Week three of the Bundesliga was characterized by yet another goal glut from a record-breaking striker and a series of late goals across the piece.
One thing doesn’t change, however, and that is Bayern Munich will usually be top or pretty damn close and that is again the case, even just three weeks into the new season.
Red-hot favourites to win a 10th successive league title, the SBOTOP Bundesliga betting odds would actually earn you a nice payday if Borussia Dortmund could oust Bayern and win their first championship for a decade, although despite the natural brilliance of Erling Braut Haaland, I think they will fall well short.
Meanwhile, after a few seasons of ups and downs (including relegation) and a close shave last term, Cologne could only have dreamt of their start to 2021/22.
Can anyone stop the prolific Pole?
That is a question I have been wondering for years, ever since he hit five goals in nine minutes for Bayern in a top-flight encounter approaching six years ago.
There has not been a better striker in world football since that moment and here he was again, netting his 300th Bayern Munich goal as part of another hat-trick as the Bundesliga champions swept Hertha Berlin aside.
This time it took him slightly longer (!) but the outcome was the same.
In the process, the Polish striker also broke a club record set by the late, great Gerd Muller in 1970 by scoring in his 16th consecutive Bayern game.
Muller, who died a fortnight ago at the age of 75, scored 547 goals in 594 competitive games during 15 years at Bayern.
For a club that has been paying homage to one of football’s true greats and arguably the greatest goalscorer the game has ever produced, it is fitting his achievements live on in the modern day.
There is no doubt Lewandowski is the modern-day equivalent and has now found the net in 13 straight Bundesliga games, a personal record for the 33-year-old, while team-mate Thomas Muller’s goal means the German international has now scored in the Bundesliga for 13 seasons in a row.
Made in England, manufactured in Germany
Friday night’s contest was quite a start to a weekend of Bundesliga highlights.
It was also an encounter that displayed yet more of the English connection with Germany’s top-flight.
After getting off to a flying start to the season against Eintracht Frankfurt, the honeymoon period was well and truly over for Borussia Dortmund and Marco Rose after the new BVB boss suffered back-to-back defeats.
So, when Haaland struck deep in stoppage time to earn the victory, the relief of most inside the Signal Iduna Park was clear.
As Hoffenheim were edged out in a five-goal thriller, it must be noted all three Dortmund scorers were born in England.
Sunderland-born Giovanni Reyna netted the opener on the night he became the youngest player to make 50 appearances in the Bundesliga.
England teenage midfielder Jude Bellingham, from Stourbridge, restored their advantage and, after Hoffenheim equalized for a second time, Haaland, from Leeds, blasted in an injury-time winner.
Haaland plays for Norway and Reyna is a USA international, with both born in England while their fathers played in the Premier League. Claudio Reyna had two years at Sunderland, while Alf-Inge Haaland played for Nottingham Forest and Leeds – and both had spells at Manchester City.
That’ll make a quiz question for decades to come!
Super subs make Cologne smile
They left it late. Indeed, a stoppage-time Bochum reply meant they were not fully assured of victory until the final whistle, but Cologne must be more than pleased with their return of six points from three matches.
Remember this was the team, now under the stewardship of Steffen Baumgart, which was were relegated three years ago and only survived via the play-offs last term.
The club was in the bottom two in mid-April when veteran tactician Friedhelm Funkel came in and steered the side to three wins to climb out of the automatic drop zone on the final day before emerging successfully through the play-offs to retain Bundesliga status.
Urged on by 25,000 fervent supporters – the biggest crowd at the RheinEnergieStadion for almost 18 months – it was Louis Schaub and Tim Lemperle who came off the bench to score twice in the last eight minutes as Cologne – twice denied by the post through Anthony Modeste – emerged victoriously.
The decisive moment arrived as Schaub turned home a Florian Kainz ball across the face of the goal. Lemperle then wrapped things up in added time to convert Tomas Ostrak’s cross.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
