Even if Dortmund being pegged back by Hoffenheim was a bolt from the blue, their uneven performance was notFor most of the season, Jadon Sancho has befuddled all comers in the Bundesliga, catching opponents on the hop much as his Borussia Dortmund team has done. As evening drew into Nord-Rhine Westphalia on Saturday, he was left scratching his head at the end of an extraordinary afternoon, the majority of which he had spent looking as if he was walking on water.The English teenager had been outstanding, again (albeit after a few fairly quiet weeks, by his now lofty standards), and Hoffenheim hadn’t got near handling him. In the first half he sizzled down both flanks, scoring the opener from an...
Even when things are going well with Schalke, you’re only ever half-a-mile away from getting a punctureSometimes you start out with the idea of a refreshing weekend away in Berlin – and end up tired and nursing a headache. Schalke may have arrived in the capital for Friday’s weekend opener with Hertha full of “new dynamism and new self-confidence”, according to their coach Domenico Tedesco beforehand, but their aim of snaring a third successive Bundesliga win didn’t go to plan.Not only that, but the hangover will be felt for most of this week, and perhaps beyond. Tedesco could have few complaints over his side’s efforts, which backed his assessment of an upturn towards the output of his debut season. His...
Even if the result irked against Mönchengladbach, there was a feeling of optimism for the new man at Bayer LeverkusenIt was a victory that was “somewhat flattering,” as Kicker put it, and even Borussia Mönchengladbach’s coach Dieter Hecking admitted his side were “a bit lucky”. Yet all it ultimately meant was that Peter Bosz returned to coaching in the Bundesliga as he had left it just over 13 months ago – with defeat, as he took the reins at Bayer Leverkusen.It was rarely dull when the Dutchman was in charge at Borussia Dortmund, a short spell so out of kilter with current events that it’s almost as surreal as the extended period in which the leaders were glued to the...
Captain has come of age since returning from knee injury and proved his worth again with a vital winner against GladbachThe final goal scored in front of Borussia Dortmund’s “yellow wall” in 2018 was a vital and a fitting one. When Marco Reus slid in at the back post to knock in the winner against Borussia Mönchengladbach, it gave his team some valuable peace of mind at the end of a year that has finally given some to him.It all came together quite beautifully on Friday night. With the visitors occupying second place and having closed the gap at the top to six points with their midweek victory over Nürnberg and BVB’s loss at lowly Fortuna Düsseldorf, the pressure was...
The main issues arising after Bayern’s win over Leipzig were about possible incomings and outgoings, rather than the matchThe fare at the Allianz Arena was befitting the time of year, with the excitement around the occasion perhaps more gratifying than the content itself. “We’ve played much better this season and not won,” said Joshua Kimmich, “but in our situation, I would much rather take this.”A Bayern Munich midweek meeting with RB Leipzig almost has the feeling of a typical seasonal treat, with the lords of the manor and the upstarts meeting in this slot for the second time in three years – and as with that 3-0 win for the champions two years ago, this had its moments of raw...