Freiburg beat Schalke 2-1 and, because football is a cruel and petty sport, that result alone was enough to put them above Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga — not because Dortmund lost, but because Dortmund drew and Freiburg's goal difference is better. Dortmund are still unbeaten. They're just unbeaten in second place now. We explain how that works, slowly, for anyone who thought "top of the table" meant something stable.

Bayern Munich somehow conceded a goal before most of their fans had sat down — Augsburg's Robin Fellhauer scored in under nine seconds from kickoff, reportedly the fastest goal in Bundesliga history, by exploiting a Manuel Neuer pass that should've been a formality. Bayern needed two Harry Kane assists just to draw 2-2. Jamal Musiala missed it with a knock from international duty, Saibari filled in fine, and that's the last we're saying about that.

RB Leipzig put six goals past Eintracht Frankfurt, with Christopher Nkunku scoring a hat-trick, because apparently all that squad needed was Frankfurt standing in front of them. Elsewhere: Bayer Leverkusen won an actual shootout at Mainz (4-3, Diaby's 50th league goal), Hoffenheim and Hamburg played out a genuinely unhinged 2-3 with a red card and two VAR-disallowed goals, 1. FC Köln beat Borussia Mönchengladbach to keep them rooted at the bottom with zero points from five games, Union Berlin finally won a match, and Stuttgart did the professional, boring thing at Paderborn.

In the second division, Hertha BSC won their seventh straight game and are still — still — unbeaten, and 1. FC Nürnberg played out an eight-goal fever dream against Wolfsburg that somehow ended 4-4.

And because you can't just skip two weeks of your own podcast, we close with a brief, unsentimental look at Jürgen Klopp's first two games in charge of Germany — a draw, then a home defeat to Greece — before we get back to normal service.

Harry Kane became the fastest player in Bundesliga history to a century of league goals, and did it inside a 7-0 demolition of Union Berlin that also featured Michael Olise's first career hat-trick. That alone would headline most weeks. Instead it has to share the podium with Borussia Dortmund, who ground out a 1-0 win at Stuttgart to stay perfect through four games and go top of the table, and with SC Freiburg, whose three-game winning start finally ended in a wild 2-2 at Frankfurt. Elsewhere: Werder Bremen came back from 2-0 down to beat Augsburg with a stoppage-time winner, Borussia Mönchengladbach fired their head coach and then lost 4-3 in a seven-goal circus against Mainz, Hamburg won a league match for the first time this season, and Bayer Leverkusen beat RB Leipzig to continue building some real form. In Europe, Leverkusen won their Europa League opener while Hoffenheim lost theirs. And Jürgen Klopp named his first Germany squad — all 44 players of it — leaving out Maximilian Beier, who responded the very next day by scoring the winner for Dortmund. Down in 2. Bundesliga, Hertha Berlin are six games into a perfect season, with 1. FC Nürnberg two points back in second.

SC Freiburg are top of the Bundesliga after three matchdays. Say that sentence out loud a few times, because it doesn't get less strange. A 5-0 demolition of ten-man Gladbach puts them there on goal difference over an equally perfect Dortmund, who needed goals from Fabio Silva and a Felix Nmecha brace to see off Paderborn. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, had to go to a town of 13,000 people and grind out a 2-1 win over newly-promoted SV Elversberg, who very nearly repeated their opening-day miracle against Leverkusen — and who gave Bayern a real fright before Harry Kane's 72nd-minute winner settled it. Elsewhere: RB Leipzig went from a historic 4-1 Champions League beating at Como to putting five goals past a hapless Hamburg side that still hasn't scored a league goal this season. Schalke picked up their first win with a dramatic 3-1 away at Union Berlin. Augsburg and Leverkusen played out a VAR-heavy 2-2. Frankfurt beat rivals Mainz to hand Adi Hütter his first win back in the job. And down in 2. Bundesliga, Hertha Berlin have won all five of their games and sit top of the table, with 1. FC Nürnberg right behind them on a nearly-as-good run of their own.

