The Hard Tackle presents you a brief summary of matchday 8 in the Bundesliga as Bayern Munich bounce back to winning ways while Dortmund remain on top.
Matchday 8 of the 2018/19 Bundesliga campaign came as a sigh of relief for Bayern Munich, who finally ended their winless drought with a win over VfL Wolfsburg.
However, it was Eintracht Frankfurt who stole the show, securing a huge 7-1 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf with Luka Jovic scoring five goals. League leaders Borussia Dortmund hammered bottom club VfB Stuttgart to remain on top while their arch-rivals FC Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen choked once again.
Schalke, in particular, succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Werder Bremen, who are now third in the table, a point ahead of FC Bayern. As for RB Leipzig, they failed to extend their winning run, drawing 0-0 to high-flying FC Augsburg while TSG Hoffenheim registered a 3-1 win over newly promoted 1.FC Nurnberg, thanks to three second-half goals.
On Sunday, Hertha Berlin blew an early lead to draw 1-1 with minnows SC Freiburg before Borussia Monchengladbach wrapped the matchday with a bang, securing a 4-0 win over FSV Mainz.
Friday: Jovic scores five as Eintracht secure 7-1 win over Dusseldorf
Frankfurt extended their winning run to four games after registering a huge 7-1 win over newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf. The Eagles were relentless and looked menacing whenever they were on the ball, particularly on the counter.
New signing Filip Kostic and Lucas Torro impressed with the former creating a host of chances in the final third. However, Luka Jovic was the star of the show, scoring five goals while Sebastien Haller also chipped with a couple as Eintracht cruised to a comfortable victory.
Aside from scoring five goals, Jovic roared into the record books, being the first Serbian player to score a hat-trick in the Bundesliga while becoming the youngest player to score five goals in the league’s history and the first Eintracht player to do so.
The huge win extends Eintracht’s goal difference to +7 and continuing their good form could potentially lift them ahead of Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig next weekend. As for Dusseldorf, they slip to the bottom of the club with just five points in eight matches.
Saturday: Paco Alcacer strikes again; Bayern bounce back with a win; Reiss Nelson scores twice and much more
Bayern Munich’s return to winning ways will be the highlight of this matchday as the Bavarians secured a comfortable 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg. Robert Lewandowski broke his scoring duck, netting twice while providing the assist for the third goal from James Rodriguez later in the second half.
The German champions looked quite menacing with the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Serge Gnabry and James Rodriguez performing particularly well. But, Lewandowski certainly stole the show as he extends his scoring tally to five goals and his return of form could be a boon for Niko Kovac, who will be aiming for a swift recovery after a horrendous start to the season.
Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, stuttered once again, managing a 2-2 draw with lowly Hannover. It was a game of great goals with Hannover finding an early lead thanks to an excellent free-kick from Florent Muslija before Leverkusen captain Lars Bender restored parity 11 minutes before half-time.
Hannover, then, restored their lead in the second half through Felipe’s volley though soon after the goal, the defender was sent off, which allowed Leverkusen to pen down their opposition for the final quarter of the game. And even though Hannover did remain solid at the back, Karim Bellarabi’s incredible strike at the last minute helped his team snatch a point against the Reds.
While Bayern Munich returned to winning form, league leaders Borussia Dortmund continued on their remarkable start to the season by securing a thumping 4-0 win over bottom club VfB Stuttgart. The Black and Yellows were excellent in the first half, scoring early through Jadon Sancho before Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer virtually sealed all three points within the first quarter of the game.
Reus has now been involved in a goal every matchday in the Bundesliga this season while the unstoppable Alcacer continued his scoring form. He has now scored seven goals in just four league appearances as he leads the goalscoring charts along with Eintracht’s Luka Jovic, whose five goals propelled him to the top spot.
Maximilian Philipp also scored his first goal of the season to add further gloss into the scoreline as Dortmund move to 20 points in eight games, being the only side yet to remain unbeaten in the German top flight this season.
Elsewhere, TSG Hoffenheim came back from a goal down to win 3-1 against Nurnberg. Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson scored twice in quick succession in the second half, extending his scoring tally to four goals since joining the club in the summer. Adam Szalai then sealed all three points for Julian Nagelsmann’s side, producing a trademark headed finish in the 67th minute.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, played out a stale 0-0 draw with FC Augsburg, who mustered up only six shots on goal, none of which were on target. As for Leipzig, they managed 18 shots on goal, with only four being on target. The draw ends their four-game winning run as they slip to fifth in the league table while Augsburg maintain their mid-table status.
And in the topspiel, FC Schalke failed to make it three in a row in the Bundesliga, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against high flying Werder Bremen. Maximilian Eggestein pulled out yet another long-range screamer to grab the lead just before halftime. He then doubled Werder’s lead in the second half, producing another neat finish to seal all three points for die Grunweiss.
It was a disappointing result for Schalke, who remain in the relegation scrap with just six points in eight matches while Bremen’s win propel to third place, just behind Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund.
Sunday: Hofmann masterclass downs Mainz; Hertha disappoints
Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw with SC Freiburg will come as a huge disappointment to head coach Pal Dardai, especially after yet another remarkable start to the season. The club from the capital were well below-par as they struggled to breach the Freiburg defence after initially scoring an early goal through Ondrej Duda. It was Duda’s sixth goal in the Bundesliga this season as he becomes to leading goalscorer for the Berliners so far this campaign.
However, Duda’s goal was cancelled out by Robin Koch, who pulled out a long-range piledriver to stun Hertha just nine minutes before half-time. Freiburg have now registered draws in each of their last two matches which is not bad considering the battering they received against Augsburg at the end of last month.
And finally, Borussia Monchengladbach ended the gameweek in emphatic fashion as they scored four past a hapless Mainz defence. Although Alassane Plea surprisingly failed to find the back of the net, midfielder Jonas Hofmann stole the show by scoring a hattrick while Thorgan Hazard also chipped in with a goal.
Hofmann’s clever runs in behind the defence coupled with his seemingly telepathic understanding with the likes of Hazard and Stindl in the final third did the trick as Gladbach climb to the second spot in the league table, three points behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund.
