Title Race We Hardly Knew Ye
It was announced today that the Premier League would return June 17 and just like that everyone forgot about the ol’ Bundesliga. No longer our only refuge in these barren times, everyone’s interest in the only game on television has evaporated, or at least returned to pre-COVID levels. We can now focus on what really matters about the Bundesliga such as “Which of these players will play for Liverpool next year?” and “Shouldn’t they just be grateful Liverpool wants to give them any money at all?”
I am doubting the commitment we saw from a lot of people two weeks ago. Is Florian Niederlechner really your cousin? How many of you truly beat up a teacher because they disrespected Paderborn? I have been lied to.
- TITLE RACE IS OVER
First, the bad news. Bayern are probably champions. That will make eighth in a row and it’s all going a bit Scotland now. Borussia Dortmund only have themselves to blame for this. The only goal of the game came from Joshua Kimmich’s 18 yard chip and Roman Bürki’s weak goalkeeping. If they had looked at the players acquired over the summer and were told Bayern would fire their coach and be starting a Canadian left back they would bite your hand off for it, yet here we are.
That Canadian, however, has smashed the perception of Canadian players from this point forward. Alphonso Davies has the whole world ahead of him right now. He might not even be playing in his best position, although I’m sure every winger that has been converted to a fullback has insisted that at first. Ashley Cole never would have become the world’s best left back had it been up to him. Watching Davies run down Erling Haaland when he was free on goal was incredible, and that’s to say nothing of all of his skills that go well beyond pure speed.
In any case, Dortmund now find themselves seven points adrift and it’ll take a miracle to close that gap now. There are renewed calls for Lucien Favre to go, and if he can’t get the better of Bayern when they’re in a rebuilding year with a squad this talented perhaps this isn’t the job for him. Who would come in next? Mauricio Pochettino? Erik ten Hag? Whatever the answer may be, that person shouldn’t be taking Julian Brandt off at halftime in the title decider.
- RB Leipzig Not All There Yet
Leipzig may have been flattered by their 5–0(and 13–0 on aggregate) destruction of Mainz Sunday. They were given a pretty hard time by a very resolute Hertha Berlin and only managed a 2–2 draw in a game where maximum points would have moved them ahead of Dortmund into second.
This is the sort of game you might have expected immediately after the restart as almost all the action came in the form of mistakes. Each team grabbed a goal off a corner which led to a strongly worded tirade about zonal marking from color commentator and former Australia international Mark Schwarzer who seemed to borrow the opinion from 20 years ago. In the 63rd minute, Marcel Halstenberg got himself sent off with a second yellow after a rash challenge on Matheus Cunha. As he walked off you heard the very bizarre smattering of applause that comes with a player being sent off in front of no one.
Despite this, something absolutely incomprehensible put Leipzig in the lead five minutes later. Konrad Lainer steals the ball high up the pitch and it is worked to Patrik Schick right at the top of the eighteen yard box. He drives it low and hard but Rune Jarstein gets down to make a fairly routine save. Then, in total control of the ball, Jarstein sort of flails his arms on the ground causing the ball to be thrown backward directly into his own net. If this happened to you in FIFA you would turn the game off. Unfortunately for Jarstein he had to just keep standing there.
Hertha were level again after an 82nd minute penalty from Krzysztof Piątek and they absolutely deserved the point and had it not been for calamitous goalkeeping, but as Dortmund would surely tell you, it could happen to anyone.
- Home Advantage Is Gone
Since the restart, only 5 of the 22 games have been won by the home team. I don’t know much about data, I don’t know how many games need to be played or what sort of control group we would need to say what percentage difference a friendly or hostile crowd makes, but it seems like anyone can win anywhere now. Bayer Leverkusen went away to Borussia Monchengladbach and got a big 3–1 road win last Saturday and then came back home Tuesday and lost 4–1 to Wolfsburg. It’s hard to imagine similar results under typical circumstances.
There are other complicating factors. It’s all very odd for everyone, there’s a lot of games happening quickly, injuries are up 250% because no one is properly match fit after nearly two months at home. It’s not nearly as much fun to watch these games without the atmosphere the fans provide, but knowing there are no foregone conclusions about who will win has been pretty good, too.
- Christoph Baumgartner — Man of the Midweek
The standout performance of the midweek fixtures was Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner and it was by some distance. The Austrian is only 20 and didn’t perform too well in the first two games back, but he really worked Köln over Wednesday. Two goals, an assist, and he drew the foul that led to Sebastiaan Bornauw’s 26th minute dismissal. It also led to Bornauw spitting in a very disgusting manner while walking off, sort of catching it in his hand, and then throwing it to the ground. This should lead to further disciplinary action not because of COVID-19 but because it was exceptionally disgusting.
The goals were good but the assist was the best thing to happen all week. Hold up play is not properly respected. Baumgartner receives the ball just inside the penalty area with his back to goal. Two defenders descend on him but he uses his strength the hold off Benno Schmitz until he can flick the ball behind him into the path of an onrushing Steven Zuber who drives it low and hard into the bottom right corner.
Baumgartner has been inconsistent this season, but that’s perfectly fine for a player his age. A few more performances like this though and he’ll be attracting plenty of attention from well beyond Hoffenheim.
