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Week 2 Bundesliga Rankings
The second week of the Bundesliga has come to a conclusion with plenty of close games, two red cards and a lot of goals. I will be continuing my ranking from week 1 with the updated rankings for week 2. There are still three undefeated teams remaining in Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg.
1. Borussia Dortmund (2-0-0) Last week: 1 (-)
The leaders in the Bundesliga continued right where they left off in week 2 with a 3-1 victory over a very tough FC Koln team. Dortmund entered the second half down 1-0 but Jadon Sancho lead the comeback in the 70th minute to continue his excellent play with a great strike while Achraf Hakimi and Paco Alcacer added late goals. Dortmund plays next Saturday against the new Bundesliga club Union Berlin.
2. Bayer Leverkusen (2-0-0) Last week: 3 (Up 1)
Last week's close call with Paderborn had me nervous about Leverkusen moving forward as their defence seemed to give up a lot of opportunities. The manager made changes to the formation and line-up ahead of this week's game against Dusseldorf and it paid off in a fairly one-sided 3-1 victory as Leverkusen held a 3-0 lead at halftime. Karim Bellarabi made his season debut and the 29 year old midfielder scored in the 39th minute. Leverkusen will play Hoffenheim in their next match.
3. Red Bull Leipzig (2-0-0) Last week: 2 (Down 1)
It was a hard fought victory for Leipzig as the top ranked squad won 2-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt with each side trading goals in the final ten minutes. Timo Werner scored again for Leipzig as the 23 year old has been in the news recently as he has extended his contract with Leipzig until 2023 despite big offers from Bayern Munich. Leipzig has another tough opponent this week as the play on Friday against Borussia Monchengladbach.
4. VfL Wolfsburg (2-0-0) Last week: 4 (-)
Wolfsburg continue to play such structured and disciplined football as they won 3-0 against Hertha Berlin during a game where they only conceded 2 shots on target. They haven't held the possession advantage in either of their games so far but their defensive scheme makes it so difficult for their opponents to get high quality opportunities. I've been very impressed by their play so far this season and they play at home this saturday against Paderborn.
5. SC Freiburg (2-0-0) Last week: 5 (-)
I wouldn't have guessed that Freiburg would be undefeated going into week 3 but they have scored six goals through two games as they defeated Paderborn 3-1 this week and they are looking very sharp offensively. They have a tough opponent this saturday as they play FC Koln.
6. Borussia Monchengladbach (1-1-0) Last week: 8 (Up 2)
Following a 0-0 draw against Schalke in a very frustrating match for Monchengladbach, the team rebounded with a 3-1 victory over Mainz 05 despite giving up the first goal on the road. This game definitely played at a pace they were more comfortable with as there were more scoring opportunities and chances for both sides. They play the third ranked Leipzig squad on Friday in what should be a very exciting match.
7. Bayern Munich (1-1-0) Last week: 9 (Up 2)
The richest team in Germany are back in the winning column as Bayern Munich dominated Schalke 3-0 with striker Robert Lewandowski scoring three goals bringing his goal total up to five for this season. I looks like the Bayern train is coming strong as they look to take over for top spot in the standings and their next game is against Mainz on Saturday.
8. Eintracht Frankfurt (1-0-1) Last week: 7 (Down 1)
It was a strong effort by Frankfurt but they fell 2-1 against Leipzig despite holding a possession advantage at 57%. Many people felt that Frankfurt got lucky during their first weeks victory against Hoffenheim but this performance shows that they are a serious threat to the top teams in the Bundesliga. They play the Sunday game this upcoming week against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
9. Fortuna Dusseldorf (1-0-1) Last week: 6 (Down 3)
A 3-1 victory over Werder Bremen was very exciting for Dusseldorf during week one but the team had a lot of help from goalkeeper Zack Steffen as he stopped nine shots. They weren't as lucky this week as they lost 3-1 against Leverkusen in a fairly one-sided contest. In both games Dusseldorf have given up a lot of opportunities and possession numbers have been around 31%. They should expect to have another tough game this Sunday against Eintracht Frankfurt.
10. Hoffenheim (1-0-1) Last week: 12 (Up 2)
Hoffenheim managed to win 3-2 against Werder Bremen but they really struggled to generate scoring chances with only three shots on target despite holding the possession advantage. During their first game against Frankfurt they held a 69% possession advantage but only managed one shot on net. The defence of Hoffenheim also need to step up as they've conceded 14 shots on target and three goals so far. They play an offensive juggernaut this week in Bayer Leverkusen.
11. Hetha BSC (0-1-1) Last week: 10 (Down 1)
Following a great effort against Bayern Munich in a draw the Berlin squad struggled to get an offense in a 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg. As i mentioned earlier I believe Wolfsburg are one of the best teams defensively but watching the game I think Berlin has to do a better job executing passes in close and moving the ball to high scoring locations. Berlin plays this Saturday against another winless team in Schalke.
12. Schalke 04 (0-1-1) Last week: 11 (Down 1)
Schalke have yet to score this season and they didn't have much opportunity in a 3-0 loss against Bayern Munich with only two shots on target. They have averaged possession numbers of 37% through two games with only three shots on target but they have also played two quality teams in Monchengladbach and Bayern Munich. Schalke plays Hertha Berlin this Saturday in what should be a very close game.
13. FC Koln (0-0-2) Last week: 13 (-)
I think despite the 3-1 loss against Dortmund; Koln have a lot of positives to take away from their loss. Through 70 minutes of play they were winning but three beautiful plays by Dortmund late sealed the victory. Jonas Hector looked visibly frustrated in this match as Dortmund help possession 74% of the time and the defensive group were constantly on their back foot for Koln. This week will be another tough match as they play 5th ranked Freiburg.
14. Werder Bremen (0-0-2) Last week: 14 (-)
In many aspects Werder Bremen have outplayed their opponents in consecutive weeks but they still find themselves with two losses on their record. The game this week was tough as a red card late by Johannes Eggestein was a big difference maker for Hoffenheim to score in the 87th minute for the victory. Werder Bremen play a game on Sunday against winless FC Augsburg.
15. Mainz 05 (0-0-2) Last week: 15 (-)
Mainz have been very average to start the season as they have held their own during matches with almost equal possession numbers and scoring opportunities but goals in the final 15 minutes of the game have been the difference. They have conceded five goals past the 75th minute so far this season and consecutive late game collapses leave them winless. They have a tall task ahead of them this week as they play against Bayern Munich.
16. SC Paderborn (0-0-2) Last week: 16 (-)
Paderborn have done a really good job maximizing their scoring opportunities but they have struggled giving up high quality scoring chances as well. They lost this week 3-1 against Freiburg despite scoring first and Paderborn really need to play more structured this week as they play against Wolfsburg.
17. FC Augsburg (0-1-1) Last week: 18 (Up 1)
Augsburg missed out on a glorious opportunity as they were up 1-0 heading into the final ten minutes against Berlin when Sebastian Andersson managed to tie the game. At the 83rd minute however Union Berlin defender Kevin Schlotterbeck was hit with a red card but Augsburg couldn't capitalize and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
18. Union Berlin (0-1-1) Last week: 17 (Down 1)
During their opening 4-0 loss against Leipzig I thought there was a lot of positive takeaways for Berlin but their 1-1 draw against Augsburg was hard to watch as I initially thought it would be a breakout game for Berlin. This upcoming week could get ugly as the play against number one ranked Dortmund.