Bayern's unbeaten start to the season continues, but their 59-match scoring streak doesn't — held to a goalless draw by newly promoted Schalke at the Veltins-Arena, in front of a crowd that celebrated the point like a trophy. Jamal Musiala made his first appearance back from the neurological condition that caused him to collapse twice in preseason — Kompany confirmed it's seizure-related and said a recurrence "wouldn't be a big deal," which we unpack carefully.

Elversberg are two wins from two Bundesliga matches. After shocking Leverkusen on opening day, they came from behind twice at Gladbach — with their own head coach sent off at halftime — to win 4-3 through a stoppage-time Maurice Krattenmacher winner. Population 13,000, and undefeated.

RB Leipzig came back to earth after their emphatic opening win, losing 3-1 at Werder Bremen. Leverkusen answered last week's shock defeat with a 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Dortmund won 3-2 at Hoffenheim but confirmed their big summer signing Giannis Konstantelias is out for months with a serious knee injury.

Also: Mainz 5-0 Hamburg, Augsburg 4-1 Frankfurt (their second big win in two matches), Freiburg 1-0 Paderborn, Stuttgart 4-1 Köln.

Next weekend: Union Berlin travel to Schalke, and Bayern host Elversberg — suddenly not the formality it looked like a fortnight ago.

Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga is done. Bayern beat Stuttgart 5-1 — business as usual, with Ismael Saibari setting up two goals off the bench on his debut, and Musiala still absent while his return is carefully managed following two preseason collapses linked to a neurological issue, not just heat exhaustion as first reported.

The real story: SV Elversberg, newly promoted, population 13,000, beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in their first ever Bundesliga match. 2-0 up inside 9 minutes. Cole Campbell — the ex-Dortmund winger we flagged as their smart summer signing back in July — scored the second. Leverkusen's captain and goalkeeper both admitted their team was disorganized in the first match of their third head coach in a year.

Schalke's long-awaited Bundesliga return went badly — 3-0 away at Augsburg, down to 10 men after a 62nd-minute red card. Edin Džeko made his Bundesliga comeback after 5,734 days away. One road defeat doesn't undo a mid-table prediction — the real test is next week at home against Union Berlin.

Also: RB Leipzig 3-0 Gladbach, a winning debut for new coach Martín Demichelis. Köln 3-2 Hoffenheim, with Said El Mala — who nearly left for Dortmund this summer — on the scoresheet. Union Berlin 3-3 Frankfurt in a six-goal thriller. Dortmund 2-0 Hamburg overshadowed by a serious knee injury worry for Konstantelias. Mainz 0-0 Paderborn. Freiburg 4-1 Werder Bremen.

Next weekend: Schalke host Bayern, Leverkusen host Union Berlin in the match that tells us if their opening-day collapse was a blip.

SSV Jeddeloh II, a fourth-tier Regionalliga club, beat 1. FC Heidenheim 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal first round — one of the great cup shocks in recent German football. Heidenheim's coach Frank Schmidt was suspended and watched from the stands as his team missed a penalty and conceded five. Elsewhere in the Pokal: Frankfurt 11-0 St. Tönis, comfortable wins for Stuttgart, Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, and Leipzig. Bayern and Dortmund don't play their first-round ties until September 1-2.

Premier League kicked off — Tottenham spent close to £300M this summer and got beaten 3-0 by Brentford on De Zerbi's opening day. Panic spending meets a brand new spine with zero time to gel.

La Liga also underway — Real Madrid and Barcelona both had delayed starts due to World Cup recovery. Mourinho's actual Real Madrid return: a grinding 2-1 win at Espanyol, substitute Carlos Espí scoring in the 90th. Flick's Barcelona debut: a statement 5-0 win over Elche, Raphinha and Fermín López both scoring twice. Two completely different coaching philosophies on display in the same weekend.

