Bundesliga Bulletin: Borussia Dortmund drop more points

Good week for: Away teams, new coaches, Bayern Munich, headers, Freiburg,

Bad week for: Julian Nagelsmann, the sides battling relegation, Dortmund

The lowdown:

— Borussia Dortmund might not want to be asked the mentality question again, but a 2-2 draw at home against an injury-ridden Werder Bremen will have done them no favors. Mario Götze, making his first start of the season, equalized a minute after Milot Rashica had given Bremen the lead in a furious start. Marco Reus scored with his head (as had Götze) to put BVB ahead, but with Dortmund seemingly in control, Marco Friedl headed in at the back post from a corner. Dortmund have 11 points from a possible 18 so far this season, and are three points off league-leaders Bayern.

— Paderborn might have scored two goals against Bayern Munich, but they also failed to avoid conceding three. The story of the day wasn't the newly-promoted home side though, despite their best efforts, or even Serge Gnabry scoring and assisting one. It was Robert Lewandowski grabbing his record-setting 10th goal of the season after six games. What a blistering start it has been for the Pole, and thanks to him (and results elsewhere) Bayern go top.

— Whisper it quietly, particularly to any Schalke fans you know, but David Wagner might well be the man to get this club back to stability. Wagner made it four wins in a row with a brilliant performance against a RB Leipzig side tipped to challenge for the title. Alexander Nübel may have cost one goal, but performed a brilliant double save that deserves to be remembered. Amine Harit scored again, and the introduction of Rabbi Matondo into the starting line-up proved a masterstroke. It was the best Schalke performance in a long, long time.

— Gladbach and Leverkusen got solid away wins that were expected of them. Kai Havertz assisted and scored to cap yet another fine performance for the Werkself against Augsburg, while Florian Neuhaus commanded the midfield and got on the scoresheet for the Foals against Hoffenheim.

- But it's Freiburg who will be stealing headlines because they are still third in the table after a 2-1 win away at Düsseldorf. Not to take away from the club's strong start, but perhaps a reason might be their fixture list. Before this weekend's win over Fortuna, they'd played Mainz, Paderborn, Cologne, Hoffenheim and Augsburg. Their next six games might give a truer perspective of where they're at: Dortmund, Union, RB Leipzig, Bremen, Frankfurt and Leverkusen. 

The quotes:

"It wasn't enough in the second half, [especially as ] we were playing towards the Yellow Wall."
- Marco Reus after Dortmund's disappointing 2-2 draw with Bremen

"It's just as frustrating as every other defeat, regardless of whether it's Bayern Munich."
- Paderborn captain Uwe Hünemeier after the defeat to Bayern

"I'll tell you what I just told the team. The way we defended today was not worthy of the league."
- Cologne head coach Achim Beierlorzer after the 4-0 defeat to Hertha

"Last week I was the goalscorer, today the idiot. That's football."
- Augsburg striker Florian Niederlechner, who scored an own goal against Leverkusen

"I don't know what I said in that moment. I must have said something. It was probably the look on my face. I definitely didn't insult him."
- Mainz head coach Sandro Schwarz after being sent off by the referee against Wolfsburg

"I still have €500 to pay because I keep leaving my raincoat on the pitch. If I have to pay for that as well, then I'll need a second job."
- Julian Nagelsmann about internal fines for his yellow card for complaining against Schalke

The stats:

— Dortmund's home draw against Bremen was the only game of the matchday that didn't end in a victory for the away side. Eight away wins on a single matchday was a Bundesliga first.

— No Bundesliga player has ever scored 10 goals after 6 matchdays, until Robert Lewandowski this season. What else can you say about the man?

— With 13 points from six games, Freiburg have set a new club record for points this early in the season.

— Wolfsburg's win in Mainz was their first in Mainz for 104 months.

— Hoffenheim have scored the lowest number of goals (4) in the league so far, along with Cologne. Not the most encouraging start from a side that scored the third most (70) last season.

— The last time Peter Gulacsi conceded three or more goals at home in the league was April 2018. RB Leipzig's opposition? Julian Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim. Funny old world, football.

— Amine Harit scored his fourth goal of the season, which is the most he has ever scored in one season in his career.

The fans:

Wolfsburg might not be famous for having the most passionate fans, but their away support in Mainz was so excited before the start of the game that the smoke generated from the pyrotechnics delayed kickoff by three minutes.

The weird:

Mainz head coach Sandro Schwarz became the first head coach in Bundesliga history to see two yellow cards and then a red card. It was a day to forget for Mainz. Losing by a single goal, Mainz were trying to get the ball forward but Wolfsburg's Wout Weghorst won a free kick near the sideline. Schwarz was furious at the decision made by referee Felix Brych and marched onto the pitch. By the time he had made it back to the sidelines, Brych had caught up with him and flashed two yellow cards quickly at him before pulling out the red. Schwarz was sent off, and will miss Mainz's next game, and had to watch the final seconds tick away as the club lost 1-0 and end the weekend second bottom.