Frankfurt, Germany: Despite predicting that his injury-hit team would struggle in the first half of the season, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich got off to a winning start in their bid to win a third consecutive Bundesliga title.
But even in their 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg, Bayern’s current deficiencies became obvious, hence the latest moves on the transfer marker.
One day after signing defender Mehdi Benatia from Rome, Bayern snapped up veteran midfielder Xabi Alonso as they prepared to visit Schalke in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
It did not take Schalke long to start talking about a crisis. They got knocked out of the German Cup in the first round by third-division club Dresden, then lost the Bundesliga opener at Hannover. That was enough to revive the discussion about coach Jens Keller, who reportedly escaped getting fired several times in the past.
Schalke finished third last season and had ambitions of even maybe going higher this season, but they could find itself in an even worse situation if they lose to Bayern on Saturday.
For the record, Schalke have lost their last seven matches against Bayern, with a 2-23 goal difference. To make matters worse, defender Sead Kolasinac is out for half a year with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen’s game plan under new coach Roger Schmidt seems to be simple: Don’t waste any time.
Leverkusen stunned Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the league opener, with Karim Bellarabi scoring nine seconds into the game for the fastest goal in Bundesliga history.
In Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against FC Copenhagen, Leverkusen were two goals up inside the first seven minutes en route to a 4-0 win. In the first leg in Copenhagen, Leverkusen were up a goal by the fifth minute and won 3-2.
Leverkusen will be looking to confirm their good start when they host Hertha Berlin on Saturday. Berlin arrive without several key injured players, including playmaker Alexander Baumjohann and defender Sebastian Langkamp.
