Bundesliga 2018-19: Round-up of the key fixtures from Match Day 4

The fourth match day of the Bundesliga 2018-19 season saw last season's winner Bayern Munich go up against last season's runners-up Schalke, who are struggling this season. Borussia Dortmund took on Julian Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim side after a hard-fought win over Club Brugge in the Champions League.

Hertha Berlin, meanwhile, leapfrogged to second place in the rankings following a comprehensive victory over Borussia Monchengladbach, while Leipzig faced off against fellow Europa League competitors Eintracht Frankfurt after the mid-week continental fixtures.

Here, we take a look at the five main talking points from Match Day 4 of the Bundesliga 2018-19 season:

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#1 Bayern Munich win as Schalke slump to the bottom of the table

James Rodriguez scored the opening goal

Bayern Munich faced last season's Bundesliga runner's up Schalke on match day 4 of the Bundesliga. Bayern have already had a good start in the Bundesliga winning all three of their matches while Schalke up until this point had lost all their matches. Coming into this match Bayern had registered a victory over Benfica away from home in a crucial Champions League tie, while Schalke had drawn with Portuguese champions, Porto.

Nico Kovac lined up his side in a 4-3-3 formation with Lewandowski and Ribery upfront and Muller replacing Robben from the win over Benfica. Thiago, Goretzka and James started in midfield amidst the current injury crisis. Schalke started in a 3-4-3 formation with Embolo and Uth upfront.

ames Rodriguez scored in the 8th minute to give Bayern an early lead from a Joshua Kimmich corner. Lewandowski and Ribery did have clear chances in the first half but could not find the net. The first half ended 1-0 in favour of Bayern.

In the second half, James and Muller had the opportunity to double Bayern's lead but it was in the 64th minute that James earned Bayern a penalty which was then converted by Lewandowski. David Alaba had a superb effort saved by the Schalke keeper Ralf Fahrmann in the 77th minute. The match ended without any further goals and Bayern completing an easy 2-0 victory over Schalke.

With this win, Bayern maintained their top position in the Bundesliga table while Schalke are without any points after four matches and are at the bottom of the table. Up next for Schalke is a match against Freiburg while Bayern Munich face off against Augsburg in midweek Bundesliga clash.

#2 Pulisic earns Dortmund a hard-fought draw against Hoffenheim

Pulisic scored the equalizer for Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have had a decent start to the Bundesliga campaign so far accumulating 7 points from 3 games, while also defeating Belgian side Club Brugge on match day 1 of the UEFA Champions League. Hoffenheim have had a mixed start to their Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns with 3 points in 3 games in the Bundesliga and a draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

Lucien Favre lined up his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation while Hoffenheim manager Julian Nagelsmann started with a 3-5-2 formation. Pulisic, Kagawa, Reus and Marius Wolf formed the Dortmund attack while Joelinton and Kramaric led the attack for Hoffenheim.

In the first half Dortmund had multiple chances through corners which they failed to score from, while for Hoffenheim, Kramaric and Zuber had clear chances as well. The deadlock was broken in the 44th minute when Joelinton scored for Hoffenheim and gave them a 1-0 lead at half-time.

In the second half, Dortmund made changes bringing on Jason Sancho, Thomas Delaney and Maximilian Philipp and they did get their breakthrough when Pulisic equalized in the 83rd minute with an assist from Marco Reus. With no goals further, the match ended on an even 1-1 draw.

Dortmund are on 3rd place with 8 points from 4 games while Hoffenheim are on 11th with just 4 points. Up next for Dortmund is a home game against Nurnberg while Hoffenheim are away at Hannover.

#3 Bayer Leverkusen register first win of the season against Mainz:

Julian Brandt provided the assist for Kai Havertz

Bayer Leverkusen have endured a poor start to their Bundesliga campaign failing to win any of their first three matches. However, in the midweek Europa League clash against Ludogorets, Leverkusen showed great character as they came from two goals behind to win the match. Mainz so far had a strong start to their Bundesliga campaign with 7 points out of their 3 games.

Leverkusen started the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Lucas Alario as the striker supported by Leon Bailey, Kai Havertz and Julian Brandt. From Leverkusen's perspective Bailey, Haverz and Bender had chances to score while Burkardt and Oztunali had decent chances for Mainz. The first half ended goallessly. In the second half, Mainz replaced Burkardt with Quaison and he scored in the 48th minute but VAR had his goal cancelled.

Mainz created further chances from Quaison and Oztunali, but in the 62nd minute, Kai Havertz struck from a Julian Brandt assist to give Bayer Leverkusen the goal and the lead. Alario missed a header for Bayer in the 72nd minute, while Mainz substitute Ujah also had two chances but both failed to score as they match ended 1-0 in favour of Leverkusen.

The next opponents for Leverkusen are Dusseldorf while Mainz face Wolfsburg at home in the midweek Bundesliga clash.

#4 RB Leipzig held to a draw against Eintracht Frankfurt after Europa loss

Forsberg converted from the spot to equalize for Leipzig

RB Leipzig faced off against Eintracht Frankfurt on match day 4 of the Bundesliga. Leipzig had accumulated 4 points while Frankfurt had 3 points from their opening three games. Both teams started their Europa League campaign as well this week with RB Leipzig bouncing back from a two-goal deficit to level up against sister club Red Bull Salzburg, but ultimately lost 2-3

Frankfurt, meanwhile even after getting reduced to 10 men against last year's runners-up Marseille came back from behind to register a 2-1 victory.

Leipzig started the match in a 4-4-2 formation with Timo Werner and Youssef Poulsen leading the back along with Forsberg and Sabitzer in creative midfield roles. Frankfurt started in a 3-4-1-2 with Sebastian Haller and Jovic up front. Gelson Fernandes' left footed shot opened the scoring for Frankfurt in the 25th minute.

Jovic and Gelson had few chances in the first half but could not increase the lead while Werner missed a header and failed to equalise for Leipzig. The first half ended 1-0 in favour of Frankfurt.

In the second half, Kostic conceded a penalty in the 53rd minute which Forsberg scored to equalize for Leipzig. Both Forsberg and Werner had other chances in the second half as well but could not score the decisive goal and the match ended as a 1-1 draw.

Leipzig are in 10th place with 5 points from 4 games while Frankfurt are in 13th place with 4 points. Bundesliga action continues for both teams as Leipzig face Stuttgart while Frankfurt are up against Moenchengladbach.

#5 Hertha Berlin win against M'Gladbach to take second place in Bundesliga

Hertha Berlin are in second place in the Bundesliga

Hertha Berlin and Borussia Moenchengladbach both had good starts to their respective Bundesliga campaigns, with both teams registering 7 points out of their opening three games. Hertha started the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ibisevic in attack while Gladbach started with a 4-3-3 formation with Thorgan Hazard, Plea and Johnson in attack.

Thorgan Hazard opened the scoring for Gladbach in the 29th minute but Ibisevic equalized two minutes later. In the 34th minute, Lazaro scored giving Berlin the lead. The first half ended 2-1 in favour of Berlin. Ibisevic scored again in the 63rd minute to increase Berlin's lead; new signing Plea did score four minutes later to make it 3-2.

But Ondrej Duda's 73rd-minute goal sealed the match for Berlin as they won the match 4-2 and moved to second in the points table. Gladbach meanwhile are 7th in the table behind Wolfsburg on goal difference. Up next for Berlin is an away fixture against Werder Bremen while Gladbach face Frankfurt at home.