Bundesliga Team of the Week – Matchday 5
There were goals galore on Matchday 5 as one team scored seven, while others needed only one to upset the odds.
Werder Bremen continued their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant 3-1 victory at home to Hertha Berlin in the Matchday 5 opener on Tuesday, handing the visitors their first defeat of the campaign in the process.
Freiburg ensured Schalke's miserable start to the Bundesliga season continued as the Black Forest outfit earned a 1-0 victory at home.
Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw by Augsburg on Tuesday, losing their 100 per cent Bundesliga record. In another match, Hoffenheim beat Hannover 3-1 at their HDI Arena on Tuesday evening.
Kevin Volland scored two second-half goals as Bayer Leverkusen continued their recent upswing with a 2-1 win at Rhineland rivals Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Borussia Dortmund were at their ruthless best as they hit seven goals past a hapless Nürnberg side at the Westfalenstadion to move to within two points of Bayern in second place. Borussia Dortmund players dominate our team of the week after the 7-0 win over FC Nürnberg.
Borussia Mönchengladbach, meanwhile, are among those chasing Dortmund after they battled to a 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to go fourth. Elsewhere, RB Leipzig battled to a 2-0 win over Stuttgart, while Wolfsburg were held to a goalless draw in Mainz. Wolfsburg failed to take advantage of a comedy of defensive errors from Mainz.
Now let us turn to the individual performances of the weekend. We have considered the team formation of 4-2-3-1. Here is the team of the week, starting with the man in goal.
Goalkeeper
GK: Andreas Luthe, FC Augsburg
Luthe was given the chance instead of Fabien Giefer, who made a horrifying mistake on Matchday 4. Luthe didn't disappoint either! The 31-year-old made eight saves in total against Bayern München and helped Augsburg earn a draw.
Defenders
RB: Achraf Hakimi, Borussia Dortmund
The Real Madrid loanee impressed in his first Dortmund start and showed his offensive qualities. Hakimi marked his impressive debut with a brilliantly taken goal from the edge of the box. His pace and ability to beat defenders made him a constant threat going forward. The Moroccan international linked up very well with Christian Pulisic down the right wing and looked strong defensively. Favre needs to start him more often.
LB: Christian Günter, SC Freiburg
The 25-year old was very disciplined and strong defensively and also contributed to the offense. He provoked Freiburg's winner against Schalke after Ralf Fährmann couldn't hold onto his shot from distance.
CB: Milos Veljkovic, Werder Bremen
Veljkovic was literally the boss in Bremen's defense. He won a lot of duels, both inside and outside the box and seemed confident and calm. The Serbian also scored with a powerful header.
CB: Ermin Bicakcic, Hoffenheim
The last match was a rock-solid performance by the Bosnian defender who prevented Hannover from opening the scoring with a magnificent block.