Bunesliga Storylines MD2 #2298

Paul Wanner Thriving with Heidenheim

Heidenheim has had a surprising start to the Bundesliga season. Even though We are only two matches into the campaign. Heidenheim could be much better than advertised, although they may not have faced the biggest competition to start the season. away at St Pauli and at home against Augsburg. However, It has been a good start. They played four matches in all competitions and won all four. They won in the first round of the German Cup & won their qualifying Match in the conference League. Part of the reason behind their early success is Bayern Munich loanee Paul Wanner He has been sensational in the early parts of the season. He has scored in every single match. So far this season he has been the biggest difference-maker for Heidenheim coming into the season they had fairly low expectations for maintaining their status and reaching that objective would be categorized as a very sufficient and successful season. Even though they managed to catapult themselves into Europe during their first season, which was incredibly impressive since it was their first in the Bundesliga, the possibility of potentially maintaining that was always going to be extraordinarily difficult. their three most important pieces. all departed the club Last season as Tim Kleindienst, Eren Dinkci, Jan-Niklas Beste were important. They all are gone now unfortunately they had to coexist with other components for this upcoming season. This is why the arrival of Paul Wanner Is incredibly important. They have scored six goals from their first two matches in the Bundesliga and he has his fingerprints on each result. Paul Wanner was once crowned as the jewel of Bayern Munich their next big star to come onto the scene. It turned out not to be Aleksandar Pavlović he broke through last season and had a terrific campaign. However, Paul Wanner may ultimately earn his stripes this season and breakthrough into Bayern Munich. There was a lot of hype and expectations surrounding him when he broke into the first team at 16 years old. Since then it hasn't exactly lived up to it. However, this season alone he could reach some great heights considering he's only played four games and has scored in all four with six-goal contributions already, I think there's a good possibility that the 19-year-old s may be enough to help Heidenheim Not only do well in the conference league but also at bare minimum keep them from relegation. They lost an awful lot and it was going to depend on a lot for them to stay up. This loan may be a stroke of genius. it also is the best thing for him. It is a dry loan with no purchase option at the end of it I suspect that the club isn't going to try to buy him permanently either. He will be here for this season and this season alone. However, he certainly can make a great season with this team. he will be and has been their number one option which will allow him to capitalize on big opportunities, score a lot of goals, and be their biggest difference Maker in addition to that, they are playing in Europe this season, allowing him the experience of a European calendar He has been dazzling in his first two minutes. It is too early to make any sort of proclamations but Paul Wanner Should be on the watch list for young player of the season. He's going to have a bunch of opportunities to show Bayern Munich how special He can be. He has been excellent in the past few matches. He has played this season, however I suspect this is only the beginning. He's just getting warmed up. We very well could be looking at another star in the Bundesliga.

Nuri Şahin Lack of Identity

Dortmund was in the Champions League final last season. even though their overall season left them. very disappointed. They weren't really in the Champions League race and if it was just through the league they would have missed out on the Champions League altogether. That's just the reality of last season. However, that being said, the direction of the team was still handled fairly effectively. The identity was clear and for the most part, Dortmund's approach over the last two seasons has been effective. they went to a Champions League final and they almost won the title. They should have probably won both. however, under new leadership, It's gone by the wayside. Terzic easily identified his best player. even when he had Jude Bellingham at his disposal, they did not run the team through Jude. Over the last 2 years, this is Julian Brandt's team. That is why they ended up in a Champions League final. Julian Brandt has been the key contributor to Dortmund's success recently. He was the best player 2 years ago and he was the third-best player last year. He is consistently been a top-five player in the league for the last 4 or 5 years. he has been the most crucial piece. No matter what Dortmund does the first thing that needs to be understood is they have to play through Julie and Brandt. This is how they're able to overachieve and the way they've done it. Nuri Şahin has completely changed that for this team to be successful. Julian Brandt has to be at the center of everything happening. The sooner that is realized the better. Currently, they don't have any sort of identity and despite having a great summer with what they have brought in, there have been huge issues over the first two matches. Dortmund got bailed out against Frankfurt. In the first game, his lineup was completely erratic. This past weekend They were held to a goalless draw against Bremen. By the way, Bremen had the better chances in that match. There were some times that they got bailed out by good goalkeeping. Max Beier Did get the start but still, on top of that, the rest of it was a bit of a mess. He is not operating this team through. Julian Brandt. leaving him on his own to create things for himself. they are putting him on an island similar to how Jamal Musiala was under Tuchel. That did not end well for Bayern Munich. It is early in the season and he has plenty of time to correct this. However, it has been concerning four Points out of a possible six isn't a bad spot to be in, but we must look at this in long-term capacities. It has not been a strong start. he is the youngest manager in the league so perhaps we should give him a bit of a pass. However, it is an alarm Bell that he's not running this team through Julian Brandt. the reason it's an alarm is that it is the most obvious thing about Dortmund to make matters worse, his defense while good will be without Nico Schlotterbeck After receiving a red card Dortmund's entire back line was on a yellow card. This is a complete lack of discipline on top of a lack of identity. Nuri Şahin Is going to be in big trouble if he can't sort this stuff out. He's a young manager and will learn. However, he's already made many mistakes thus far. He has the team to do it. he has the quality on his side. however, running this through anybody else other than Julian Brandt is a disaster waiting to happen. It is fixable but this needs to be sorted out quickly because the last 120 minutes of Dortmund barely looks like a Europa League team. Fixable but the mishaps must be corrected.

