The goals were not as plentiful in Week 4 of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season, which ended with RB Leipzig atop the table and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund nipping at its heels.
[ BUNDESLIGA: Full schedule ]
It now falls to that trio to deal with the start of the UEFA Champions League group stage, as not one of the three was dealt an easy midweek match nor a welcoming return to the league next week.
There’s seemingly always one team in the Bundesliga who dips in league form during a Champions League or Europa League campaign, though the aforementioned trio normally navigates the mess.
So we figured given a relative lack of firepower at the weekend outside of Bayern’s rout at Arminia Bielefeld, we’d look to the week ahead for the six European teams.
Leipzig - home to Basaksehir (Tues); home to Hertha (Sat)
Dortmund - away to Lazio (Tues); home to Schalke (Sat)
Bayern - home to Atleti (Weds); home to Eintracht (Sat)
Gladbach - away to Inter (Weds); away to Mainz (Sat)
Leverkusen - home to Nice (Thurs); home to Augsburg (Mon)
Hoffenheim - home to Red Star (Thurs); away to Bremen (Sun)
Which brings us to Wolfsburg, who could not escape the qualifying playoffs and now will look to the Bundesliga as its rout back to Europe.
Their four draws to start the season are not an ideal way to stay near the top of the table. The goals need to find a way to their side of the scoreboard, but John Brooks and a loaded defensive unit have only conceded two so far.
Might a lack of European play give them a chance to really make a move into the top four? Will fourth-place Eintracht Frankfurt be the one to take advantage of no European play?
Americans Abroad
— Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna went the full 90 in a nice win at Hoffenheim, passing at 91 percent and putting two of his three shots on target. He registered a key pass but was hit with a “big chance missed” by SofaScore.
— Bayern’s wealth of defensive additions has young center back Chris Richards back out of the 18 in a 4-1 away win over Arminia Bielefeld.
— Stuttgart manager Pellegrino Matarazzo got another win as the visitors made the most of limited time with the ball in a surprise 2-0 win at Hertha Berlin.
— Tyler Adams went 90 minutes as Leipzig stayed top by beating Augsburg. The midfielder had two tackles and drew three foul on a 91-touch day.
— Werder Bremen’s Josh Sargent went 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw at Freiburg, winning 5-of-12 duels and drawing two fouls.
— John Brooks of Wolfsburg went 90 in a fourth-straight league draw, making seven clearances and hitting on 7-of-13 long balls.
— Eintracht Frankfurt’s Timothy Chandler was an unused sub in a 1-1 draw at Koln as was U.S. eligible Norwegian youth international Julian Ryerson in Union Berlin’s 1-1 draw at Schalke.
Player of the Week
There’s only one Thomas Muller, who had two goals and an assist to beat out Robert Lewandowski’s goal and two assists (He was aided by the potential tedium of giving Lewandowski POTW honors every darn week).
Muller at 31 has three goals and four assists through 353 minutes this season, a threat to build on his insane, record-breaking 8-goal, 21-assists 2019-20 campaign.
Müller and Lewandowski.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 17, 2020
The partnership that keeps on giving. pic.twitter.com/GX4mYvaSUu
Team of the Week
Kobel (Stuttgart)
Bender (Bayer)--Hummels (BVB)—Upamecano (Leipzig)—Kempf (Stuttgart)
Mascarell (Schalke)
Olmo (Leipzig) — Reus (BVB) — Kamada (Eintracht)
Muller (Bayern) — Lewandowski (Bayern)
- Mats Hummels deserves a shot for Player of the Week, hitting on 7-of-10 long balls as part of an 89 percent passing day that fronted five interceptions, two clearances, and an blocked shot as Dortmund won at Hoffenheim.
- Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt put together another huge day as an attacking midfielder, drawing four fouls while putting down not one, not two, not three, not four, but five key passes in a 1-1 draw at Koln.
- Schalke’s pointless season ended thanks in large part to Omar Mascarell’s magnificent passing day, highlighted by an assist to sub Goncalo Paciencia plus 7-of-9 duels won, three interceptions, and three tackles.
Matchday 4
Mainz 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Hoffenheim 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Augsburg 0-2 RB Leipzig
Hertha Berlin 0-2 Stuttgart
Freiburg 1-1 Werder Bremen
Arminia 1-4 Bayern Munich
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-1 Wolfsburg
Koln 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Schalke 1-1 Union Berlin
Matchday 5 schedule
Stuttgart v Koln -- 2:30 pm ET Oct. 23
RB Leipzig v Hertha Berlin -- 9:30 am ET Oct. 24
Mainz v Borussia Monchengladbach -- 9:30 am ET Oct. 24
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt -- 9:30 am ET Oct. 24
Union Berlin v Freiburg -- 9:30 am ET Oct. 24
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke -- 12:30 pm ET Oct. 24
Wolfsburg v Arminia -- 10:30 am ET Oct. 25
Werder Bremen v Hoffenheim -- 1 pm ET Oct. 25
Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg -- 3:30 pm ET Oct. 26