In the fourth week of the Bundesliga, Bayern fans got a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel when Arjen Robben scored twice on his debut in the Bavarian shirt. Robben's show (aided by Ribery's return) allowed Bayern to convincingly defeat defending champions Wolfsburg 3-0. The full results along with highlights videos follow.
Wolfsburg suffered their first setback of the season, falling 4-2 against Hamburg but the big surprise of this round was Mainz's shocking victory over Bayern, putting the promoted club in fifth place. The full results follow.
In the early weeks of the 2009-2010 season, one thing is clear: no one is afraid of the mighty Bayern Munich anymore. After Hoffenheim in the first week, Bremen in the second, it was Mainz's turn to hold their own against the German giants.
In 90 minutes of play, Mainz's status as a promoted club never showed. Fueled by an impressive performance by striker Aristide Bance and goalkeeper Heinz Muller, the O-Fives took a comfortable lead in the first half and played smartly in the second for an historic 2-1 win over Bayern.
From the get-go, the home side took on the role of agressor instead of victim. They constantly harassed Bayern's midfield, often forcing them to backtrack instead of going forward. Van Bommel's absence in the heart of the Bavarians midfield deeply hurt as they had no one to get the ball back once they lost it. The situation was even worse for the visitors in defense. Bance's constant presence between Van Buyten and Badstuber made them uneasy at times, more so when the ball was crossed into the box in direction of Bance's head.
Overwhelmed by Mainz's intensity, it's no surprise that Bayern conceded the first goal in the 24th minute. After receiving a superb through-ball, Austrian international Andreas Ivanschitz fired a shot to the near post which bounced right under Rensing's arm. There's no doubt that the goalkeeper could have done better on that shot. It was an ugly goal but it was fully deserved.
Mainz kept up the tempo with numerous crosses inside the box but Bance was unable to put in a quality header. His bicycle-kick four minutes after Ivanschitz's goal almost gave Mainz a two-goal lead but the shot rattled off the bar to the relief of Bayern's defenders. However, the onslaught wasn't over yet. At the 36th minute, Bance finally received the cross exactly how he wanted it and headed the ball past a petrified Rensing for Mainz's second goal of the game. To everyone's surprise and to the home fans' delight Mainz had a two-goal lead at the break and Bayern had already used up two of their substitutes, basically ending the first half with a 4-2-4 formation.
In the second half, the visitors came out a lot more hungry. Suddenly, the roles were reversed. Bayern was the aggressor, Mainz the victim. The German giants wasted no time getting back into the game by scoring their first goal an own-goal by a Mainz defender one minute after the start of the second half. As the home side became increasingly unable to get out of their own half, it was their goalkeeper's time to shine. Muller was excellent in those 45 minutes, intercepting crosses both high and low denying long-range strikes, gobbling up unfavorable rebounds; he was in control of his territory.
There were a few anxious moments but the O-Fives did it. When the final whistle came, the stadium erupted in joy as did the players. You would have thought they had just won the league, but they had simply outworked a struggling Bayern Munich side. With that win, Mainz enter the top five while Bayern slides out of the top 10. Van Gaal has to start looking for solutions pronto because while they wait for the injured to return, everyone else is passing them in the standings.
Bayern Munich line-up: Michael Rensing; Philipp Lahm, Daniel Van Buyten, Holger Badstuber, Edson Braafheid; Hamit Altintop (Thomas Muller, 32nd), Anatoliy Tymoschuk, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Danijel Pranjic (Ivica Olic, 36th); Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose (Jose Ernesto Sousa).
A still-rehabilitating Bayern Munich could only salvage a draw out of their second game of the season. Defending champions Wolfsburg and Schalke 04 are alone at the top with two victories each.
It was goal galore for the opening week of the Bundesliga as only two games counted less than two goals. Defending champions VfL Wolfsburg got off to a great start, beating Stuttgart 2-0 while an injury-riddled Bayern could only get a draw against Hoffenheim.
One of the feel-good stories of last season was the rise of Hoffenheim, a newly-promoted side, to the top of the Bundesliga. The small village saw its team win the first half of the season and then go on to finish seventh at the end of May. At the start of this season, the big question is would they do it again?
The first game of the season showed that Hoffenheim mean business. Against a revamped Bayern Munich side, Hoffenheim fought tooth and nails to prevent the German giants from walking away with a win
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