Bundesliga Team of the Week – Matchday 5

There were goals galore on Matchday 5 as one team scored seven, while others needed only one to upset the odds.

Werder Bremen continued their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant 3-1 victory at home to Hertha Berlin in the Matchday 5 opener on Tuesday, handing the visitors their first defeat of the campaign in the process.

Freiburg ensured Schalke's miserable start to the Bundesliga season continued as the Black Forest outfit earned a 1-0 victory at home.

Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw by Augsburg on Tuesday, losing their 100 per cent Bundesliga record. In another match, Hoffenheim beat Hannover 3-1 at their HDI Arena on Tuesday evening.

Kevin Volland scored two second-half goals as Bayer Leverkusen continued their recent upswing with a 2-1 win at Rhineland rivals Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Borussia Dortmund were at their ruthless best as they hit seven goals past a hapless Nürnberg side at the Westfalenstadion to move to within two points of Bayern in second place. Borussia Dortmund players dominate our team of the week after the 7-0 win over FC Nürnberg.

Borussia Mönchengladbach, meanwhile, are among those chasing Dortmund after they battled to a 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to go fourth. Elsewhere, RB Leipzig battled to a 2-0 win over Stuttgart, while Wolfsburg were held to a goalless draw in Mainz. Wolfsburg failed to take advantage of a comedy of defensive errors from Mainz.

Now let us turn to the individual performances of the weekend. We have considered the team formation of 4-2-3-1. Here is the team of the week, starting with the man in goal.

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Goalkeeper

Andreas Luthe made the most of his opportunity.

GK: Andreas Luthe, FC Augsburg

Luthe was given the chance instead of Fabien Giefer, who made a horrifying mistake on Matchday 4. Luthe didn't disappoint either! The 31-year-old made eight saves in total against Bayern München and helped Augsburg earn a draw.

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Defenders

Achraf Hakimi made his first start with a great goal

RB: Achraf Hakimi, Borussia Dortmund

The Real Madrid loanee impressed in his first Dortmund start and showed his offensive qualities. Hakimi marked his impressive debut with a brilliantly taken goal from the edge of the box. His pace and ability to beat defenders made him a constant threat going forward. The Moroccan international linked up very well with Christian Pulisic down the right wing and looked strong defensively. Favre needs to start him more often.

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LB: Christian Günter, SC Freiburg

The 25-year old was very disciplined and strong defensively and also contributed to the offense. He provoked Freiburg's winner against Schalke after Ralf Fährmann couldn't hold onto his shot from distance.

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CB: Milos Veljkovic, Werder Bremen

Veljkovic was literally the boss in Bremen's defense. He won a lot of duels, both inside and outside the box and seemed confident and calm. The Serbian also scored with a powerful header.

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CB: Ermin Bicakcic, Hoffenheim

The last match was a rock-solid performance by the Bosnian defender who prevented Hannover from opening the scoring with a magnificent block.

Midfielders

Kevin Volland netted a brace to guide Leverkusen to a 2-1 win.

RM: Kevin Volland, Bayer Leverkusen

Volland had two chances and he scored two goals in the second half against Fortuna Düsseldorf. The 26-year old earned his team three important points with his coolness in front of goal.

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CM: Thomas Delaney, Borussia Dortmund

Delaney worked his socks off and dominated the central midfield. He did not allow any space for Nuremberg to counter through. Not only was he a rock defensively, but he was also involved in Dortmund’s build up play. He showed his great passing range and got the beautiful assist for Jadon Sancho’s 6-0 goal with a sublime long ball. By far, Thomas Delaney’s best game in a Borussia Dortmund shirt.

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CM: Florian Neuhaus, Borussia Mönchengladbach

Neuhaus pulled the strings in Gladbach's central midfield and was dominant like a workhorse. He also provided two great assists. In addition to that, he didn't forget his defensive responsibilities and worked hard.

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LM: Jacob Bruun Larsen, Borussia Dortmund

After a strong pre-season, the 20-year-old finally delivered in the Bundesliga! Larsen scored a goal, made an assist and generally combined very well with the rest of the Dortmund offense.

He gave Borussia Dortmund the early lead with a lovely chipped finish from an improbable angle after getting on the end of Christian Pulisic’s dinked pass. He then assisted Marco Reus’ second goal before being replaced by Jadon Sancho. A confident performance by the young Dane, who looked threatening throughout the game.

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AM: Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund

The German international shined in the offensive midfield position. He scored twice and set-up a goal before he was substituted and given a well-earned rest after 62 minutes

Reus looked far more lively than he has in recent weeks. He scored Borussia Dortmund’s second goal with a deflected shot from the edge of the area in the first half. He then led a devastating counter-attack and found Achraf Hakimi, who made it 3-0. The Dortmund captain then got his 100th goal for the Black and Yellows after a lovely 1-2 with Jacob Bruun Larsen. Reus was replaced by Shinji Kagawa soon after.

Striker

Alassane Pléa grabbed his sixth goal in all competitions.

FW: Alassane Pléa, Borussia Mönchengladbach

Gladbach's record-signing gets better from game to game and is showing a lot of potential. The Frenchman scored for the second match in a row as he smashed the ball into the net at the front post with a great finish.