Sebastien Haller’s summer switch to Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund was cruelly derailed when the striker diagnosed with cancer, but there was a sight for sore eyes when he took the pitch last week and scored a rapid-fire hat-trick.
Haller joined Die Schwarzgelben in July in a 31m Euros move from Ajax, where he scored 32 goals in 50 games, top scoring in the Dutch League and becoming the fastest player in history to score ten goals in the Champions League. And, after such a worrying start to his career in Germany, Dortmund fans were delighted to see that Haller has finished his treatment and that he was able to join his team-mates at their training camp in Marbella. His seven minute hat-trick against Basel showed that the 28 year old has lost none of his sharpness.
Haller came on as a second half substitute when Dortmund were 3-0 up and, single handed, he doubled the score. He opened his account with a clinically dispatched penalty on 81 minutes and had a tap-in on 86. His third was the best of the lot as he met a corner with a clever flick which deceived the Basel Keeper and rounded off a successful afternoon.
Fans worldwide will be watching Haller’s progress over the next few weeks as he will, hopefully, be writing some more Bundesliga 2023 news headlines with his exploits on the pitch; but who else should we look out for?
Jamal Musiala: FC Bayern
FC Bayern’s title challenge is nicely on track as they sit top of the pile on 34 points, four ahead of second placed SC Freiburg and, crucially, nine ahead of Borussia Dortmund. And, having waved goodbye to Robert Lewandowski in the summer, the Bavarians have seen a new world beater emerge in the form of Musiala. Yet to reach the grand old age of 20 he has scored 20 goals in 71 games for Die Bayern and has already earned 20 international caps.
Musiala was one of Germany’s shining stars in a difficult World Cup campaign and he is starting to stand out in the Bundesliga. Since transferring from Chelsea in 2019 he has grown year on year and he has the versatility in his play to delight any head coach. Able to play on either wing, in midfield or in a pocket just behind the striker he can be unplayable on his day, making intelligent runs with an electric turn of pace and mesmerising ball control. Musiala has the potential to dominate in Europe for years to come and Bayern will do all they can to keep hold of their newest prize asset.
The Bundesliga 2023 betting odds have Die Bayern nailed on to win the title and they start the second half of their campaign with a trip to Red Bull Leipzig on Friday. Their hosts are in third place and will hope to open up the race but they will have to somehow subdue Musiala to give themselves the best chance.
Randal Kolo Muani: Eintracht Frankfurt
With five league goals and nine assists in the first half of the campaign, Frankfurt’s 6ft 2in striker Randal Kolo Muani has won admiration throughout Germany and beyond. He impressed Didier Deschamps enough for the France head coach to call him up when Christopher Nkunku pulled out through injury, and he scored within 44 seconds when he came on the pitch during Les Bleus’ semi-final win over Morocco. He also played in the World Cup final against Argentina, winning a penalty and then converting his own spot-kick in the shootout.
He’s a strong unit, a handful for any defence to cope with and a great team player, and Kolo Muani set a new Bundesliga record by making nine assists in his first 13 games with Eintracht. He has also scored eight goals in all competitions and, when Frankfurt line up against bottom club Schalke on Saturday, I expect Kolo Muani to have quite an impact.
Vincenzo Grifo: SC Freiburg
The surprise package of this Bundesliga season, SC Freiburg are aiming to improve on last season’s sixth placed finish and, currently in second place, they are well on track. Head coach Christian Streich has put together a highly effective unit without a host of big name stars, but one player with a distinct swagger is 29 year old attacking midfielder Vincenzo Grifo. The Italian international scored a 20 minute hat-trick in Freiburg’s 4-1 destruction of top five rivals Union Berlin in their last game before the break, to make in nine for the season which puts him level with Musiala as fourth highest scorer in the league.
Freiburg open up with an away game to seventh placed Wolfsburg and, at SBOTOP odds of 2.67 to win, if they can pick up all three points with Grifo’s help then they will tighten their grip on second place.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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