.jpeg)
Week 3 Bundesliga Power Rankings
Updated: Sep 14, 2019
A wild third week of action in the Bundesliga as the top seeded Borussia Dortmund fell 3-1 in their match with Union Berlin. The victory was the first ever Bundesliga win for the club out of Berlin as they capitalized on their opportunities and held the majority of the scoring chances despite Dortmund holding a 75% possession advantage. The week saw a couple other big victories from Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, Schalke 04 and FC Koln. The Bundesliga will take this upcoming week off as players are off with their international clubs for qualifying or spending the week training. The next game will be September 13th when Fortuna Dusseldorf takes on Wolfsburg for the Friday night game.
1. Red Bull Leipzig (Last week: 3)
The team out of Leipzig have now established themselves as the number one team in the early part of the season with a perfect 3-0-0 record. Last week's narrow 2-1 victory over Frankfurt was concerning following their dominant 4-0 win during week one but they really proved themselves this week with a 3-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach. It was the Timo Werner show as the German international scored all three goals in the match. The defence for Leipzig have held up nicely as they have only conceded two goals through three games but they still struggle to control the game at times with possession and chances.
2. Bayern Munich (Last week: 7)
The Munich train is on a roll as they have won consecutive games in dominating fashion following a 2-2 draw in their opening match with Hertha Berlin. The final score was 6-1 as Munich obliterated Mainz 05 with six different goal scorers and a possession advantage of 68% while out-shooting Mainz 10-4. Robert Lewandowski scored in this match to bring his goal total up to six on the season as he holds a one goal lead over Timo Werner for the league lead.
3. Bayer Leverkusen (Last week: 2)
This week's game against Hoffenheim was very frustrating for Leverkusen as they weren't able to get their shots on target and the score remained 0-0 for a draw. They had 20 attempts at net with 19 corner kicks in comparison to their opponents who only had six attempts at net. Fans really desired more from the attacking group of Kevin Volland and Kai Havertz but this was simply a game where the ball didn't bounce their way despite dominating the game.
4. Borussia Dortmund (Last week: 1)
A very frustrating performance by Borussia Dortmund as the club gave up two unanswered second half goals against Union Berlin in a 3-1 loss. Dortmund held a major possession advantage at 75% but they didn't do anything with their possession as they only generated two shots on net. This was also the third straight week where they have given up the first goal and their defensive play hasn't been impressive as they have given up a lot of high scoring chances and corner kicks through three games. They have a big game when they return from break against Bayer Leverkusen.
5. Wolfsburg VfL (Last week: 4)
A 1-1 draw with Paderborn wasn't as expected but Wolfsburg once again seemed to be the better team in the match and they currently sit third in the Bundesliga standings. They lead possession numbers at 63% during this match and they out-shot Paderborn 16-8 with 5 of their shots ending up on target.
6. Eintracht Frankfurt (Last week: 8)
Two second half goals by Bas Dost (57th minute) and Goncalo Paciencia (86th minute) were the difference maker as Frankfurt came away with a 2-1 victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf. This game was big for them following a close game against Leipzig where they lost 2-1 and Frankfurt now find themselves 7th in the table. Running a very midfield focused formation with the 3-4-1-2 has really looked good and the midfielders have done a fantastic job playing back for defensive support. Their next game is against FC Augsburg on Saturday the 14th.
7. Borussia Monchengladbach (Last week: 6)
They just ran into an absolute beast in Timo Werner as Monchengladbach fell 3-1 against Leipzig and they now sit with a 1-1-1 record. I haven't liked some of the coaching decisions by Marco Rose in the early part of the season as Patrick Herrmann, Christoph Kramer, Tony Jantschke and Ibrahima Traore struggle to find minutes with the club. The next game for Monchengladbach is agaisnt FC Koln in what should be a terrific game.
8. SC Freiburg (Last week: 5)
The dream start for Freiburg has come to an end following consecutive victories they lost this past week 2-1 against FC Koln in a very close game. The problem with Freiburg in this match was they weren't able to really to generate any high quality scoring chances and they didn't look like the same team that beat Mainz and Paderborn. Hopefully they can get back on track when they play Hoffenheim in their next match-up.
