Kiyotake runs away with vote
Munich - There were several outstanding goals from the Bundesliga's Matchday 2, but Hiroshi Kiyotake's free-kick stood out for its quality and significance.
The deciding goal
The goal, which salvaged a point for 1. FC Nürnberg, was sublime in its execution and vital in its timing, retrieving a point which seemed set to elude der Club after they conceded two second-half goals to Hertha Berlin. The strike was indeed good enough to persuade bundesliga.com readers to vote overwhelmingly for the Japanese international as player of the weekend, where he received 80 per cent of the vote.
Kiyotake's impressive performance stands out even more due to the strength of the field in the vote. Mario Mandzukic scored a wonderful goal in FC Bayern Munich's 1-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt, and Marco Reus' entrance coincided with Borussia Dortmund eventual breaking the deadlock against a competitive Eintracht Braunschweig side.
Luiz Gustavo's towering debut for VfL Wolfsburg only saw him garner 4% of readers' votes, while Max Kruse and Bernd Leno, despite excellent performances for Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 Leverkusen respectively, could only pick up a percentage point each.
The starting point
After Nürnberg's mixed start to the season with 2-2 draws in both games, the Bavarians are under no illusions that they need to improve if they are to better last season's 10th place finish. With new signing Daniel Ginczek impressing so far, the resources are certainly there to push on.
More inspirational performances from their Japanese midfield star and Nürnberg will be hoping that Kiyotake and team-mates can provide the springboard from which to launch a challenge to finish in the upper echelons of the league.
