Matchday 6

Featured Game – Freiburg 3-0 Augsburg

It was an emotional night in the Black Forest when Freiburg entertained Augsburg on matchday six in the Bundesliga, as it was to be the hosts’ final game at their home stadium of 67 years. That is a long time to be in one place, and there are bundles of history attached to the Dreisamstadion for Freiburg. However, a testament to the vast expanse of time they been there is the fact that the ground no longer met modern standards: the pitch is too small, and the goal at one end is nearly a metre higher than the one at the other. This issue has been at the forefront of the minds of the club hierarchy for some time now, but renovating the Dreisamstadion to bring it up to modern requirements would have been a lengthy process and almost just as expensive as building a new stadium entirely. So that is what they did. The team plan to move into their new home, the SC-Stadion, in the near future. It can hold an increased number of supporters – 34,700 up from 24,000 – and should give an exciting new era feel for all those inside. The end of the old one was not quite over yet when Augsburg came to town though, and the Freiburg players were keen to make sure that it was a send-off to remember.

Continue reading

Matchday 5

Featured Game – Wolfsburg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

It was not just the Frankfurt fans rooting for an away win in Wolfsburg on Matchday five, with the other title challengers hoping that the so-far faultless hosts would drop their first points of the new campaign. The Wolves had been typically dogged in defence in the opening games, conceding only once in four. They had done just enough going the other way to create goals of their own, despite not being absolutely prolific. However, a mix of the two had found the vital winning formula up to this point and it would take a particularly well-prepared side to be able to land a blow on the early league leaders.

Continue reading

Matchday 4

Featured Game – RB Leipzig 1-4 Bayern München

It may still be early in the season, but a clash between the top two from the last Bundesliga campaign was never going to be uneventful. There was much riding on the contest: for RB Leipzig a chance to get one over the side they are hunting down in the pursuit of their first ever German title, while visitors Bayern would have wanted to simply keep their challengers at arm’s length. Past meetings between the two have often gone the way of the Rekordmeister. However, that is not saying much considering the case is the same for every other German side Bayern München have faced. Nevertheless, this match at home in front of the Red Bulls’ fans was a great opportunity to try and turn the tide for Leipzig.

Continue reading

Matchday 3

Featured Game – Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Hoffenheim

Three games down, only 31 left to play. The 2021/22 Bundesliga is very much still in its early stages, but that does not mean there is a lack of entertainment. The goals flowed on Matchday three – 32 across nine games – and it all began with a cracker under the Friday night floodlights at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund. Hoffenheim were in town and, rather peculiarly, sat above their hosts in the table. Although, trying to read anything into the league standings at this stage would be a task almost certainly in vain, and Borussia did not lack incentive to take care of their visitors after defeat last time out away to Freiburg. Nevertheless, this game was never going to be one-sided. Hoffenheim are a team capable of giving anyone a run for their money on their day, as they proved last year at the same ground, demolishing their Black and Yellow opponents 4-0. Andrej Kramaric netted all four that day, but the Hoffenheim talisman is yet to get off the mark this campaign. No better time to do it than against Dortmund again.

Continue reading