But there are several things that give me courage in this matter: On the one hand, almost all of the failures were contact injuries, which rules out personal fault through overload or athletic deficiencies. In addition, BVB is aware of the problem of the past year. With Shad Forsythe, an expert in the field of athletics was hired in the summer. With its help, the number of muscle injuries should be reduced. In view of the intense weeks leading up to the World Cup, this is necessary to keep up with Bayern.
2. Union shows Hertha how to do it
The mayor of Berlin comes from Köpenick. Union Berlin triumphed against Hertha BSC for the fourth time in a row. After the blue and whites had the upper hand in the capital for decades, Union is now the sporting number one. That was clear to see in the 3-1 win on Saturday. Hertha only became dangerous when Union only managed.
Above all, it was the basic things that made the people from Köpenick better. Hertha’s coach Sandro Schwarz summed it up: “Before we talk about structure, it’s about getting a charisma and intensity on the pitch: grippy, disgusting and being there for each other.” Hertha missed all that, Union put it on the pitch for over 90 minutes. And if the BSC wants to have a say again in future derbies, the team has to show precisely these virtues.
3. FC Bayern shines with question marks
FC Bayern dominated the game against Eintracht Frankfurt from the start. Anyone hoping for a close fight was disappointed after eleven minutes at the latest. At that point it was already 2-0 and more goals were only a matter of time. The offensive around Sadio Mané, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala overwhelmed the Frankfurt defense, which allowed one big chance after the other.
The five goals in the Supercup against Leipzig were now followed by six goals against Frankfurt. The absence of Robert Lewandowski is not felt. So far. Because one question mark remains: Can Bayern shine against low-lying opponents without Lewandowski? Leipzig and Frankfurt defended boldly and offensively, which suited Munich’s fast players. But if the opponents in the league are Union or Mainz, in the Champions League it’s Tottenham in London or Atlético in Madrid, the situation is different. Because in all of these teams, the defenses are deep and force the opponent to throw in crosses, which are headed out by tall central defenders. In such cases it is important to have a real centre-forward in the penalty area. Serge Gnabry (1.76 meters) and Sadio Mané (1.74 meters) are not.