EURO BITES: Bundesliga - Arjen Robben back with a bang, Bayern want Pep Guardiola to stay, and a sickening injury for Andre Hahn

A round-up of the weekend’s Bundesliga action as Arjen Robben made a scoring return for Bayern Munich and Andre Hahn suffered a horror injury.

ARJEN ROBBEN SCORES ON HIS COMEBACK

Arjen Robben did not make back in time for the Champions League match at Arsenal in midweek and he looked desperately needed in the first loss of the season. The Dutchman did return from a seven-week injury lay-off at the weekend and led Bayern Munich to a seemingly effortless 4-0 win over Cologne. Robben scored the first goal of the game in the 35th minute when eventually finding a hole in the Cologne back five. “I missed that,” coach Pep Guardiola said about Robben’s way of playing. The manager chose a risky tactic by putting five offensive players on the field and leaving the more defensively minded Xabi Alonso and Javi Martinez on the bench. Arturo Vidal scored to make it 2-0 before halftime, and Robert Lewandowski later celebrated yet another goal in his successful Bundesliga campaign. Thomas Müller converted a penalty to complete the win. Cologne had just four shots at goal and 24 per cent ball possession. Next for Bayern is the eagerly awaited third-round DFB Cup match at Wolfsburg on Tuesday night.

LAHM ASKS GUARDIOLA TO STAY

After Bayern Munich’s 4-0 win over Cologne on Saturday afternoon, Philipp Lahm revealed he recently had a discussion with manager Pep Guardiola over future in Munich. Lahm told him that the whole team wants him to stay after his contract expires next summer. The skipper did not tell the journalists Guardiola’s reaction, but Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that the Bayern boss has in fact has not decided yet on whether he will stay or go. “We are optimistic that he will stay,” chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stated, announcing a decision should be made by the end of the year. However, the club is allegedly in contact with Guardiola’s possible successor Carlo Ancelotti.

HAMBURG’S LATE WIN COSTS HOFFENHEIM COACH MARKUS GISDOL HIS JOB

Hamburg finally ended a long run of poor results thanks to a late win in Hoffenheim. Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored in the 88th minute for a well-deserved winner. It was Hamburg’s first goal for 358 minutes and the victory moved them to mid-table. Hoffenheim slipped to second from bottom. The latest defeat cost coach Markus Gisdol his job with Huub Stevens asked to take over the reins.

AUBAMEYANG HUNTS DOWN LEWANDOWSKI

Borussia Dortmund has clearly shaken off their only defeat of the season to Bayern Munich three weeks ago. From the first minute of Sunday’s game, FC Augsburg found themselves under pressure at Signal Iduna Park. In the 5-1 win against the bottom club, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored three goals, adding to the hat-trick he scored in the Europa League match on Thursday at Gabala FK. In the Bundeliga scoring charts, Aubameyang’s three goals mean he has caught up again with Robert Lewandowksi. The two strikers are establishing a Messi-Ronaldo-like contest, with 13 goals in 10 Bundesliga matches.

ANDRE HAHN SUFFERS SICKENING LEG BREAK

Borussia Mönchengladbach started the Bundesliga season with five losses in a row – but claimed their fifth win in a row to move up to seventh in the table. However, the 3-1 win over Schalke on Sunday was marred when André Hahn had to be carried off the pitch in the 83th minute with a broken leg. Schalke’s Johannes Geis caught him right under the knee, causing a tibia fracture and a ligament rupture. Geis was sent off and is expecting a long ban. On his facebook account, he apologised to Hahn and his family for what he called a bad, but unintentional foul.

LOOKING FOR GOALS? TRAVEL TO LEVERKUSEN

For neutral football fans who just want to see a lot of goals and exciting comebacks, Leverkusen is currently the place to be. After the wild 4-4 draw in the Champions League match against Roma, Roger Schmidt’s team won 4-3 on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart – after a score of 0-0 at halftime and being behind 3-1. Admir Mehmedi scored the winning goal a minute from time. “I love these kind of games, especially when we win them,” Schmidt said with a relieved smile after the game. For Stuttgart, the loss was just another setback on the mission to eventually leave the bottom of the table someday. Leverkusen have a short 20km trip to Cologne for a DFB Cup match against the amateur team of Viktoria on Wednesday when more goals could be in store.