One week out from Bundesliga kickoff. Bayern vs Stuttgart at the Allianz next Friday. Full state-of-play check on the title race, the European race, and the relegation battle heading into matchday one.

Two weeks until Bundesliga kickoff — Bayern vs VfB Stuttgart at the Allianz on Friday August 28. Full season preview.

Musiala scare: fainted from heat exhaustion during Bayern's friendly against Leipzig (30°C+ in Munich, dizziness and circulatory problems). Bayern also lost Laimer and Kim in the same match — three first-teamers down before the Supercup.

Schalke 0-3 Real Madrid at the Veltins-Arena — Mbappé, Huijsen, Espí. Reality check for the newly promoted side, though it shouldn't scare anyone off their season.

Full title race: Bayern still favorites (double last season, goals record, Kompany to 2029). Dortmund challenge but Kovač's contract is a live question and they lost Adeyemi to Barcelona. Leipzig's Demichelis is the wildcard after Leipzig fired a coach who finished 3rd. Leverkusen have their third coach in a year — from a title two years ago to genuine uncertainty now.

European race: Hoffenheim took a real hit losing Touré to Newcastle for ~€50M but stay in the mix. Frankfurt lost Nathaniel Brown to Bayern with no equivalent incoming. Stuttgart consolidate after their Pokal final run.

Relegation: Elversberg and Paderborn are the drop picks. Köln and Hamburg fight for the playoff spot — genuinely a coin flip. Schalke, with their fanbase and finances, land comfortably mid-table at 13th, not scrapping for survival.

Full 18-club prediction table. Klopp names his first Germany squad in September. Musiala's health is the story to watch.

Next Friday: Franz Beckenbauer Supercup — Dortmund vs Bayern.

Seven big managerial changes this summer. Andrea Pirlo just added to the list — Italy appointed him Friday after Guardiola and Ancelotti both said no. Plus Jürgen Klopp at Germany, Zinedine Zidane at France, José Mourinho back at Real Madrid, Rúben Amorim at AC Milan, Massimiliano Allegri at Napoli, Enzo Maresca at Man City. Half of them national team jobs. All three of Europe's biggest football nations — Germany, France, Italy — have new coaches going into September.

Transfer window is chaos. Real Madrid signed Bernardo Silva on a free — hijacked from Barcelona — plus Konaté free from Liverpool, Cucurella €55M from Chelsea, Dumfries €20M from Inter. Mourinho building defensively. Bayern spent €110M on Nathaniel Brown (€55M from Frankfurt) and Ismael Saibari (€55M from PSV). Barcelona signed Anthony Gordon for €80M from Newcastle - and Karim Adeyemi for €29M from Dortmund. The Adeyemi transfer has Germany asking why: inconsistent Bundesliga output, disciplinary problems, missed CL final chances. Barcelona's bet: Hansi Flick can revive him.

Tottenham spent €267M after finishing 17th — Tonali at €100M leads the panic buying. Newcastle are being pillaged. Bayern strengthens, Bundesliga weakens. Same story as always.

Still in play: Julián Álvarez to Barcelona (Arsenal also bidding), Michael Olise to Real Madrid, Rodri chase, Bruno Fernandes to Galatasaray.

NBA: LeBron signed with Philadelphia. Two-year, $8M deal — 90% pay cut from his $53M last season. Sixers starting five: Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron, Embiid. Most stacked team he's ever joined.

Charles Barkley on Stephen A. Smith: "The number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, 'Yo, man, you always stacking your team.'" Coach's-eye on whether Barkley is right — LeBron's teams: Miami (Wade+Bosh+Allen+Battier), Cleveland (Irving+Love), LA (AD+Doncic+Reaves), now Philly with four All-Stars. Is he strategic or is he not a builder? Both, and neither.

Next episode: season preview. Premier League Aug 15. Bundesliga Aug 21.