RB Leipzig now find themselves all alone at the top of the Bundesliga table after four rounds following another impressive win this weekend. The Red Bulls have hardly missed a beat since the departure of Timo Werner, with Julian Nagelsmann’s reinvention of his side already producing promising results.
Leipzig are just ahead of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, whose red-hot strikers continue to light up the league. Meanwhile, newly promoted Stuttgart find themselves in the top five while Borussia Monchengladbach are struggling to rediscover last season’s fine form.
Read on below to learn more about SBOTOP’s top takeaways from the most recent round of Bundesliga matches.
Nagelsmann keeps Red Bulls rolling
RB Leipzig have claimed sole possession of the Bundesliga lead after a convincing 2-0 away win in their top-of-the-table clash against surprising Augsburg.
The match went as expected, with Leipzig dominating proceedings. On-loan Manchester City wing-back Angelino gave the Red Bulls the lead on the stroke of half-time, and Yussuf Poulsen sealed the win with a screamer after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Dani Olmo set up both goals for Leipzig, who have 10 goals through four games — second only to Bayern Munich — despite losing star striker Timo Werner in the summer. The Spanish midfielder arrived from Dinamo Zagreb in the winter and has quickly established himself as one of the key players in Leipzig’s post-Werner side.
Nagelsmann is still bringing in new striker Alexander Sorloth slowly as he continues his experiment of playing midfielder Emil Forsberg as his primary forward. But as with most things Nagelsmann does in attack, it’s working.
Even without elite star power, the Red Bulls continue to roll thanks to their young manager’s ability to get the most out of the players he’s got.
Robert Lewandowski remains unstoppable
What else is there to say about Robert Lewandowski? The Bayern striker was undoubtedly the best marksman in Europe last season, and he has picked up right where he left off in this campaign.
Lewy added two more goals and an assist in Bayern’s 4-1 thrashing of newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld. He also smashed four goals past Hertha Berlin in his previous Bundesliga match, which means he now has seven goals and three assists through four league games. He also had two goals and an assist for Poland during the international break.
Even at age 32, ‘Lewangoalski’ is showing no signs of slowing down, which is certainly a promising sign for Bayern as they challenge for yet another championship.
Haaland offers helping hand at Hoffenheim
Another striker who seemingly can’t stop scoring is Dortmund’s Erling Haaland. The 20-year-old already has four goals in four Bundesliga games and fired a hat-trick for Norway in their Nations League win against Romania.
Dortmund manager Lucien Favre decided to rest Haaland against Hoffenheim following those recent internationals, but he ended up needing to call on his young superstar in the second half.
And 12 minutes after coming on, Haaland unselfishly provided the ball for Marco Reus’ goal, which proved to be the winning goal. He was also unlucky to get on the scoresheet himself as he missed one great chance and hit the post in another.
That half-hour cameo summed up just how crucial Haaland is to this Dortmund side. While Bayern are still the clear title favourites according to the Bundesliga 2020 odds, Haaland’s immense talent could see Dortmund mount a much tougher challenge than expected.
Gladbach slow out of the gate
Borussia Monchengladbach were one of the surprise stories of last season. They made a great start and were top of the table for a considerable portion of the first part of the campaign.
But the Foals have been slow out of the gate this year. They have won just one of their first four matches after a draw against Wolfsburg over the weekend.
Gladbach crucially held on to their top players — Marcus Thuram, Alassane Plea, Denis Zakaria — during the summer, but they also didn’t add anyone of note.
Granted, it’s still quite early and they also have Zakaria still to return from injury. But Marco Rose has some work to do to get the Foals back on track, especially with tough Champions League assignments set to keep their schedule packed over the next few months.
Stuttgart’s surprising start continues
Speaking of surprise stories, Stuttgart are shaping up to be one this year. The newly promoted side has made a great start to the season with two wins out of four. Their 2-0 away win over Hertha Berlin has put them up in fifth place.
Perhaps the most surprising part of Stuttgart’s success is their strong attack. They’ve already scored nine goals — third behind Bayern and Leipzig — despite missing last season’s top scorer, Nicolas Gonzalez. Sasa Kalajdzic has filled in well for Gonzalez and already has three goals in four games.
Stuttgart have a couple more easy games against Koln and Schalke coming up before their schedule gets tougher in November. That will give them the chance to claim a few more positive Bundesliga 2020 results that they need to ensure survival this season.
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