Leverkusen Invincibility shattered by Leipzig

Germany's Most indestructible team has finally been beaten. Leverkusen hasn't lost a match since 2022 against Bochum. They displayed a huge level of dominance since Alonzo came in. However, it took a little while for that to start to unfold and click in the way we have seen over the last year and a half. Wirtz returning from his injury and then the additions that were made last summer made them an impossible task to take down. Even when it looked like they were on the verge of being beaten. They always found a way to enlist a winning mentality and find their luck having capitalized on dozens of winners and equalizers occurring after the 90th minute. Leverkusen has been one of the most incredible runs we've ever seen in the Bundesliga. Last season they nearly went unbeaten through the entire season in all competitions. They only lost once unfortunately that was the Europa League final. However, they won the Bundesliga and The German Cup. They should be among the favorites for both yet again. I don't want to understand how dominant and how incredible they have been over this stretch. Wirtz Last season was the best midfielder in Europe winning player of the season. They have the most consistent Midfield incredible center-back options outstanding fullbacks productive strikers and a sound bench. However, after all of this everything they've shown and done 35 games without a loss The glass ceiling has finally been broken. RB Leipzig is the one issuing the damage. Among The other top-heavy teams in the Bundesliga RB Leipzig shouldn't necessarily be a surprise. They took two losses to Leverkusen Last season. However, the first meeting was a back-and-forth 3-2 loss. The second RB Leipzig had them on the ropes before they stormed back to beat them. Leipzig and Leverkusen are not that far apart in terms of talent or ability between the two sides. The big difference I see is Leverkusen Now has the silverware and the trophies to put on the table. They also possess the best player in the league. However, RB Leipzig showed how genuine they are as a title contender this season. Leverkusen was devastated this past week by finally seeing their streak run out. However, they are very much still going to be one of the biggest threats to the Bundesliga title. Bayern Munich has looked poor even in victory. Dortmund seems like it's a mess. Arguably those are the main four teams that could challenge For the title. I mean personally, I want Wolfsburg to stick their head where they don't belong but in all honesty, those are the four teams most qualified to do so. 50% of them have not looked good. That leaves what we saw Sunday night. probably the two most formidable teams to go for the title. It was a chaotic match. RB Leipzig came back from two goals down. Their manager Marco Rose got sent off In the first half. Leipzig managed to Nick a late goal in the first half before hitting back twice with Openda. It was truly a fascinating affair. If the second week in a row that the Champions have lost a two-goal lead. However, I'm not worried about them at all. they have the capabilities and everything needed. They needed this to happen for their own sake so they could reload and readjust their team for this season. However, Leipzig are a serious threat. They do not have Wirtz The best player in the league at their disposal. However, they do possess a top-three manager in the Bundesliga. They also have arguably Three players that you could rank anywhere from the top five to the top 15 with Benjamin Sesko, Openda & Xavi Simons They have a three-headed monster. an incredible Midfield. Along with some high-quality subs that they can use in critical moments. There's not a huge separation. Leverkusen is the better team At this point, however, Leipzig isn't that far off from it. they showed that they have all the intangible pieces to test the Champions and that's exactly what they did. Two wins out of Two To start the campaign they are assorted in all pillars of their team. it was going to take a remarkable team to finally end the streak and Leipzig shows. That's exactly what they are. do not be surprised if RB Leipzig launches a very serious title challenge. this is it's too early for any long-term proclamations however, would I be surprised if a Leipzig wins the title? I would not.