The Bundesliga continued: Week 1

       Boredom averted; football is back. It may take a while to familiarize ourselves with the eerily silent stadiums, substitutes two-metres apart and separate celebrations over the next month or so as football attempts to persevere under strict covid-19 restrictions. Yesterday, the Scottish Football Association announced the end of the league season after much thought, awarding Celtic the league title and relegating Heart of Midlothian. In England, Premier League clubs decided to return to training as of Tuesday 19^th May. Whilst British football slowly resurfaces, fans of the beautiful game found their fix of action on BT Sport in the form of the Bundesliga.

Germany became the first of Europe’s major leagues to return to action on Saturday afternoon. Over one million Britons tuned in to watch Borussia Dortmund sweep aside ‘Revierderby’ rivals FC Schalke 4-0. Both sides emerged from the recent hiatus rusty as the opening minutes played out, however it didn’t take long for Dortmund to brandish their superiority over their bitter rivals. Who else but Erling Haaland would tuck away the opening goal of the afternoon and the first the Bundesliga had seen in sixty-five days? After half an hour of play, a terrific first-time flick by youngster Julian Brandt set Thorgan Hazard free down the right wing who delivered an inch perfect cross for the oncoming Haaland in the box to despatch expertly. As the Norway international wheeled away in delight over his tenth Bundesliga goal in nine games, a few teammates raced over to join in with the celebrations, maintaining the advised two-metre gap of course. Borussia Dortmund had a foothold on the game, yet Schalke were architects of their own downfall in expanding the home side’s lead. With just one minute until half-time Haaland chased down the erratic goalkeeper Markus Schubert whose low clearance fell straight to Dahoud’s feet in the centre of the field. Dahoud found Brandt who held up play before laying off the perfectly weighted pass to Guerreiro who slammed the ball home at an angle, doubling his team’s advantage. Minutes after the restart Dortmund gave their rivals an impossible mountain to climb. Brandt was in the thick of the action yet again, as Schalke attempted to crawl their way back into the game, the home side struck on the counterattack. Brandt found Haaland in the middle of the park before receiving the ball back down the wing. One-on-one, Brandt charged down on Schalke’s goal. Thorgan Hazard quickly appeared in the picture wide-open on the right-hand side, Brandt threaded the ball through to his Belgian teammate and Hazard lashed in a low strike, giving Schubert no chance. Schalke created very little in the way of clear-cut chances and just beyond the hour mark the game was put to bed. Guerreiro with his second of the game, Haaland with the assist but again Julian Brandt was pivotal in the build-up. Brandt dribbled across the halfway line then spread the ball wide for Guerreiro. The left-back, thirsty for a second goal, made his way down the left wing then played the ball to Haaland on the edge of the box. Haaland bullied the defence, holding the ball up, then slipped it through to Guerreiro in bags of space. Guerreiro poked the ball home with the outside of his stronger left foot to cap off the perfect return to league action. Although Raphael Guerreiro took both his goals exceptionally well and Erling Haaland was his usual infuriating presence, it was Julian Brandt’s mesmerizing performance that caught my eye. 24-year-old Brandt was at the heart of everything for Dortmund. In a side overflowing with attacking options Brandt showed just why he found himself in the starting line-up over teammates Marco Reus and Jadon Sancho.

Almost 80,000 home supporters should have been on hand to create one of Europe’s most intimidating atmospheres. The silent Signal Iduna Park, face-masked substitutes and absence of physical contact in celebration almost went unnoticed once Dortmund’s attacking play style regained momentum. For 90 minutes the harsh reality of an ongoing killer pandemic was at the back of our minds. Whilst we all missed the daunting ‘Yellow Wall’ of Dortmund and the ever-enthusiastic German supporters, the only thing that mattered was that patch of grass, twenty-two individuals and the on thing we’ve all missed. A football.

Borussia Dortmund closed the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich to just one point with their derby-day victory. The one-point difference between the title challengers lasted just over twenty-four hours though as Bayern Munich headed back into action in the capital early Sunday evening. A 2-0 win at Union Berlin, courtesy of a Robert Lewandowski penalty and an 80^th minute Pavard header from a corner, retained their four-point cushion. Munich, chasing their 8^th title in a row, started off sluggish but soon dominated play. Victory was never in doubt, yet the champions looked like a shadow of their former selves. The Bayern Munich we watched carve Chelsea open (3-0 at Stamford Bridge) in late February were absent on Sunday evening.

Ordinarily there is a law prohibiting live matches from being broadcast in the U.K. between 2:15-5:15pm on Saturday afternoon. However, with the current situation, that law has been temporarily rescinded. Even the government wants their dose of weekly football it seems. BT Sport offered three 2:30pm kick offs on Saturday along with the late match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach. On Sunday a further two games were broadcast. FC Koln v Mainz in the afternoon followed by the early evening Bayern Munich @ Union Berlin fixture. After a two-month break from the world’s favourite past time, four games weren’t quite enough to settle my appetite. Thankfully, the Bundesliga had one more treat in store for us. Relegation battling Werder Bremen hosted Bayer Leverkusen on Monday night to round off an entertaining week back. Bremen, record holders for the most seasons participated in the Bundesliga, are looking down the barrel at their first relegation in over 40 years. If last night is anything to go by, Werder face an insurmountable task to maintain their Bundesliga status. Leverkusen wonderkid Kai Havertz put in a commendable performance with two first half headed goals to send Leverkusen on their way to a comfortable 4-1 victory at the Weserstadion. Leverkusen, just one-point off 4^th place, looked worthy of a Champions League spot in their dismantling display over Bremen. Similar to Dortmund’s play style, Leverkusen spread the ball around well, using the whole of the pitch to their advantage. Tricky winger Moussa Diaby tormented Bremen’s full backs with his pace as he notched two of his side’s assists. Havertz, initially lined up as the target man in 4-2-3-1 formation, floated all over the pitch as he threw in a man of the match performance. His first half double was followed up by a second half Mitchell Weiser header on the hour mark and a delicious chip by attacker Kerem Demirbay with a little over ten minutes remaining. With just eight points separating the top five in the division, the return of the Bundesliga promises to excite right down to the wire. Bremen find themselves 17^th, five points adrift from a relegation play-off spot with a game in hand on Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Sloppy play was a common theme amongst the majority of the weekend’s fixtures, (except for Monchengladbach, who went 1-0 up after 30 seconds), as players adjust to an unprecedented pause mid-season. Most sides found their footing however and the world was treated to efficient German football once again. Safety is the key factor as the Bundesliga hopes to complete its season in the coming weeks, but we can all agree that it’s return is a delightful distraction from the separation and suffering that 2020 has afflicted upon us.