The Bundesliga got underway this weekend and while it's early days, the focus this summer has been very much on the possibility of Borussia Dortmund ending Bayern Munich's run of league titles. Things couldn't have gone any better for Der BVB as they already have a two-point lead over their rivals. 

Bayern Munich 2-2 Hertha Berlin

Bayern began the defence of their Bundesliga crown with a home game against Hertha Berlin on Friday night.

They went ahead on 24 minutes when Robert Lewandowski stretched to meet a Serge Gnabry cross after a neat passing move. However, the home crowd were soon silenced with two goals in two minutes from Hertha.

The Berlin side launched a counter-attack before finding Dodi Lukebakio on the left. He cut inside before shooting from distance to level the game. Two minutes later and Hertha were ahead as Vedad Ibisevic put Marko Grujic clear and he rounded the keeper before scoring.

Bayern dominated possession and had 17 shots on goal but they could only manage to get a point from the game when Lewandowski grabbed his second from the penalty spot after he was brought down inside the box. The referee initially played on but VAR had a word and after a brief pause, he gave the penalty which the Polish striker converted to earn a draw for the champions.

Werder Bremen 1-3 Fortuna Dusseldorf

Fortuna Dusseldorf got their campaign off to a dream start with an excellent 3-1 win away to Werder Bremen.

Rouwen Hennings got the away side ahead with a cool finish after a cutback from Kenan Karaman. Werder levelled shortly after half-time when Johannes Eggestein met Milot Rashica’s cross with a diving header.

However, Fortuna wasn’t going to be denied and regained the lead when a powerful strike from Karaman found it’s way into the goal. The points were secured 12 minutes later when Kaan Ayhan rose highest at a corner to head home Fortuna’s third of the day.

Borussia Dortmund 5-1 Augsburg

Borussia Dortmund came from behind to complete an emphatic win at home to Augsburg.

Florian Niederlechner opened the scoring after just 21 seconds for the visitors, only for Paco Alcacer to level two minutes later. Despite dominating the rest of the half, Dortmund had to wait until the 51st minute to take the lead as Jadon Sancho found the bottom corner with a drilled effort.

Two goals in two minutes from Marco Reus and Alcacer gave the hosts a 4-1 lead after an hour. Substitute, Julian Brandt rounded off the scoring in the 82nd minute, scoring on his debut with a sweet volley from six yards out having been found by Axel Witsel.

Freiburg 3-0 Mainz

Mainz's Bundesliga campaign began with defeat after going down 3-0 at SC Freiburg.

The game looked to be heading for a goalless draw until a trio of goals in the final 10 minutes sealed three points for the hosts at the Schwarzwald-Stadion.

Lucas Holer pounced on a defensive error for 1-0 and six minutes later it was three. Jonathan Schmid made it 2-0, before a second goal in a week by Luca Waldschmidt from the penalty spot finished off the scoring three minutes from time. 

Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Paderborn

Bayer Leverkusen were made to work hard for the three points by Bundesliga new boys Paderborn.

Leon Bailey gave the hosts the lead on 10 minutes when he tapped home from a Kevin Volland pass but the lead only lasted five minutes before Sven Michel equalised after pouncing on a loose ball in the Bayer defence.

The hosts were back in front four minutes later when Kai Havertz neatly finished off a through ball from Julian Baumgartlinger. Yet again Paderborn didn’t take it lying down and equalised on 25 minutes through Streli Mamba who reacted quickest in a goalmouth scramble.

Bayer dominated possession and got the result their performance deserved when Volland tapped in a Wendell cross on 69 minutes to ensure they won this five-goal thriller.

Wolfsburg 2-1 FC Koln

Wolfsburg got their season off to a winning start with a hard-earned 2-1 win over FC Koln who are back in the top flight after winning 2.Bundesliga last season.

Maximilian Arnold gave Wolfsburg the lead in the 16th minute when he expertly volleyed a clearance into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

The hosts doubled their lead on 60 minutes when Xaver Schlager found Wout Weghorst who managed to get behind his defender before slotting home past the onrushing goalkeeper.

Despite playing quite well, Koln were unable to get anything more than a late consolation goal. A long ball was misread by the Wolfsburg defence and Simon Terodde was able to finish but it was too little too late for the visitors.

Borussia Monchengladbach 0-0 Schalke

Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke played out a 0-0 draw at Borussia-Park on Saturday evening. 

The first half was a tight, tense affair but after the break, the hosts took control and will feel like they maybe should have got the three points. 

They had 60% possession and twice as many shots as their opponents but the Schalke rearguard held firm to take a point from a side that they will be hoping to compete with for European football next season. 

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Hoffenheim

Adi Hutter’s Eintracht Frankfurt found success in their first Bundesliga match of the season against TSG Hoffenheim.

After playing on loan at the Eagles last season from Augsburg, Martin Hinteregger grabbed his first goal after signing a permanent deal in the first minute of play. Just 30 seconds in, he found himself unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box after a Filip Kostic corner and his volleyed effort bounced into the back of Oliver Baumann’s net.

Frankfurt were overall the better side, and their lead was left untouched by the Hoffenheim side for the rest of the game, only being threatened on a handful of occasions

Union Berlin 0-4 RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig ran out comfortable winners in Berlin on Union's Bundesliga debut. 

Marcel Halstenberg opened the scoring on 16 minutes when he curled home after a pass from Marcel Sabitzer. Halstenberg returned the favour on 31 minutes when his pass found Sabitzer on the edge of the box and he struck his shot into the top corner. 

Timo Werner struck to make it 3-0 on 42 minutes when he hammered home after a lay off from Sabitzer. In the second half, Sabitzer got his third assist of the game when he nodded a header across goal for Christopher Nkunku to tap in to complete the scoring for Leipzig. 

Contributors

Bayern Munich vs Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen vs Paderborn, Wolfsburg vs Koln, Werder Bremen vs Fortuna Dusseldorf, Borussia Monchengladbach vs Schalke, Union Berlin vs RB Leipzig - Gerry Johnston

Borussia Dortmund vs Augsburg - Ciaran Wiseman

Freiburg vs Mainz - Craig Bratt

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Hoffenheim - Adam Millington

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