Three things we learnt from the Bundesliga Konferenez | OneFootball

Bayern Munich opened up the Bundesliga matchday with a 3-0 win against Werder Bremen. Today, Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 with Wolfsburg to put a big dent in the title retention hopes, in Niko Kovac’s first game in charge of Borussia Dortmund saw them lose 2-1 Stuttgart, Freiburg beat Heidenheim 1-0, Hoffenheim sunk towards the relegation zone as they lost 4-0 to Union Berlin and Mainz drew 0-0 with Augsburg.

Here is what we learnt:

Bayer Leverkusen take a massive dent in their title hopes:

After going 120 minutes against 1.FC Köln on Wednesday, today’s game against Wolfsburg seemed like an even bigger challenge than before the midweek game.

Head coach Xabi Alonso made several changes, and it may have partially backfired, as Leverkusen struggled to have clear chances in front of goal. Benching Florian Wirtz makes sense if there is a player who can replace his output, which is partially what Emiliano Buendia was signed for. In this type of game, he should have started while Wirtz was rested, instead, Leverkusen lacked any creativity in their attack as Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella didn’t really do a lot and the midfield had Granit Xhaka, Robert Andrich and Aleix Garcia in it, none of them a byword for creativity.

The draw means that Leverkusen are now eight points behind Bayern Munich after their 3-0 win against Werder Bremen, if Leverkusen want any chance of retaining their title, they not only need to win this game but will practically have to be perfect for the rest of the seasons.

Niko Kovac faces the reality of the Borussia Dortmund job:

Dortmund looked a lot better in this game than they had in their previous games, however, they shot themselves in the foot, which is very on-brand for Dortmund at the moment. This was shown in the best possible way when former Stuttgart defender Waldemar Anton diverted a Chris Führich shot into his own net to give the visitors the lead. Things didn’t get any better for Dortmund when their defence..forgot how to defend? When a recycled corner leaves Jeff Chabot wide open to double Stuttgart’s lead.

Julian Brandt gave Dortmund a lifeline when his low drive effort, somehow, found the back of the net. However, Julian Ryerson would then be sent off for a second yellow.

It will be a big ask for Kovac to try and coach out these mistakes that the players keep making because as things stand, this is the main reason why Dortmund keep losing, the players are just not that good.

The loss for Dortmund now means they are having their worst run at home since 2006, as they currently sit on five games without a win.

All the money in the world cannot help Hoffenheim:

In both transfer windows, Hoffenheim have spent a grand total of €76m. With that money, they are the fourth biggest spenders in the league, are fourth from bottom and four points clear of the relegation places, but to be honest, they are just quite bad.

That was highlighted today when they lost 4-0 to Union Berlin. Since the end of October, Union had only won one game. Which tells you everything you need to know.

Something clearly isn’t clicking either with the players and Christian Ilzer, or just the players in general. Now would be a good time to probably sack Ilzer, but due to the amount of money spent and the amount of Sturm Graz alumni at the club, this looks unlikely.

(I for one would welcome a Hoffenhiem sacrifice for a team that actually fills their stadium)

GGFN | Jack Meenan