Hertha Berlin maintain bragging rights
Union Berlin may be hot on their heels – 18 months after securing their first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga – but Hertha still have the edge in the capital (for now at least).
The perennial mid-table side, who pipped Union on goal difference last season, had a ready-made derby hero in Krzysztof Piatek who came off the bench to score twice and register his first Bundesliga brace.
Granted, who knows what would have happened in the Olympiastadion had Union not been reduced to 10 men for a high challenge by Robert Andrich, just three minutes after they took a lead.
They still led at the break but Hertha – who had the worst home record in the division before kick-off – were rescued by Piatek who has now scored five of his seven goals in the German top flight as a substitute.
Despite producing more Bundesliga clubs than any other city, only six matches have ever been played between capital clubs in the top flight.
In January 1990, just two months after the Berlin Wall was torn down, more than 50,000 fans witnessed the first match between Hertha and Union in 28 years.
It turned into a celebration of Berlin.
“Spectators were basically holding each other in their arms and celebrating,” recalls former Hertha forward Sven Kretschmer, who played in the 2-1 loss before the two sides went out for dinner together.
The rivalry is, reportedly, no longer as friendly.
Now is the best time to play Bayern
That may seem an odd thing to say in a week when a weakened side came from behind to draw at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and then twice overcame deficits to claw a point against RB Leipzig, but Bayern Munich aren’t quite at their best in this moment.
Sure, this SBOTOP observer has no doubt they will retain the Bundesliga title and they remain the team to beat in Europe too, but right now is the best chance opponents will have for some time of taking something from them (even if it is only a point!).
Against Leipzig they went behind for the fourth game in a row, perhaps no surprise given the absentees of key men have made them temporarily weaker.
Hans Flick’s charges won’t be like that for too long so it could be a good time to play them before the likes of Joshua Kimmich and Alphonso Davies return.
The fact they showed their character to come back not once but twice, including a goalscoring appearance from the bench for 17-year-old Jamal Musiala – on for the injured Javi Martinez – shows just how strong the champions will be when they are back at full strength.
Bayern have earned 87 points in 34 league games under Flick so far, giving the 55-year-old the best record in league history at such a juncture.
His opposite number Julian Nagelsmann has picked up at least a point in six of his nine Bundesliga matches against Bayern (two wins, four draws). He has not lost against the Reds while in charge of Leipzig (three draws).
Frankfurt really are the draw specialists
This was their seventh draw in just 10 matches this term and their fifth consecutive draw in the Bundesliga. In fact, they have only lost once, a record only bettered by two sides in the German top flight. By contrast, until this encounter, Dortmund last drew in the Bundesliga on December 17 last year when they played out a barnstorming 3-3 draw with Leipzig.
Dortmund miss Haaland
Any side would miss a talent as precocious as Erling Braut Haaland.
That, in itself, is not a shock but in matches like their weekend draw is proof that their chances of keeping pace at the top of the table depend heavily on the young Norwegian, Dortmund’s 10-goal top scorer.
Even with him, there is an argument that they need to start games much quicker. They have now failed to score in the first half of any away game this season. Lucien Favre’s men have, in fact, netted 19 of their 22 league goals this campaign in the second half.
With Haaland ruled out for the remainder of 2020 due to a hamstring strain and set to miss at least six games in all competitions, it is a stat they need to remedy quickly.
Polar opposites help Leverkusen close the gap
During a weekend in which four of the top five teams drew, Bayer Leverkusen must have relished a visit to their polar opposites in the form table.
One of only two unbeaten teams left in this season’s Bundesliga along with Wolfsburg, Peter Bosz’s closed the gap on leaders Bayern to a point with victory at rock-bottom Schalke.
The stats don’t read well for Schalke who are actually only second to Tasmania Berlin in the longest winless streak department (32 matches).
The Royal Blues also scored their second own goal of the season against Leverkusen – more than any other club – their 50th own goal in the Bundesliga overall.
Interestingly, the last time Lukas Hradecky saved a penalty in the Bundesliga was also against Schalke, keeping out an effort from Daniel Caligiuri in May last year.
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