Euro Bites: Bundesliga - Bayern start in emphatic fashion, Kevin De Bruyne distracted

The new Bundesliga season got underway with an emphatic victory for champions Bayern Munich.

Borussia Dortmund also kicked off their season in impressive winning fashion, but there seemed to be plenty on the mind of Kevin De Bruyne following a summer of transfer talk for the Wolfsburg star.

BAYERN BEGIN BUNDESLIGA DEFENCE WITH BIG WIN

The opening game of the new Bundesliga season brought the expected result on Friday night as Bayern Munich swept Hamburger SV after an impressive second-half performance. Hamburg sheepishly played with a de facto back nine in the hope of collecting a point, but the plan wasn’t close to working as Bayern romped to a 5-0 win. Brazilian Douglas Costa has instantly become Munich’s new crowd favorite – not only because of his first goal and a spectacular assist for Thomas Müller, but because of his all round play. The 24-year-old brings new power to the team and can play on both sides. He is Munich’s new hybrid motor, combining the formidable skills of the often injured Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben in one neat package.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND ARE BACK

Borussia Dortmund is back. After a disappointing season last year including the departure of coach Jürgen Klopp at the end of the campaign, they used their first home game to advertise that they are back as they defeated Champions League participant Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-0 with goals from Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrik Mkhitaryan (2). During the lopsided game, Dortmund unveiled a new tactical approach as Thomas Tuchel, who succeeded Klopp after seven years as manager of the black-and-yellow, implemented his preferred possession-based game. Mönchengladbach, who finished third last season and 20 points ahead of Dortmund, were clearly hit by surprise.

WINNING START FOR NEW SCHALKE BOSS

Just like their great rivals Dortmund, Schalke 04 also seems to be back on track with a new manager André Breitenreiter making a winning start to his reign. Schalke were 3-0 winners at Werder Bremen in their opening game thanks to goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Eric-Maxim Coupo-Moting and an own goal scored by Bremen defender Theodor Gebre Selassi. Schalke’s new striker Franco di Santo, playing against his old team, was the subject of some hostility from the Bremen faithful. After scoring 13 goals for Bremen last season, he left northern Germany only a few days before his release clause would run out. The club was forced to go public with the transfer on Bremen’s official fan day. They have yet to find a replacement it seems.

PROMOTED SIDES ENJOY OPENING WEEKEND

Bundesliga first timers Ingolstadt FC upset Mainz 05 in their opening game in the top flight. The first historic goal in a 1-0 win was scored by young Austrian Lukas Hinterseer, nephew of the hit singer Hansi Hinterseer. Ingolstadt will be looking to build on the start, although it doesn’t get any easier with Dortmund and Wolfsburg next to travel to the new FC stadium.

Darmstadt, returning to the Bundesliga after a 33-year absence, celebrated a successful 2-2 start against Hannover. Marcel Heller struck twice for Darmstadt and impressed with his pace, so much so German news agency SID stated that he was caught running at 21.18 mph during the game.

KEVIN DE BRUYNE’S TRANSFER DISTRACTION

Wolfsburg superstar Kevin de Bruyne seems to be distracted. While Bundesliga heavyweight Wolfsburg recorded a 2-1 win over Frankfurt on Sunday, the Belgian national midfielder failed to have a shot on goal and was substituted after 75 minutes. He later admitted that the insults of Frankfurt fans got under his skin – last year, de Bruyne cursed a ball-boy in Frankfurt while trying to speed up the game with a quick throw-in. However, the main reason for his distraction is probably his uncertain future. Wolfsburg is expecting new and even higher offers with Manchester City leading the race for his signature.

CELEBRATING WITH A DUMMY

Frenchman Anthony Modeste, a new striker for Köln FC, played with a children’s dummy in his pants for 75 minutes last Sunday - and finally had a use for it. After being fouled in the box by a VfB Stuttgart player, he gave Cologne a 1-0 lead with the subsequent penalty, then ran to the corner flag, put the dummy in his mouth and celebrated the arrival of his two-month-old son together with the away fans. After escaping relegation last season, five-time German champions Stuttgart barely reinforced its squad and is expected to struggle again based on this 3-1 defeat.