The Top 5 talking points from Matchday 14
The Bundesliga was at its unpredictable best on Matchday 14 and, with plenty of movement at the top and bottom of the standings, there was no shortage of talking points to emerge from the weekend action. Here are the top five…
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Ingolstadt first to claim Leipzig scalp
In a bizarre twist of fate befitting of the Bundesliga’s erratic nature, it was the side sitting at the bottom of the table coming into Matchday 14, Ingolstadt, who managed to do what 13 other teams before them failed to and beat newly-promoted RB Leipzig. It was the first time in over five and half years that an 18th-placed side managed to topple the league leaders at the time and FC Bayern München chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge jokingly said that he would send Die Schanzer a “wagon-load of Weißwurst and Weißbier” for doing the record titleholders a favour. Leipzig’s high-flying form was always going to hit a setback eventually. The question now is how will they react in their final two games before the winter break against Hertha Berlin and Bayern, the side who now hold top spot?
Watch: Emil Forsberg on the defeat to Ingolstadt:
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Müller ends goal drought as Bayern go top
Over the course of their record-breaking four consecutive title-winning seasons, FC Bayern München topped the Bundesliga for 121 of a possible 136 Matchdays. Their brief spell of three weeks sitting in second place this season came to an end on Matchday 14 following their 5-0 thrashing of VfL Wolfsburg. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed his charges for a “very good performance”, but one man in particular will have delighted in the result more than the rest of his teammates: Thomas Müller. The German international ended a run of 999 minutes without a Bundesliga goal against the Wolves and, while he claimed it “wasn’t driving him crazy”, he will no doubt have been relived to finally see his name back on the score sheet. The aim for Bayern now? Hold onto top spot until the winter break.
Watch: Goalscorers Müller and Lewandowski delight in victory:
Reus returns with a vengeance
Anybody wondering whether Marco Reus would be able to hit the ground running following a lengthy lay-off with injury should now have their answer - an emphatic yes! The 27-year-old has had a hand in a whopping ten goals in five games in all competitions since making his comeback, including this weekend’s 90th-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Köln. Head coach Thomas Tuchel labelled him “irreplaceable” on the back of his performance in the Cathedral City, which also earned him a place in the #BLMVP vote on bundesliga.com. Dortmund’s dynamic frontline was enough to strike fear in the hearts of opponents at the start of the season, but with Reus now fit and firing on all cylinders, the rest of the Bundesliga will need to be on high alert.
Watch: Ousmane Dembele on a hard-fought draw with Köln:
Hoffenheim on par with Real Madrid CF
Hoffenheim and Real Madrid? Two clubs with one thing in common! They are the only two teams in Europe’s top five leagues who are yet to suffer defeat in the current campaign. At the start of the season few would have expected Hoffenheim to be in the top four, let alone matching the 11-time European champions. The Sinsheim side stretched their club-record unbeaten streak to 14 games following their 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt – the eight time this season that they have shared the spoils. Julian Nagelsmann’s side have made a huge impact in the current campaign and close out the calendar year with home games against Dortmund and Bremen. Maintaining that record would be one impressive Christmas gift!
Watch: Sandro Wagner felt Hoffenheim "were the better team"
Big wins for the Bundesliga Northerners
Despite both sides being at the wrong end of the table, for the second weekend in a row, Hamburger SV and SV Werder Bremen both came out on the winning side of their fixtures. HSV overcame adversity to clinch their second win in the current campaign against FC Augsburg despite being a man down for 22 minutes, while Bremen managed to hand Hertha Berlin their first home defeat of the season becoming the final top-flight side to clinch a clean sheet in the process. Given that they are two sides boasting great tradition, both will be hoping the upswing in form is a sign of what’s in store for them and not just a flash in the pan.
Watch: A former Hamburg fan favourite was behind door No11 in the Bundesliga advent calendar: