Three things we learnt from the Bundesliga Konferenz | OneFootball

As soon as the Bundesliga is up and running, the international break is already here. Matchday two kicked off with the Hamburg derby between Hamburger SV and St.Pauli, which was won convincingly by the visitors 2-0.

The Saturday afternoon Bundesliga games presented us with Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim vs Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig vs Heidenheim.

So here are the things we learnt:

Can Eintracht Frankfurt win the Bundesliga?:

Frankfurt produced another strong performance against Hoffenheim to win 3-1 and to make it 6/6 in the opening two games of the Bundesliga season, and although Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim are not the most challenging teams to play against, they have shown enough to suggest that they will be a major player this season.

What makes Frankfurt such a fun team? Well, it’s the fact that they play at such a level with several young players; only four of their starting 11 today were over the age of 25. The minimal changes in the summer have allowed for players who were on the fringes last season to step up and fill the gaps left by Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitiké, while the arrival of Ritsu Doan (Jonathan Burkardt was absent today) brings experience and another level.

It’s also clear that this is the season of Can Uzun.

Another goal for the 19-year-old takes his tally for this season to two goals and two assists. The change in formation has allowed Uzun to flourish in a position that he is comfortable in. If he continues at this rate, there will be a team from the Premier League who will make an €80m bid for him in January.

Bayer Leverkusen are a work in progress:

Everything was plain sailing for Leverkusen; they were 2-0 up thanks to goals from Patrik Schick and Malik Tillman. Werder Bremen would score a penalty just before half-time, but die Werkself were never worried. Then, Schick made it 3-1, and it looked like game over. However, a bizarre mistake by Mark Flekken allowed Bremen to make it 3-2, before an unlikely hero in Karim Coulibaly made it 3-3.

For Bremen, it is a massive performance, especially to help silence some of the doubters (including myself) following their opening day performance against Frankfurt.

Obviously, from a Leverkusen point of view, it is another poor performance. It is not right to question the future of Erik ten Hag already; it is only two games, the transfer window is still open, and there are several players still coming and going. It is clear that this team is still a work in progress, and until the transfer window closes on Monday and players are certain to stay. Then only initial judgments can be made, those are:

The quality of players they have brought in this summer is good enough to reach the top four; the problem is that they have had to invest in a completely new team.

VfB Stuttgart kick-starts their Bundesliga season (finally):

It has been an eventful week for Stuttgart. First, they needed penalties to see off Eintracht Braunschweig, then Nick Woltemade left a day before their game against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

The performance against Gladbach was far from a classic. At times, the visitors were the better side but struggled in front of goal, an increasingly common occurrence, but Stuttgart rode their luck and were able to score a winner through Chema Andres. The Spaniard came on to replace Atakan Karazor, and the idea of him playing alongside Angelo Stiller is an enticing one. If Stuttgart wishes to take themselves to the next level, they need a better partner to Stiller, and if Andres delivers on his potential, he will be that player.

What is clear for Stuttgart, though, is their lack of creativity. Woltemade’s departure and Deniz Undav’s injury do not help. But, in the second half (via FotMob), Stuttgart did not register a big chance.

With two days left of the transfer window, this is an area that the Swabians are clearly trying to address, but it is clear that if they want to make a splash in the Bundesliga and the Europa League this season, then they need to do better.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga:

RB Leipzig won their first game under new head coach Ole Werner. Benjamin Seško replacement Romulo with the pick of the goals with a back-heeled effort to make it 2-0 against Heidenheim.

GGFN | Jack Meenan