Bayern Munich might win their 11th title in a row, but between now and then we can enjoy another fascinating season
Meet the new boss, just like the old boss. Though the opening weekend of the Bundesliga had its familiar themes and outcomes, it most definitely had a story to tell. Some will tut or shrug, but they shouldnât. âYou donât go to the theatre because youâre wondering how the swan from Swan Lake will turn out,â as SÃŒddeutsche Zeitungâs Martin Schneider put it.
Letâs start with what the world most expected, or at least feared. Bayern Munich began 2022-23 like a hurricane, not so much pulling back the curtain to the campaign on Friday night at Eintracht Frankfurt as tearing it off and discarding it. Even a flickering thought that the champions might struggle to find their attacking feet without the departed Robert Lewandowski was quickly extinguished. Julian Nagelsmannâs team were ferocious, with Sadio Mané immediately fitting into the vertical onslaught. It was clear from the coachâs celebrations on the touchline just how thrilled he was by his teamâs front-foot manner.
Forty-two minutes into the new season and Bayern already led 5-0 at the home of their shell-shocked hosts, all the hostility of the renowned Deutsche Bank Park no match for the champs in belligerent mood. Moaning about the same old Bayern is to ignore the actual content â this may have been largely one-sided but it was also thrilling. Mané, Serge Gnabry and Thomas MÃŒller are already clicking, and Jamal Musiala was again outstanding. Without Lewandowski different ways must be found. Joshua Kimmich had plenty of targets as he lined up a fifth-minute free-kick. In the event he ignored them all and bent the ball around the wall and into the corner of the net, blindsiding Kevin Trapp. He was one of five different goalscorers on the night.
This was chastening for Eintracht but they actually got off lightly. They could and should have conceded double figures, but the visitors hit the woodwork three times and MÃŒller fluffed an almost-unmissable chance at the apex of the first-half goal avalanche. After the match MÃŒller said with shrug: âHow can I put it? Itâs probably doing the rounds on the internet already.â
Fortunately for his fears of instant digital infamy, itâs difficult to fit a miss into a 90-second highlight package that already features seven goals. The MÃŒller fumble was this Friday-night frightener for Frankfurt in a nutshell. Bayern could afford more than a few moments of profligacy, not least when Manuel Neuer wandered from his goal and stumbled over the ball to present THE debutant substitute Randal Kolo Muani with a scarcely consoling consolation goal. Oliver Glasnerâs Europa League winners might normally expect it to get easier from here, except they now travel to Helsinki for the Uefa Super Cup meeting with Real Madrid on Wednesday. So maybe it gets easier from next week, even if they face the possibility of losing Filip Kostic to Juventus before then.
Six hours north and less than a day later, Union Berlin were climbing their own mountain â perhaps with an even more acute incline, given their comparative resources. As Bayern had lost Lewandowski, the team from Köpenick were putting their best foot forward without Taiwo Awoniyi, their top scorer from last season, their top scorer of all-time in the top flight, and whose 15 Bundesliga goals last term included one on the final day which confirmed Unionâs qualification for the Europa League.
Like Bayern, Union also handled the loss of their main source of goals â and on the biggest of stages, in the Berlin derby. Jordan Siebatcheu, having fished his new team out of trouble in the DfB Pokal at fourth-tier Chemnitzer last week, pitched for full hero-status with a smart near-post header from Sheraldo Beckerâs cross, with Becker then scoring a stylish second â the Dutchman will be asked to step up post-Awoniyi. Robin Knocheâs header meant Union were home and hosed way before Dodi Lukebakioâs late consolation.
This gave Union a fourth derby win in a row, with any gentle early-season optimism for Hertha now punctured â this comprehensive defeat represented a miserable follow-up to last weekâs Pokal exit at Eintracht Braunschweig, in which they squandered an early two-goal lead. Union finished 24 points clear of Hertha last season, arriving into European competition â in which they will play their home fixtures at Herthaâs Olympiastadion â for a second successive season, albeit a tier up this time around. Their city rivals face a long road back to relevance.
The manner, though, is all important for Union, underlining the raising of standards and expectations â they are not content merely to rule the capital. The sporting director, Oliver Ruhnert, and coach Urs Fischer both had harsh words to say to their team after recent performances, and that was still in mind even after victory. âFor me, the reaction was almost more important than the win,â Fischer said. âWe demanded it and expected it from ourselves after the cup match.â
Even if some of the Bundesligaâs signposts are in the same place, the route is going to be different this year. It promises us plenty to enjoy.
Borussia Dortmund began their campaign with a not-always-comfortable win against Leverkusen. Considering they conceded the quickest goal in Bundesliga history to Karim Bellarabi in the same fixture on the opening day in 2014, puncturing their seasonâs hopes nine seconds in, a victory offered by Marco Reusâs goal wasnât bad at all, even if they had to dig in late on â and the goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, one of last seasonâs standouts, had to excel again. âThe most important thing,â the returning coach Edin TerziÄ said, âis we defended with everything weâve got.â If you canât have total security, you can at least have full engagement.
Perhaps more concerning is the worry of last seasonâs injury misery following BVB into this term. With Niklas SÃŒle already sidelined, Karim Adeyemi was withdrawn in the first half after a bright opening. Meanwhile the club seem to have found their replacement for the unwell Sébastien Haller, with Kölnâs Anthony Modeste poised to join this week on the back of his redemption season in the cathedral city. Itâs expensive for a short-term fix, with reports of a â¬5m fee and a â¬6m wage on a one-year deal, but Modesteâs physical profile and familiarity with the Bundesliga has swung it.
Leipzig arguably looked in even greater need of a striker as they frittered away a series of chances at Stuttgart after Christopher Nkunkuâs opener, with Naouirou Ahamadaâs stylish and maiden Bundesliga goal earning the hosts a point. Timo Wernerâs impending return to the club from Chelsea on a permanent deal should remedy some of the issues, and indicates the growing ambition of the club.
Finally, three cheers for Daniel Farke, who followed a week in which Borussia Mönchengladbach won 9-1 at Oberachern in the Pokal and inked Alassane Pléa to a new deal, by guiding his new team to an opening-day win against Hoffenheim. Pléa was excellent and provided two assists.