Champions League Thrills, Spills, and Refunds
A mixed bag for the Bundesliga as both the Champions League and Europa League group phases had their first matches.
Biggest tale of note was after the Borussia Monchengladbach Manchester City match which was delayed 24 hours. The club announced, due to the strain that the change would have on the away supporters, that all tickets would be refunded as a gesture of thanks to their fans who would have to alter their travel plans accordingly.
Sadly the play of the match 24 hours later did not live up to the class shown by the clubs management, as the Foals were defeated soundly by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-0 in Manchester.
Elsewhere Bayern thrived as they thrashed visitors FC Rostov from Russia 5-0 as Joshua Kimmich scored a brace in a match where the hosts didn’t even need to get out of first gear to get the three points.
Borussia Dortmund as well started brightly as they visited the Polish capital of Warsaw to play Legia. Within a mere 20 minutes BVB found themselves with a 3-0 lead and would finish off the Polish champions smartly 6-0 to lead the way in their group.
Bayer Leverkusen faced off against CSKA Moskow at the Bay Arena. In the end a 2-2 draw in which all four goals of the match occurred in the first half.
In the Europa League Schalke got off to a good start in their visit to Nice, a 1-0 courtesy of Baba Rahman. Mainz didn’t fare as well as they faced French side Saint Etienne in a 1-1 draw.
Bundesliga Matches of Note
RB Leipzig is coming off of a huge high. Beating Dortmund in their first home match of the top flight was a memorable moment. Now at Hamburg there are the full three points up for grabs as the HSV defense has been abject so far. Look for a few tasty banners also by the respective supporters prior to the start of this match.
Werder Bremen broke this writer’s heart as they scored a last moment goal to ensure safety and confine a certain club to the relegation playoff. Many new signings later and two matches in, manager Viktor Skrypnyk is looking at a negative seven goal difference and zero points. Traveling to Borussia Park to face Monchengladbach is daunting enough, but this topspiel will have talking points for all and excitement to boot.
Sunday there is really only one match to watch. Hertha Berlin is one of two clubs with an unblemished record. Schalke in the opposite way. In the capital city BSC has their first real strong test of the season in the Royal Blues. Schalke looked good against Bayern after a dismal first match. The change is happening in Gelsenkirchen but when will the results start?
Bundesliga on Fox
Friday’s match on FS1 has FC Koln playing host to newly promoted SC Freiburg.
Saturday morning another full slate with Dortmund hosting Darmstadt on FS1, Bayern hosting fellow Bavarian’s Ingolstadt on FS2, and Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Levekusen on Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes. The late match of Borussia Monchengladbach and Werder Bremen will be on Fox Soccer Plus.
Sunday’s back to back doubleheader starts with Augsburg and Mainz on FS2 followed by Hertha and Schalke on FS2.
