Bayern Munich’s perfect start to the Bundesliga season has come to an end as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by bogey team Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Foals have been a thorn in Bayern’s side in recent years, and they needed a record-setting performance by Swiss international goalkeeper Yann Sommer to keep the free-scoring Bavarians at bay.
Bayern’s setback has allowed Union Berlin to pull level with the champions at the top of the table. Die Eisernen continued their impressive start to the season with a 6-1 smashing of newly promoted Schalke.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig and Bayern Leverkusen finally got off the mark this season, as did Borussia Dortmund’s brand new marksman.
Read on as SBOTOP breaks down the biggest takeaways from the latest round of Bundesliga fixtures.
Gladbach resurgence continues as Sommer stymies Bayern
Yann Sommer set a new Bundesliga record as he made 19 saves to help Borussia Monchengladbach get a 1-1 draw away to champions Bayern Munich.
After Marcus Thuram capitalised on a Dayot Upamecano error to put Gladbach 1-0 up before half-time, Sommer produced a number of Bundesliga 2022 highlights to preserve their lead as his goal was besieged by Bayern for most of the second half.
However, Sommer and Gladbach’s resistance was finally broken as Leroy Sane scored the equalising goal seven minutes from time.
Still, Sommer’s heroics saw Bayern’s perfect start to the season come to an end. He also ensured that Gladbach extended their unbeaten run to four games (two wins, two draws).
After two down seasons, Gladbach are looking much improved under new coach Daniel Farke. With Marcus Thuram getting back to his best after some injury issues and captain Lars Stindl still set to return, the Foals will be hoping to rediscover their old form and challenge for a top-four place once again.
Unbelievable Union Berlin keep going up
With Bayern held to a draw at home, Union Berlin tied the reigning champions with a league-best 10 points after they smashed newly promoted Schalke 6-1 at Veltins Arena.
Despite selling star striker Taiwo Awoniyi this summer, Union have hardly missed a beat, with the front two of Jordan Pefok and Sheraldo Becker starting the season in sensational form. Becker bagged a brace against Schalke to push his tally up to four goals – tied with Christopher Nkunku for the league lead. And Pefok had a pair of assists and is up to two goals and three assists on the season.
Head coach Urs Fischer has done a tremendous job in leading Union from promotion to the Bundesliga to challenging for a European place over the last two seasons despite their limited resources.
Union Berlin’s Bundesliga 2022 odds of them breaking into the top four are quite remote, but they have consistently defied the odds during their stay in the Bundesliga, and their early-season form is another reminder that you should not count them out by any means.
Leipzig, Leverkusen finally get first win of the season
After a disappointing start to the season, both RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen stopped the bleeding as they both got their first three points.
Leipzig beat Wolfsburg 2-0 thanks to a brace by star striker Christopher Nkunku. Meanwhile, previously pointless Leverkusen thumped previously unbeaten Mainz 3-0 in a match where they finished with just nine men.
Despite their somewhat disappointing start to the season, Leipzig should be pleased with Nkunku’s start to the campaign. The Frenchman already has four goals, which is tied with Union Berlin’s Sheraldo Becker for the Bundesliga lead. When Timo Werner gets back up to speed in the Bundesliga, the Red Bulls’ attack will be tough to stop.
On the other hand, Leverkusen still haven’t seen much production from their prolific striker, Patrik Schick, who had a breakout campaign with 24 goals last season. It’s still too early to panic about Schick’s lack of goals, but it’s clear that Leverkusen will need their top goal-getter going rise back up the standings.
Dortmund need new duo to deliver more
After their inexplicable collapse against Werder Bremen where they lost 3-2 at home despite being up 2-0 after 89 minutes, Borussia Dortmund bounced back with a 1-0 victory against Hertha Berlin.
Anthony Modeste and Salih Ozcan – who were both signed from Koln this summer – were both impressive. Modeste had his best outing to date for Dortmund as he had three shots and scored his first BVB goal, which Ozcan set up. And aside from his assist, Ozcan also hit the woodwork in his first appearance for the club.
Those two figure to be key players for Dortmund this season if they are to compete at the top of the Bundesliga table. BVB will need Modeste’s goals as Sebastien Haller recovers from his cancer. Meanwhile, Dortmund desperately need Ozcan to provide more steel in midfield alongside Jude Bellingham.
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