9. Schalke 04 (Last week: 12)
Finally getting their first win of the season as Schalke made the most of two costly mistakes by the Hertha Berlin defence on the way to a 3-0 victory. The two Centerbacks of Hertha scored own goals off poor clearance attempts and deflections as Niklas Stark and Karim Rekik assisted Schalke with some poor work around their net. Schalke was very grateful for those bounces as the team was shut-out in their opening two games and they now enter the break with a 1-1-1 record and some much needed confidence. Their next game will be against Paderborn on the 15th.
10. Hoffenheim 1899 (Last week: 10)
Thoroughly outplayed by Bayer Leverkusen during their match but Hoffenheim walked away with the 0-0 draw and they now have a 1-1-1 record. This team is definitely a wildcard moving forward as they looked good in their opening 1-0 loss against Frankfurt and then they survived a scoring affair with Werder Bremen in a 3-2 victory. It'll be interesting to see how they approach the rest of the season as head coach Alfred Schreuder has done a great job adjusting the line-up and formation for each match-up.
11. Union Berlin (Last week: 18)
The most exciting game of week 3 in the Bundesliga was watching Union Berlin shock the league with a 3-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund. A lot of people are looking at this match-up as a fluke but Union Berlin definitely outplayed Dortmund in the second half as they were explosive on the attack and very physical and patient on defence. The team has Bundesliga veterans like Anthony Ujah, Manuel Schmiedebach, Christian Gentner and Neven Subotic that can help lead this team moving forward.
12. FC Koln (Last week: 13)
A fantastic rush in the 92nd minute by Ellyes Skhiri was the difference as FC Koln pick up their first victory of the season in an impressive 2-1 performance over SC Freiburg. I thought Koln looked strong offensively in this game as they constantly threatened the penalty area with opportunities. The team has a lot of strong players with guys like Timo Horn, Jonas Hector, Dominick Drexler and Anthony Modeste and if they continue to play at a high level I can see Koln being very competitive all season.
13. Werder Bremen (Last week: 14)
Yuya Osako has been stellar for Werder Bremen so far this season as the Japanese forward has three goals this season with two coming this past weekend in a 3-2 victory over Augsburg. Werder Bremen played at an advantage for a large portion of the match as Augsburg defender Stephan Lichtsteiner received two yellow cards by the 34th minute. Bremen have done a good job offensively to start the season but the team has conceded eight goals through the three games and they need to tighten things up moving forward. They play Union Berlin in their next match-up.
14. Fortuna Dusseldorf (Last week: 9)
Dusseldorf has been shaky to start the season as they opened with a close victory against Werder Bremen but followed that up with consecutive losses against Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in matches where they were outplayed. Dusseldorf is content to sit back defensively and wait for opportunities to counter attack with their speed but the past two games have shown that their defence can't hold off the opposition for that long. The break should be good for Friedhelm Funkel as the veteran manager can work with his team for their next game against Wolfsburg.
15. Paderborn (Last week: 16)
The first point of the season for Paderborn as the held on to a 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg despite being outplayed for large portions of the game. While Paderborn have not looked great to start the season, they have scored in every game and the two forwards Sven Michel and Streli Mamba have done great. I don't see Paderborn being a big threat to the top teams in the Bundesliga but they haven't been shut-out yet and they have given a couple teams a good scare to start the year.
16. Hertha Berlin (Last week: 11)
With a 0-1-2 start to the season Hertha Berlin are in rough shape as they have lost their last two games by a combined score of 6-0. The offensive has been non-existent generating only five shots on target in their past two games and the team has been a mess defensively as they had two own-goals in their last game by their Centre backs. They have a good match-up for their next game as they take on the winless Mainz team.
17. FC Augsburg (Last week: 17)
A red card by defender Stephan Lichtsteiner in the 34th minute really hurt Augsburg as they played a man short for the majority of the match in a 3-2 loss vs. Werder Bremen. I still feel like Augsburg is a better team than they have shown to start the season but they are still looking for their first victory entering week 4. There next game will be tough as they take on Eintracht Frankfurt.
18. Mainz 05 (Last week: 15)
Three straight losses with twelve goals conceded through three games finds Mainz at the very bottom of the league. This past week was embarrassing as the team lost 6-1 against Bayern Munich and they have become an early bet to finish in the bottom three of the league unless things can change around. I really question the teams conditioning as they have given up more than 50% of their goals past the 70th minute of matches.