The Bundesliga returned to screens this weekend, kickstarting the race to stop Bayern Munich’s quest for a eighth-straight league title.
The leaders kept up their winning ways, but Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach each made statements of intent in the fight for first while Bayer Leverkusen kept their slim hopes alive and RB Leipzig took a step back.
It was a fun weekend, albeit with an eerieness befitting what they call “ghost games” in Germany.
[ JPW: What did we learn from Bundesliga restart? ]
There was lots of entertainment and not much to dislike aside from American teenager Giovanni Reyna picking up an injury in warming up for his first Bundesliga start.
Remember: If you’re new to Germany’s top-flight, here’s a guide to help you pick a club to support.
Also, you can check out the full schedule, standings and find out how to watch the action, while we will have you covered right here on ProSoccerTalk with analysis, reaction and more.
[ MORE: How USMNT stars fared in Bundesliga returns ]
Now onto the spin around the league.
Havertz shines, makes history in front of a focused audience
There was only one match Monday, and fans across the world were trained on the Weserstadion. Most will have wondered about 20-year-old Bayer Leverkusen striker Kai Havertz, who has been linked with seemingly every big club under the sun.
Despite playing out-of-position at center forward, Havertz did not disappoint in the least (though he was helped by Bremen’s porous back line). A pair of well-directed headed goals in a six-minute first-half span put Bayer en route to a 4-1 win, making him the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score 30 goals.
The 6-foot-2 attacking midfielder had a slow start to the season after scoring 17 times last year, but he’s humming along now.
He’s now scored 40 times with 30 assists in 140 senior appearances, including nine goals and seven assists since Germany returned from Winterpause to kick off calendar year 2020. Havertz may start the next calendar year in the Premier League (though he may prefer Bayern Munich).
Hertha Berlin rises up
Sitting 16th when the calendar hit December, Hertha is now eight points clear of the relegation picture and a point ahead of rivals Union Berlin ahead of this Friday’s Berlin Derby.
The visitors won 3-0 away to Hoffenheim in keeping what’s only their second clean sheet of 2020. Led by hard-charging forward Vedad Ibisevic, Hertha played the role of enforcers and kept Hoffenheim on edge. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t supposed to be as Hertha committed 17 fouls and unleashed 77 long balls.
If that’s what it’s going to take to get the ambitious capital club to another transfer window and a chance to reboot the club, well, Hertha may have to consider that. There are still a lot of tough fixtures on the schedule and it may take grit to keep it sound.
Hertha’s on its third manager of the season in Bruno Labbadia, who debuted with a win. He’s been around the block in German football, and the 54-year-old set his side up for success.
Great in defeat
Austrian busybody Florian Grillitsch was a monster in the middle of the park during Hoffenheim’s 3-0 loss to Hertha Berlin.
Grillitsch made six tackles, three interceptions, and won 13 of 17 duels while completing all three dribbles and passing at 93 percent. He also drew four fouls and registered a key pass. He won’t have loved coming up short on charging to fill space on Hertha’s third goal, but the match was out-of-hand at that point.
Player of the Week
Dominating a Revierderby while showing so little rust is impressive enough that Dortmund had a lot of candidates for the Best XI. One man stood out from the pack.
Julian Brandt had two assists and three key passes in Dortmund’s four-star win, playing his first match since turning 24 earlier this month. Five tackles and perfect in take-ons, Brandt and Thorgan Hazard were wonderful underneath Erling Haaland.
This flick for the hockey assist... come on! Amazing burst by Haaland to finish, too.
ERLING. HAALAND.@BlackYellow are up and running in the #Revierderby! pic.twitter.com/Qw45hW1DVw
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 16, 2020
BEST XI
Schwolow (Freiburg)
Mbabu (Wolfsburg) -- Bensebaini (Gladbach) -- Pavard (Bayern) -- Guerreiro (Dortmund)
Kimmich (Bayern)
Brandt (Dortmund)* -- Havertz (Bayer) -- Diaby (Bayer)
Haaland (Dortmund) -- Ibisevic (Hertha)
Notes
- Havertz, as mentioned, played center forward but he’s an attacking mid or No. 10 at his best and looking at a 4-2-2-2 above was playing tricks on the eyes.
- Alexander Schwolow made seven saves as Freiburg took a point from a 1-1 draw at RB Leipzig.
- Mbabu, Bensebaini, Pavard, and Guerreiro are all right-side, or were this week, but two have plenty of CB experience so we’re cool with it.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
SCORES
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Schalke -- RECAP, VIDEO
Union Berlin 0-2 Bayern Munich -- RECAP, VIDEO
RB Leipzig 1-1 Freiburg -- RECAP, VIDEO
Koln 2-2 Mainz -- RECAP, VIDEO
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-3 Borussia Monchengladbach -- RECAP, VIDEO
Hoffenheim 0-3 Hertha Berlin -- RECAP, VIDEO
Augsburg 1-2 Wolfsburg -- RECAP
Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-0 Paderborn -- RECAP
NEXT WEEK
Hertha Berlin v. Union Berlin -- 2:30 p.m. ET Friday
Freiburg v. Werder Bremen -- 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday
Paderborn v. Hoffenheim -- 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday
Wolfsburg v. Borussia Dortmund -- 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday
Borussia Monchengladbach v. Bayer Leverkusen -- 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday
Bayern Munich v. Eintracht Frankfurt -- 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday
Schalke v. Augsburg -- 7:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Mainz v. RB Leipzig -- 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Koln v. Fortuna Dusseldorf -- Noon ET Sunday
STANDINGS
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Bayern Munich | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 75 | 26 | 49 | 9-2-2 | 9-2-2 | 58 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 33 | 39 | 10-3-0 | 6-3-4 | 54 |
| Mönchengladbach | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 52 | 31 | 21 | 9-2-2 | 7-2-4 | 52 |
| RB Leipzig | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 63 | 27 | 36 | 7-5-1 | 7-4-2 | 51 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 31 | 18 | 7-4-2 | 8-1-4 | 50 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 31 | 5 | 4-6-3 | 6-3-4 | 39 |
| SC Freiburg | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 36 | -1 | 6-2-4 | 4-5-5 | 37 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 33 | 40 | -7 | 5-6-2 | 4-4-5 | 37 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 46 | -11 | 5-1-8 | 5-4-3 | 35 |
| 1. FC Köln | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 41 | 47 | -6 | 6-2-5 | 4-1-8 | 33 |
| Hertha BSC Berlin | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 35 | 48 | -13 | 3-3-7 | 5-4-4 | 31 |
| 1. FC Union Berlin | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 32 | 43 | -11 | 6-1-6 | 3-2-8 | 30 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 25 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 39 | 44 | -5 | 6-3-4 | 2-1-9 | 28 |
| FC Augsburg | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 37 | 54 | -17 | 5-3-5 | 2-3-8 | 27 |
| FSV Mainz 05 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 36 | 55 | -19 | 4-2-7 | 4-1-8 | 27 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 27 | 50 | -23 | 3-4-6 | 2-4-7 | 23 |
| Werder Bremen | 25 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 59 | -31 | 1-2-9 | 3-4-6 | 18 |
| SC Paderborn | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 30 | 54 | -24 | 2-1-10 | 2-4-7 | 17 |