanpalo’s
11-minute masterclass
Leverkusen were having a tough afternoon. They lost Karim
Bellarabi inside the first 10 seconds of the game as he crumbled to the ground
with a groin injury that is likely to rule him out for two months. Later, Bobby
Wood gave Hamburg a deserved lead on the hour mark. It felt like Pohjanpalo’s
introduction was a final act of desperation for Roger Schmidt.
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| Pohjanpalo made a telling contribution from the bench for Leverkusen |
Desperate or masterful – whatever you look it, the
substitution worked wonders. Pohjanpalo (pictured) knocked in Julian Brandt’s cross in the
79th minute to level the scores. Then in stoppage time, he crashed
home an unstoppable effort which broke Hamburg’s resolve. Seconds later, Javier
Hernandez played him in to complete an 11-minute hat-trick. Leverkusen won 3-1
and Pohjanpalo has now scored all of their goals this season.
Wolfsburg were hoping for the same impact from Mario Gomez
as he made his debut for the club after signing last month from Fiorentina.
He looked short of fitness and his team short of ideas as
they were held to a 0-0 draw by 1. FC Köln in a forgettable contest.
Dortmund
downed by Leipzig
It was a weekend of late drama in the Bundesliga and more of
that happened on Saturday evening as newcomers RB Leipzig stunned Borussia
Dortmund in their first match at this level on home soil.
Scottish international Oliver Burke – a £13m signing from
Nottingham Forest towards the end of the transfer window made an immediate
impact for his new team.
He set-up Naby Keita for an 88th minute winner
that saw the Red Bull Arena erupt in sheer delight. Leipzig might not be the
most popular of clubs but they are doing things their way and on this evidence,
will have high hopes for the season ahead.
For Thomas Tuchel, he looked worried and rightly so.
Dortmund never looked at their best and struggled to breakdown a resolute Leipzig
backline. They are already playing catch-up and only two matches are gone.
Last season, Dortmund’s form in the second half of last
season was very impressive, only losing once after Christmas and that was in
the penultimate round of games against Eintracht Frankfurt. They lost a shot at
the title with costly points dropped away to Hoffenheim and at home to
Darmstadt, along with a nightmare night in Hamburg. They can’t afford to do
this again – as FC Bayern München don't drop many points if recent seasons are to go by.
Dortmund are already three points behind them after Bayern
opened Matchday 2’s business with a clinical display in Gelsenkirchen. FC
Schalke 04 worked hard throughout and gave Bayern a better contest after their
rout of SV Werder Bremen on Matchday 1. Ultimately though, they didn’t have the
quality to trouble the champions.
Robert Lewandowski has already started this season doing
what he usually does – scoring freely. He already has four goals in two outings
after his strike in the VELTINS-Arena on Friday night. He then teed up Joshua
Kimmich for his first-ever Bundesliga goal to cap off another fine individual
display.
The 2-0 defeat leaves Schalke in the bottom two and without
a point or goal to their name. Only SV Werder Bremen are below them after a
damaging 2-1 home defeat to FC Augsburg on Sunday afternoon. Two games in and
already, the alarm bells will be surrounding the Weser-Stadion. They’ve conceded eight goals and without the injured Max Kruse and Claudio Pizarro,
seem to have lost the firepower upfront too. It looks like being a long autumn and
winter for Bremen coach Viktor Skrypnyk.
Two games in and the champions are top and have already seen
all of their potential challengers lose at least once. It would be wrong to say
any title race is already over in the Bundesliga – there is still a ridiculously
long way to go. However, the signs are ominous already for the rest of the
competition. Stopping FC Bayern München towards a fifth successive German title
will be mighty difficult.
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