Five Observations from Matchday 10 in the Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund increase lead ahead of Der Klassiker.

Just win it looked liked Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich were destined to meet in next weekend’s Der Klassiker with first place in the Bundesliga on the line, Bayern decided that it would be a splendid time to drop points while Dortmund won. Therefore, a two-point lead became four points.

This makes the upcoming match even more important. If Bayern were to lose to Dortmund next weekend, the Bavarians would enter the November international break with a large seven-point gap between the two clubs. While obviously not insurmountable after only eleven games played, Bayern do not want to be seven points back so early.

Boy, did that game get even more important.

Borussia Mönchengladbach hammer Düsseldorf, leapfrog Bayern.

Borussia Mönchengladbach bounced back from a loss against Freiburg in the league and getting hammered in the DFB Pokal midweek against Bayer Leverkusen. Their big win over likely-relegation candidate Fortuna Düsseldorf saw them jump up the table not just into a tie with Bayern on points, but Gladbach are in second place thanks to the fact that they’re scoring goals this season and Bayern are not.

Thorgan Hazard has really come into his own as a leader and goalscorer in this Gladbach side. It’s hard to see them falling off the pace this season, and I would suspect that we’ll see them competing for a Champions League spot until the end.

Schalke’s big win moves them further from relegation zone.

Well, look over here in Gelsenkirchen. Schalke's win over Hannover 96 on Saturday moved them five points clear of the direct relegation spot. That's a pretty great feat after their terrible start to the season.

Has Domenico Tedesco found the key to success for the club? Next weekend, they have a huge match against Eintracht Frankfurt. While Frankfurt has been on a role even more than Schalke lately, perhaps Tedesco can get his boys up for the match. Schalke have one loss in their last five matches, but Frankfurt have won their last five matches.

Wins are wins, and you can only defeat the teams in front of you. If Schalke can pick up another big win next weekend, it'll go a long way toward reestablishing them as a European place challenger.

Wolfsburg have one win in their last eight matches.

When you read that headline, you certainly expect Wolfsburg to be languishing near the relegation zone after only ten games played. Yes, they won their first two matches, but it’s all been downhill ever since.

However, they have twelve points, thanks to three draws to keep them a solid seven points out of the direct dropzone. Their only win in that time frame is a 3-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf who sit on five points.

So, what’s Bruno Labbadia to do? It’s hard to really tell with this Wolfsburg team. Right now, they can't score goals. They've scored the seventh fewest goals in the league. Maybe a move in the January transfer window can fix things?

Stuttgart get hammered again.

Y’all, Stuttgart is a really bad soccer team. What the hell has happened to the team that finished in seventh place with 51 points last season? So far this year, they’re on pace to gather a whopping 17 points. There’s no way this is real life, right?

Tayfun Korkut was fired, and Markus Weinzierl was hired to replace him. Since being named head coach, Weinzierl has led Stuttgart to three losses: 0-4 Borussia Dortmund, 0-4 Hoffenheim, 0-3 Eintracht Frankfurt.

When Stuttgart was relegated a few seasons ago, most of us thought that was the wake up call for the once-upon-a-time Bundesliga powerhouse.

Maybe not?

Matchday 10 Results

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