By Rich

Florian Dietz is a 24-year-old forward for 1. FC Köln. Dietz was born on August 3, 1998 in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for FC Strahlungen, TSV Großbardorf, and Carl Zeiss Jena. His senior career continued at Jena from 2016 to 2018, where he scored 7 goals in 41 appearances for both the senior and reserve squads. He then spent one season at SV Werder Bremen from 2018 to 2019, and 2 seasons at SpVgg Unterhaching. He joined his current club on loan for the 2020-2021 season, a transfer that became permanent in 2021. He has to date scored 18 goals in 36 appearances for both 1. FC Köln and 1. FC Köln II.

By Rich

FC Bayern München returned to their winning ways on Friday with a 4:0 shutout at home over visitors Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The match’s first goal came just 3 minutes in, when Jamal Musiala took the ball down the right side of the pitch before crossing it to Leroy Sane, who got the ball past Leverkusen goaltender Lukas Hradecky. Musiala then scored the second goal in the 17th minute with an assist from Thomas Müller. The game’s third goal came in the 39th minute, when Sadio Mané shot the ball into the bottom corner off a cross from Musiala. The final goal came in the 84th minute, when Müller himself capitalized on a Hradecky mistake. Musiala has now scored 16 competitive goals for Bayern, and has a team high of 7 goals in all competitions during the current season. The win leaves Bayern tied for second place in the league on points with Borussia Dortmund, who will travel to nearby Cologne on Saturday. Although Cologne went unbeaten in their first 5 matches of the season, they are now winless in 2 after losing to Union Berlin and drawing with Bochum. The club lost star striker Anthony Modeste to Dortmund, where he has scored just 1 goal so far, against Hertha on Matchday 4. Modeste may well add to that tally on Saturday, as the club is without the services of captain Marco Reus, who suffered an ankle injury last time out. Cologne have won just 1 of their last 11 meetings with Dortmund. Also on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt and Mario Götze will look to do what no one has done so far this season: defeat Union Berlin. Frankfurt got off to a slow start, but things are looking up since Götze’s first goal back in the Bundesliga drove the club to a 4:3 win over Bremen. The club has now collected 6 points from their last 3 games, including wins over Leipzig and Stuttgart. Union Berlin are the only unbeaten team left in the first division, and have only dropped draws to Mainz and Bayern. The club features league-leading scorer Sheraldo Becker, who is averaging a goal every 87 minutes. Saturday’s late game will be between hosts Bremen and visitors Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug is second in scoring behind Union’s Becker, but on Saturday will have to face Gladbach goaltender Yann Sommer, who leads the league’s goaltenders in saves, with 44. Looking ahead to Sunday, don’t miss what is likely to be a tough match between hosts Schalke and visitors Augsburg. 1 of the 3 Bundesliga wins Schalke collected in the 2020-21 season came at home against Augsburg.

By Rich

Kilian Fischer is a 21-year-old left back and defensive midfielder for VfL Wolfsburg. Fischer was born on October 12, 2000 in Miltenberg, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for TuS Bad Aibling and 1860 Munich. His senior career continued at Munich beginning in 2017, and in July 2019 he joined Türkgücü München, where he made 39 appearances between 2019 and 2021. He then spent a year playing for 1. FC Nürnberg before joining his current club. Fischer has also made 2 appearances for Germany’s U21 squad.

By Rich

Hosts 1. FSV Mainz 05 picked up a point on Friday with a 1:1 draw against visitors Hertha BSC, thanks to a late equalizer from Anthony Caci. The match’s first goal came in the 30th minute, when Lucas Tousart headed the ball off a cross from Chidera Ejuke. Caci’s equalizer came in the 4th minute of stoppage time, when he volleyed in a loose header at the back post. Tousart’s goal for Hertha was his first of the season, and 3 of the 4 goals he has scored for the club have put Hertha up 1:0. Caci’s goal was his first in Germany, as he just joined Mainz from Strasbourg over the summer. The draw means that Mainz are unbeaten in 7 Bundesliga meetings with Hertha, with 4 wins and 3 draws. All eyes will turn to the Ruhrpott on Saturday for one of the league’s biggest derbies, when Schalke travel to nearby Dortmund for the Revierderby. Jude Bellingham is set to make his 100th competitive appearance for the hosts, and he has not missed a game so far this season. If he can propel his club to a win on Saturday, Dortmund could return, at least temporarily, to the top of the table. Schalke have collected 6 points from 6 games so far this season, and are coming off a 3:1 derby win over Bochum. Dortmund have won the last 3 derbies, but haven’t won 4 consecutive derbies since the 1960s. While Schalke are without a goal in their last 3 meetings with Dortmund, not 1 of Dortmund’s last 99 Bundesliga matches have ended goalless. Another derby will take place in the south of the country on Saturday when Augsburg host nearby Bayern München. Augsburg picked up their second win of the season last weekend when they collected 3 points against newly promoted Bremen, but the club has lost 3 matches at home this season. Bayern are coming off a 2:0 win over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, and are now unbeaten in all competitions in 10 matches. Saturday’s late game will be that between 8th-place Gladbach and 10th-place Leipzig, who are separated by just 2 points in the table. Gladbach’s position in the upper half of the table is due in no small part to the goalkeeping talent of Yann Sommer, who is in 2nd place league-wide for the most saves, half of which he made against Bayern on Matchday 4. Gladbach are also benefiting from the league’s second-best defense, after Union Berlin. Looking ahead to Sunday, Union will look to preserve their position at the top of the table when they host Wolfsburg - will the visitors be able to hold off Bundesliga Player of the Month Sheraldo Becker?