Every Monday of the Bundesliga season we’ll look back on 8 of the biggest storylines from the past round of fixtures in the Bundesliga & Bundesliga 2.

For Premium Subscribers we feature a historic victory, a goalkeeping blunder, a rejuvenated French international, and much, much, more!

FC Augsburg rewrite history with impeccable Rafał Gikiewicz

After failing to win any of their previous 24 encounters vs Bayer leverkusen (7 draws, 17 losses), FC Augsburg finally got one over on their Bundesliga rivals with a 2:1 win on Saturday.

The opening half hour provided a glimpse of the bold tactical revamp manager Enrico Maaßen is implementing, whilst the final 60 minutes were filled with last ditch-tackles, impeccable concentration, and a remarkable Rafał Gikiewicz.

The 34-year old Polish shot-stopper has been under pressure in recent weeks.

FC Augsburg are close to completing a deal for Germany’s U21 Euro winning goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, and Gikiewicz, himself, stated in an interview ahead of the season that he’d be willing “to pack his suitcase and change clubs” if the coach no longer had him in his plans.

Though the talk surrounding his position as the starting goalkeeper will remain, Gikiewicz did himself a favour on Saturday with 9 saves in the Bay-Arena. Two matchdays in, no goalkeeper has made more saves in a single match than the veteran shot-stopper.

Defensive Fortitude at the Forefront of HSV’s 5th Promotion Attempt

After 4 consecutive seasons in the Zweite Bundesliga, Hamburger SV are finally looking to go the final step this year and return to the Bundesliga.

Schalke 04 paved the way last season with individual attacking brilliance, but HSV seem to be taking a different approach 4 gameweeks in.

With 5 scored and 1 conceded HSV fans have seen the fewest goals amongst all 18 second-tier outfits. 

The defence surrounding Daniel Heuer Fernandes has held firm for the most part, but a new-look midfield and attack still needs to find itself ahead of bigger tests to come.

Only 1 of the 8 goals scored in all competitions has come in the first half of play, whilst up until this weekend all of Hamburg’s league goals came off the boot (or head) of striking talent Robert Glatzel.

Addressing these two areas should go a long way in solidifying HSV’s status as the undisputed favourites for the Zweite Liga title.

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