3 things we learnt from the Bundesliga Konferenz – Bayern Munich, Jonathan Burkardt and underrated trios | OneFootball

Matchday eight of the Bundesliga started with Werder Bremen beating Union Berlin 1-0 thanks to a Marco Grüll goal. 

On Saturday, the standout Bundesliga game in the afternoon was Borussia Mönchengladbach faced Bayern Munich, elsewhere was Augsburg vs RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim hosted Heidenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt were against St.Pauli, and Hamburg played Wolfsburg. 

Here are the three things we learnt: 

Bayern Munich face their toughest test of the Bundesliga season so far:

In the opening seven games of the season, Bayern have been playing the game on amateur difficulty and have faced very few problems (their toughest games so far were against Wehen Wiesbaden and Augsburg). 

For the first time this season, the league leaders went in at halftime without scoring and leading a game, as Gladbach went down to 10 men early on and bunkered down and put in a strong defensive performance for 65 minutes. 

Bayern showed the necessary patience to slowly break down Gladbach as they tired before opening through Joshua Kimmich. But, it is fair to say, that this was the most difficult game that Bayern have played in this season, despite the 3-0 scoreline. 

Lennart Karl scored the third, and inevitably, there will be continued hype about why he should go to the World Cup with Germany next summer. For the record, he shouldn’t, and there are at least five players more deserving.

Which takes me to…

Jonathan Burkardt makes a claim to be Germany’s No. 1 striker:

In the past few games, defensively, Frankfurt have been rather tragic (against St.Pauli, they actually kept their first clean sheet since their DFB Pokal win against FV Engers). 

However, their attack has been standout, with Burkardt being one of them. 

Since joining from Mainz in the summer, the 25-year-old has taken like a duck to water. In seven Bundesliga games, he has six goals, and for the second weekend in a row has scored a brace (or döppelpack). It looks like Burkardt will be the next striker in the production line at Deutsche Bank Park. 

Striker has been a problem area for Germany for a while. While Nick Woltemade and Kai Havertz will probably be the number nine in the US next summer, it is fair to say that Burkardt could make a challenge not only to be in the 26-man squad, but also claim a starting position as his skill set is completely different to the two, which could work in Germany’s favour. 

You could also play a 4-2-3-1 with Wirtz, Woltemade and Musiala behind a striker, like Burkardt. 

Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig’s underrated trios:

The reason these trios are underrated is because of the clubs they play for. To put it simply, no one really cares about Hoffenheim or Leipzig. 

But here, we will shine a light on them. 

First, Hoffenheim beat Heidenheim 3-1 thanks to goals from Fisink Asllani, Tim Lemperle and Andrej Kramaric. Here we focus on Asllani, Lemperle and Bazoumana Touré, who provided two assists. 

Lemperle has four goal contributions in seven Bundesliga games since joining on a free transfer from Köln. Touré has three contributions in eight games. While the standout has been Asllani.

The Kosovo international has five goals and one assist in eight games for TSG and already looks like he will leave Sinsheim in the summer. Barcelona are linked to the 23-year-old, but could he replace Robert Lewandowski? Consulting the FBref comparison suggests that he possibly could. 

Finally, Leipzig’s front three of Yan Diomande, Antonio Nusa and Romulo had their welcome to the Bundesliga moment, as all three were on the score sheet in Leipzig’s 6-0 win against Augsburg, and we haven’t even mentioned Johan Bakayoko. 

Diomande especially was a standout today as the Ivorian provided two assists along with his goal. At 18, he already looks like a special player, no surprise Leipzig values him at €100m.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga:

GGFN | Jack Meenan