By Rich
The 2021-2022 Bundesliga opened on Friday with a 1:1 draw between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and visitors FC Bayern München. Gladbach’s Alassane Plea opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the match, when Lars Stindl fed Plea, who coolly finished a shot past Manuel Neuer. Bayern was able to even the score however, just before the half ended, when striker Robert Lewandowski headed the ball into the goal off a corner from Joshua Kimmich in the 43rd minute. Lewandowski’s goal means he has scored on the season’s opening matchday for a record 7 consecutive seasons. Bayern are unbeaten in their previous 10 Matchday 1 fixtures, but Gladbach have been the only club to beat them on the opening weekend in the past 23 years. The clubs now get to enjoy a brief stint at the top of the table going into the rest of the weekend’s matches but will likely find themselves down in the middle by Sunday. The 2 newcomers to the league this season will both make their debuts on Saturday, when Bochum travel to Wolfsburg and Fürth travel to Stuttgart. Bochum were the 2. Bundesliga’s champions last season, and the Saturday fixture will be their first in top flight after an 11-year absence. The club’s attacking midfielder from last season, Robert Zulj, is no longer with the club, and they will be facing one of the league’s top scorers last season in Wout Weghorst. Weghorst is joined this season by U21 hero Lukas Nmecha, who scored 18 goals last season while on loan from Manchester City to Belgian side Anderlecht. Nmecha played for the Wolves back in 2019, so he is expected to make an impact quickly. Wolfsburg have a new trainer this season in Mark von Bommel, who took over after Oliver Glasner left for Eintracht Frankfurt. The league’s other newcomers, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, owe their promotion partly to the late-season stumble of Holstein Kiel, and partly to the scoring abilities of Branimir Hrgota, who found the net 16 times last season. He also has previous Bundesliga experience, as does teammate and USA international Julian Green, and both scored in last Saturday’s DFB Pokal regulation tie against Babelsberg. Of course, many will be watching the contest between hosts Borussia Dortmund and visitors Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund’s Erling Haaland has had a spectacular 18-month run at Dortmund, with 60 goals in 60 appearances. Looking ahead to Sunday, Mainz and Köln will have fresh starts after spending much of last season in relegation danger, while Leipzig will look to re-secure their spot atop the standings.
The 2021-2022 Bundesliga opened on Friday with a 1:1 draw between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and visitors FC Bayern München. Gladbach’s Alassane Plea opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the match, when Lars Stindl fed Plea, who coolly finished a shot past Manuel Neuer. Bayern was able to even the score however, just before the half ended, when striker Robert Lewandowski headed the ball into the goal off a corner from Joshua Kimmich in the 43rd minute. Lewandowski’s goal means he has scored on the season’s opening matchday for a record 7 consecutive seasons. Bayern are unbeaten in their previous 10 Matchday 1 fixtures, but Gladbach have been the only club to beat them on the opening weekend in the past 23 years. The clubs now get to enjoy a brief stint at the top of the table going into the rest of the weekend’s matches but will likely find themselves down in the middle by Sunday. The 2 newcomers to the league this season will both make their debuts on Saturday, when Bochum travel to Wolfsburg and Fürth travel to Stuttgart. Bochum were the 2. Bundesliga’s champions last season, and the Saturday fixture will be their first in top flight after an 11-year absence. The club’s attacking midfielder from last season, Robert Zulj, is no longer with the club, and they will be facing one of the league’s top scorers last season in Wout Weghorst. Weghorst is joined this season by U21 hero Lukas Nmecha, who scored 18 goals last season while on loan from Manchester City to Belgian side Anderlecht. Nmecha played for the Wolves back in 2019, so he is expected to make an impact quickly. Wolfsburg have a new trainer this season in Mark von Bommel, who took over after Oliver Glasner left for Eintracht Frankfurt. The league’s other newcomers, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, owe their promotion partly to the late-season stumble of Holstein Kiel, and partly to the scoring abilities of Branimir Hrgota, who found the net 16 times last season. He also has previous Bundesliga experience, as does teammate and USA international Julian Green, and both scored in last Saturday’s DFB Pokal regulation tie against Babelsberg. Of course, many will be watching the contest between hosts Borussia Dortmund and visitors Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund’s Erling Haaland has had a spectacular 18-month run at Dortmund, with 60 goals in 60 appearances. Looking ahead to Sunday, Mainz and Köln will have fresh starts after spending much of last season in relegation danger, while Leipzig will look to re-secure their spot atop the standings.
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