The Bundesliga made quite the return on Friday with the opening game of the season being a somewhat huge clash between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.
The latter underwent a sporadic season last time out, often failing to find any sort of consistency or form in either winning or losing; hence we didn’t know what to truly expect from Friday’s clash with out only hint being Bayern’s status as the favourites.
Bayern were nearly given a run for their money, with Leverkusen retaining a similar level of possession and chance creation, but in the end, Carlo Ancelotti’s men’s cutting-edge finishing proved to be the difference on the night as Bayern won 3-1.
New signing Niklas Sule began life at the Allianz Arena with a goal which put Bayern in front in the 9th-minute.
Another new signing, Corentin Tolisso bagged the Bavarians’ second goal in the 19th-minute, and the scores remained at 2-0 up until early in the second half when Robert Lewandowski stepped up to convert a penalty.
Admir Mehmedi went on to score what proved to be a consolation goal for Leverkusen.
The Bundesliga campaign really kicked off on Saturday with eight teams going head to head, but it’s worth noting that this weekend was full of one-sided results.
Hamburger SV welcomed Augsburg to the Volksparkstadion looking to start the season on a high note and avoid a repeat of last season’s relegation scrap.
It turned out to be an entertaining affair with both sides going at each other from the onset, but it was Hamburg who pulled through with the win courtesy of an 8th-minute goal from Nicolai Muller.
Despite retaining most of the possession, Augsburg failed to get into goalscoring positions, whilst Hamburg were clinical in front of goal at every opportunity.
Hertha Berlin secured a 2-0 victory over Stuttgart as they looked to begin their push for a European place on the Bundesliga league table.
The home side were helped by a brace from Matthew Leckie who bagged both goals in the second half to give his team the much-needed three points. It was a fairly even encounter, but the precise nature of Hertha’s attacks was enough to grant them the win.
Despite succumbing to a defeat to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier, Hoffenheim returned to the Bundesliga in good form as they secured a 1-0 win against the usually free-scoring Werder Bremen courtesy of a goal from one of their main men from last season, Andrej Kramaric.
The scoreline is an unfair representation of the result given Hoffenheim were obviously a class above Bremen.
Fans at the Opel Arena were treated to a disappointing sight as Hannover 96 secured a 1-0 win away at Mainz.
Hannover sneaked a win in the 73rd-minute courtesy of a goal from Martin Harnik thus giving themselves something to build on as the season progresses.
Wolfsburg’s woes from last season somehow found their way to this term as die Wolfe succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Goals from Christian Pulisic, Marc Bartra and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped Dortmund to the win against a side that narrowly escaped relegation last season; it remains to be seen if they will beat the drop once again.
Elsewhere, in arguably the most shocking result of the weekend, RB Leipzig were beaten 2-0 away at the Veltins Arena.
Following Leipzig’s title challenge last season, they were expected to launch another title bid, but following their opening day performance, and the fact that Bayern secured a comfortable win, they’ll have to work hard to get back on track.
Former Tottenham man Nabil Bentaleb opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Konoplyanka sealed the win for Schalke.
Freiburg and Frankfurt played out a goalless draw whilst Borussia Monchengladbach grabbed a slender 1-0 win over Cologne thanks to Nico Elvedi’s 49th-minute strike.
