Dortmund tops the Bundesliga power rankings
The Bundesliga is back in a flurry of face masks, fist bumps and goals. But which teams shone and which ones looked like they were still self-isolating?
From now until the end of the Bundesliga season, beIN SPORTS' power rankings will chart the rise and fall of the 18 clubs as they battle for the title, jostle for Europe qualification or fight for their survival in the top flight.
After the league resumed behind closed doors for round 26, here's how the table looks. And here are the power rankings heading into Round 27:
Borussia Dortmund
What break? Dortmund played attractive, daring attacking football to put Revierderby rival Schalke to the sword in a match where it appeared the visiting team still had one foot in self-isolation. Despite missing arguably the best young player in the league, Jadon Sancho, Dortmund had enough fire power to sink its old enemy.
Bayer Leverkusen fans have had more false dawns than an arctic winter, and this may well be another one, but for one week at least, they're closing in on the Champions League spots and flying high off the back of a 4-1 thumping of Werder Bremen. Ok, can Bayer do it on a balmy evening at Signal Iduna? Maybe not, but they look fit, fast and Kai Havertz is in 'Real Madrid transfer' form.
Borussia Moenchengladbach
A glad batch indeed, the visitor burst out of the blocks with the type of dynamic start the Eagles pride themselves on. By the time the last of the substitutes were settling into their grandstand seats, Gladbach had doubled the lead. By the time Eintracht substitute Andre Silva had dragged one back, the match was gone, the Foals one of the form teams of the resumption round.
Newly locked-in Bayern manager Hansi Flick promised to dazzle upon the league's resumption, but that's easier said than done against a compact, organised Union side. The league leader hung tough and ground out a win that keeps it atop the standings, albeit a slight drop down the power rankings table.
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg hasn't lost in the league since January and added a tricky scalp to its seven-match unbeaten run during that time, with a last-ditch winner against surprise giant-killer Augsburg. The win does little to close a gap the size of 'John Finlay's teeth' between it and fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, but Oliver Glasner's men are quietly eyeing off that final Europa League spot.
Hertha BSC
Hertha had the second-largest net spend in Europe of the January transfer window, splurging £51.6m on playing talent. For 15 devastating second half minutes against Hoffenheim, that talent showed what it's capable of, as the Berlin team piled on three quick goals to put its opponent to the sword. Can Hertha back it up in the derby against FC Union this week?
RB Leipzig
With Gladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund all in swashbuckling form, teams in the top four can't afford a slip-up, but that's exactly what happened to Leipzig, dropping points against Freiburg. If it wasn't for Yussef Poulsen's late equaliser, it could have been more pain for Julien Nagelsmann's team.
SC Freiburg
Freiburg will rue the one that got away against RB Leipzig, as Wolfsburg's win over Augsburg cost it sixth-spot in the tightly-congested battle for European competition.
Schalke
Schalke turned up for a formula 1 race on its bicycle, blown away by a slick Dortmund side that went for the jugular early and often. David Wagner's men suffered the biggest loss of the round and must bounce back against Augsburg this week to maintain their foothold in the rapidly-shifting middle of the table.
Mainz
For the best part of an hour, Mainz looked like background family members in a #stayathome challenge video, until Taiwo Awoniyi scored to make it 2-1 just after the hour-mark. Pierre Kunde then produced one of the best goals of the round to rescue a draw that keeps a sliver of breathing room between his team and the drop zone.
FC Koln
As important as the point was for Mainz, it was frustrating for Koln, which could have hurdled Hoffenheim and into the Europe reckoning with a win. For an hour of the match, it looked like that's exactly what it would do, until Pierre Kunde decided to have a coughing fit, gliding through the team untouched en route to an equaliser.
Union Berlin
On any day of the week Bayern Munich is the toughest assignment in the league, but plucky Union may yet rue the one that got away against a rusty-looking champion that struggled to get out of second gear for much of the game. Union has given it a solid crack in its first ever season at the big dance and it will be keen to bounce back with a win in the derby against Hertha this week.
Augsburg
Fought hard to get back into the match with Wolfsburg, only to have its heart broken by Daniel Ginczek's 90th-minute winner. The result leaves Augsburg perilously close to the drop zone with a tough match-up against a desperate Schalke looming.
Eintracht Frankfurt
The Eagles were caught on the back foot early against Moenchengladbach, going down 2-0 inside the first seven minutes. A raft of second half substitutions only served to yield a consolation goal in a performance Eintracht will be keen to forget.
Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim may be the only club in football relishing the opportunity to play without fans watching on, screaming abuse at club owner Dietmar Hopp. The lack of vitriol didn't appear to help against Hertha though, as Hoffenheim slipped to a heavy 3-0 loss.
Paderborn
Paderborn may well see this result, coupled with Werder's capitulation to Bayer Leverkusen, as a win. Not only does the draw close the gap ever so slightly, it was achieved without injured star striker Streli Mamba. Next up is Hoffenheim and Paderborn will be fancying an upset.
Fortuna Dusseldorf
The draw with Paderborn did nothing for Fortuna, which will need to string a couple of wins together to move out of the relegation play-off position - the third-last Bundesliga club plays off against the third-placed 2.Bundesliga club for the final promotion spot. Mainz's draw leaves Dusseldorf with it all to do to escape that predicament.
Werder Bremen
Finally we get to Werder Bremen, smashed 4-1 by Leverkusen, but lucky it wasn't six or seven, the way it was being carved open by Peter Bosz's men. Werder has the team and the resource to be a top four contender, but this campaign has been nothing short of disastrous. Florian Kohfeldt's men have it all to do in the coming weeks.
