Bundesliga round-up: Former Manchester City defender endures nightmare opening weekend
There were no real shocks on the opening weekend of the new Bundesliga campaign, although Borussia Dortmund’s thumping 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig was an unexpected scoreline. Niko Kovac kicked off his tenure of Bayern Munich with a win over Hoffenheim, while both of the newly-promoted sides fell defeat despite spirited displays.
Hertha Berlin limped over the finish last season season, winless in their last three games, but kicked off the new campaign with a 1-0 win over Nurnberg, who are back in the Bundesliga following a four-year absence. It was an unconvincing display from Pal Dardai’s side and they have goalkeeper Rune Jarstein to thank for the victory. The 33-year-old saved Mikael Ishak’s penalty with six minutes remaining to ensure Hertha came away with three points and a clean sheet.
Jarstein made two other saves and commanded his box with authority, coming off his line to claim five high balls during the match. The veteran shot-stopper starts the season with the highest WhoScored rating from the weekend’s action in Germany (8.68).
Andre Hahn was one of the first signings Augsburg made over the summer and the 28-year-old provided an instant impact on his first game back at the club following a four-year absence. Augsburg came from 1-0 down to newly-promoted Fortuna Duesseldorf to triumph 2-1 and Hahn ended up scoring the winner with 14 minutes remaining.
Hahn, who also garnered a WhoScored rating of 8.68, was a constant threat for Augsburg. The former Germany international won five aerial duels, fired off four shots and also completed three dribbles. Not only did Hahn excel going forward, he also carried out his defensive work diligently. In fact, he completed six tackles and interceptions combined.
Rounding off the top-three highest WhoScored rated players from gameweek one in the Bundesliga is Eintracht Frankfurt striker Sebastien Haller (8.29). The 24-year-old was decisive in Frankfurt’s 2-0 win away to Freiburg, playing a direct hand in both goals.
The Frankfurt No.9 provided the assist for Nicolai Muller’s 10th-minute opener before confirming all three points with a right-foot finish from inside the penalty box with 82 minutes on the clock. Haller lead from the front well, making two tackles and winning seven aerial duels.
While the aforementioned trio started the season with impressive performances, the same cannot be said for Schalke centre-back and former Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic. The Serbia international received his marching orders from referee Patrick Ittrich just after the hour-mark when Schalke were 1-0 down to Wolfsburg. Schalke incredibly managed to equalise with five minutes left but ended up conceding an injury-time winner to start the season with a defeat.
Nastasic hadn’t even managed a tackle or an interception during his time on the pitch, winning only one of the three contested aerial duels. A WhoScored rating of 5.00 was the lowest of any player in the Bundesliga this weekend.
