Five things we’ve learned in the Bundesliga this season
Borussia Dortmund lead Bayern Munich atop the Bundesliga as we head into the first international break of the season. What finer time for a stocktake?
It has been an exhilarating start to the Bundesliga season, with Dortmund leading the way, Bayern hot on their heels, and BVB’s Revierderby rivals Schalke looking like they more than belong back in the top flight.
Some 137 goals have been poured in over the first four matchdays, meanwhile, with Bayern’s 14 the most of any team. Bundesliga takes a look at five talking points from the season so far…
Bayern finding their groove
The champions are just two points behind Dortmund thanks, in large part, to their aforementioned goalscoring exploits, but things didn’t look so rosy for Die Roten on Matchday 2 when they were held to a goalless draw by Schalke. Bayern had nine shots to Schalke’s one, but Loris Karius’ goal held just as firm as Manuel Neuer’s.
They quickly proved that slip-up was just a blip, however, and have since sandwiched a 2-1 win over bitty Elversberg with a 5-0 thrashing over Bodø/Glimt in the UEFA Champions League and then last Friday’s 7-0 rout of Union Berlin.
Harry Kane’s brace in that game means he has now raced to 100 Bundesliga goals in just 98 games – 31 fewer than Cologne’s Dieter Müller needed when he set the previous record in 1977. Michael Olise scored his first career club hat-trick, while Alphonso Davies assisted twice on the evening he became Canada’s record Bundesliga appearance-maker (171).
In other words, Bayern are in form, and Dortmund won’t rest easy in the international break.
Dortmund add winning instinct to good defence
BVB have, however, developed a happy habit of getting over the line so far this season. Bayern drew first blood against them in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, winning 2-1, but Die Schwargelben have now made it a perfect four wins from four in the Bundesliga – the only team to have done so – adding some steel to the silk that they regularly display.
Winning late, winning ugly, simply winning has been the order of the day. The opening day 2-0 victory over Hamburg was relatively routine; an Albian Hajdari own goal four minutes from time got them over the line against Hoffenheim (3-2), while the 3-0 win over Paderborn was only made safe with a Felix Nmecha brace 10 minutes from time. A lone strike from Maxi Beier separated them from Stuttgart last time out.
Dortmund are backstopped by a miserly defence, with the Hoffenheim game the only one in which they have conceded. Joane Gadou has slotted in well to a defence that already included Germany internationals Nico Schlotterbeck and Waldemar Anton, and BVB have 12 points from a possible 12 for the first time since 2015.
Promoted teams proving they can cut it
Der Klassiker giants might have been expected to lead the way this season, but the promoted teams have also shown that they can cut it against the big boys: Elversberg first among them.
The Saarland club, who are from a town with a slightly smaller population than can fit in their 14,221 Ursapharm-Arena, have beaten Bundesliga stalwarts Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, held Schalke, and only been defeated once – that narrow loss to Bayern.
Vincent Wagner's side are seventh, with fourth-placed Augsburg only ahead on goal-difference. Schalke, who returned to the top flight as Bundesliga champions last season, and Paderborn, who climbed up via the play-offs, are 11th and 12th, respectively. Rarely has the division looked so competitive.
Another wave of Germany stars
Felix Keidel, once a full-back and now a central midfielder, has underpinned Elversberg’s impressive start, to a degree which has even caught Jürgen Klopp’s attention, with the new Germany manager calling him up for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Serbia and Greece.
Klopp has named two squads, one for that pair of fixture and another for meetings with the Netherlands and Greece, with 16 uncapped players across the two – the vast majority of whom have been impressing in the Bundesliga this season.
Eintracht Frankfurt forward Younes Ebnoutalib tops the scoring charts with four goals (alongside Olise, Phillip Tietz and Patrik Schick), and with an assist thrown in for good measure, is also alongside Ballon d’Or contender Olise for outright goal contributions.
He and Keidel are among a number of players who could win their first caps in September and October, and it wouldn’t be safe to bet against them cemented their place in Germany squads going forward.
Goals galore
Kane and Ebnoutalib have plenty of company when it comes to goals. Indeed, the 137 that have been scored in the first four matchdays mean that the 2026/27 campaign has seen the third-highest total ever at this stage of a season.
With an average of 3.81 goals per game, this current season is on track to be the highest-scoring campaign of all time.
If this frantic pace continues over the full 34-game schedule, it will shatter the all-time Bundesliga record of 3.58 goals per game, which was set more than 40 years ago during the 1983/84 campaign (1,097 goals in 306 matches).
