Bundesliga in the star check: Cheeky Bremer and a crazy slapstick insert

Stern-Check Bundesliga
Cheeky Bremer, a mistake in Bielefeld and why the home advantage is no longer

by Jan Sägert
11/23/2020, 6:29 am

This is how the games in the Bundesliga went

All results of the 8th matchday, the table and statistics for reading can be found here in the star ticker.

On Bundesliga matchday one after the shame of Seville, leaders Bayern Munich and pursuers RB Leipzig lost points. The Munich team found it difficult to get going after the international break and were well served with the draw against disciplined Bremer in the end. Because all that Werder had to be accused of after the game was the careless use of the best opportunities to get in. What was also noticeable: national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer shook the six goals against Sevilla out of his jersey within a few days. With some brilliant reflexes, the Bayern goalkeeper was the strongest player in the somewhat tired-looking record champions. Otherwise, the inclined fan had to be satisfied with football-based lean food on this eighth game day. Exceptions were the impressive four-pack of the Dortmund life insurance company Erling Haaland and the six-goal spectacle in Sinsheim, which is well worth seeing. There, TSG Hoffenheim made a virtue out of the Corona emergency and only gave two of the three points that were believed to be safe against rebellious Stuttgart out of hand in stoppage time.

What was also noticeable: the nine home teams once again gave generous gifts for guests. The home advantage has long since ceased to exist in times of Corona. Without their own fans behind them, the hosts are finding it increasingly difficult. This time the guests kidnapped a record 19 of a maximum of 27 possible points from the opponent’s stadiums. You can’t get rid of the feeling that the yawning emptiness in the arenas paralyzes the home teams in particular.

Excitement of the game day

Apart from minor skirmishes and a short emotional outburst from Augsburg coach Heiko Herrlich after the yellow-red card for one of his own, the eighth matchday offered little reason to get upset. Even from the Cologne basement there was unusually little to hear. The VAR stayed inconspicuous in the background and hardly interfered in the games at all. This speaks especially for the performance of the referees. One saw it completely different after the 1: 3 bankruptcy against Mainz. “Unbelievable, unbelievable”, commented Freiburg coach Christian Streich on a scene that gave the game a direction early on. A few seconds before striker Jean-Philippe Mateta made it 1-0, the Frenchman prevailed in the aerial battle against Freiburg’s Santamaria. “It is always whistled,” Streich railed. “It’s not a 50:50 decision, it’s 100 percent a foul,” he said. In fact, Mateta gained an advantage with robust arm insert and threw his opponent off balance. Foul, yes. Clear wrong decision, probably not. Ultimately, Streich saved himself from further refereeing scolding. The right addressees would have been his players anyway.

Matchday winner

Inspired by the convincing performances of the guest teams in the Saturday games, the previous bottom of the table, FSV Mainz 05, registered for this Bundesliga season as well. The Rheinhessen had only got a meager point in the Corona-shaped season. In Freiburg, who are otherwise strong at home, they scored three goals before the break. Because neither Schalke, Cologne and Bielefeld scored, Mainz passed the annoying red lantern into the Ruhr area and, as 15th, was at least a bit on the skin of SC Freiburg. The Mainz team can show what the win is worth against the troubled TSG Hoffenheim on the next match day.

Matchday losers

The football. Almost every one of the 18 Bundesliga clubs sent permanent staff out into the wide world during their two-week international break. That kicked off in the already controversial Uefa Nations League or in a meaningless friendly game for his national team. A situation that DFL boss Christian Seifert denounced in an interview with the specialist magazine “Kicker” as “unacceptable”. International match trips should not jeopardize the game operations in all of professional football, he explained and referred to the increased risk of corona infection that results from air travel, hotel stays and other “unavoidable” encounters. Not only did some teams have to give returnees with injuries directly into the care of their doctors: TSG Hoffenheim complained about seven corona cases within the team before the eighth match day – and asked the DFL to postpone the game against Stuttgart. Borussia Mönchengladbach (Ramy Bensebaini), RB Leipzig (Hee-chan Hwang, Alexander Sörloth) and VfL Wolfsburg (Marin Pongracic) also had to do without important players due to the corona. It may have been a coincidence, but real joy of playing wanted to arise on this eighth day of play in two of the nine orphaned stadiums. With the inevitably very tight schedule, the Uefa not only risks further corona infections in all major leagues in Europe – it also takes the healthy professionals the time to breathe deeply. It is hardly surprising that they only perform sporadically in their leagues.

You should see this gate again

The Finnish national goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký underwent the involuntary slapstick insert of the game day in the Bayer team’s game on the Bielefelder Alm. In the 47th minute, his Dutch team-mate Daley Sinkraven sent a harmless flat pass over a few meters in the direction of his keeper. The 30-year-old risks a quick look ahead, starts a long shot … Then a little bump in the lawn plays a trick on him. The ball hops over his right slipper and rolls into the empty gate. Particularly curious: Arminia Bielefeld had never shot Hrádecký’s box at this point in time. No shot, a goal. Not many Bundesliga teams have managed that yet.

Picture of the match day