Ten things we learnt from the first half of the Bundesliga season
The first six months of the Bundesliga season have been nothing short of exciting.
While last season brought fresh air as we watched another team other than Bayern Munich dominate the league, this season is not looking less exciting, especially in the race for European qualification.
Many teams and players have exceeded expectations so far, but still, others have failed to replicate their achievements last season.
Here are the top ten takeaways as we enter the second half of the Bundesliga.
Vincent Kompany is proving his doubters wrong
Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany alerted the whole footballing world when he led Burnley back into the Premier League on his first asking, amassing a whopping 101 points.
It was believed that it was just a matter of time before he secured a move to a top club.
However, after the Belgian guided Burnley to their lowest point tally in Premier League history, the feeling was that his chance of securing a tip job was gone.
So, when Bayern Munich paid £10.2 million to bring him to the Allianz arena, many were left stunned. At the time Kompany was hired, the Bayern Munich job was considered the least attractive job in Europe for several reasons.
No top coach seemed to want it, despite the apparent size of Bayern. Several top coaches rejected the Bundesliga club's approaches.
Still, many mocked when the Bavarians settled for Kompany, a coach with less than four years of experience. Kompany was tipped to struggle where Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann had failed.
With Bayern Munich currently leading the title-chasing pack almost halfway through the season, his critics may well have been wrong about the 38-year-old.
The Bavarians lead the pack not only in terms of accumulated points but also in terms of goals scored and goals conceded.
Their 47-goal tally is only bettered by Barcelona across Europe's top five leagues, while their expected goal (xG) per game stands at a whopping 3.13 per match, compared to 2.76 per game last season under Tuchel.
It is safe to say that Kompany has proved a hit so far this season. Bayern is four points clear of last season's winners, Bayer Leverkusen, with 19 matches to go.
Bayern are back
When Thomas Tuchel was axed at the end of last season, many fans and pundits pointed fingers at the players, whom they accused of having let the German coach down despite his own faults on the sidelines.
There were rumours of discord in the Bayern Munich dressing room, with key figures amongst the players disgruntled with Tuchel's tactics and approach.
This season, the players have rallied around their new manager, with most players looking sharper and happier than last season as they swat aside opponents in a manner that Bayern Munich fans have grown accustomed to for many years.
It'll take an incredible turn of form for Bayern Munich to lose out on the title for a second season running. But it looks unlikely, as the Bayern players look hungry for glory.
Xabi Alonso is not done yet
Bayer Leverkusen are proving that their title win under Xabi Alonso last season was not a fluke event.
Die Werkself achieved an incredible feat last season by breaking Bayern Munich's stranglehold on the Bundesliga title, doing so unbeaten. Leverkusen accumulated 90 points to lift their first-ever Bundesliga title.
Many tagged their success as a one-season phenomenon, and it was predicted that Xabi Alonso may struggle to replicate his magic last season. However, six months into the season, it is clear that those predictions are way off the mark.
Leverkusen may have lost their chances of replicating an incredible unbeaten season, having lost twice already this season, but they have shown that they are not done just yet.
Sitting in second place behind Bayern Munich, Leverkusen has shown they can match Germany's best team pound for pound. They already knocked them out in the German DFB Pokal with a 1-0 victory last month.
With just four points separating them from the leaders, Bayer Leverkusen have shown that they are no one-season wonders. Bayern Munich will have to be at their best all season to reclaim their title as Bundesliga Champions.
Heidenheim have run out of steam
The story of Heidenheim is one that never gets boring when retold.
Promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time ever in the 2022/23 season, Heidenheim Bundesliga debutants stunned many on their way to finishing eighth in their debut season in the top flight.
As a result, they secured their first-ever appearance in European football in the UEFA Conference League last season via the playoffs.
This season, however, Heidenheim have looked like a shadow of themselves. The added pressure of playing two games per week is taking its toll on Frank Schmidt's side, and they find themselves close to the bottom halfway into the season.
Heidenheim has won just three of fifteen games in the Bundesliga and is just one loss away from equalling its total loss total last season. After a nine-game winless run, pressure has continued to mount on record-setting manager Frank Schmidt, who has been at the club since 2007.
As the Bundesliga resumes this weekend, the 51-year-old finds his team in the heart of a relegation battle and must look to reinvent his side for a comeback to secure yet another season in the German top flight.
Eintracht Frankfurt have produced the new Egyptian prince
Mohamed Salah may be the Egyptian King, but he has a successor in the form of Eintracht Frankfurt's Omar Marmoush.
The Egypt international has lit up the Bundesliga this term and has been the driving force behind Frankfurt's push for a return to the Champions League. Marmoush currently leads the Bundesliga rankings in terms of goals contributed.
His 13 goals tally is only bettered by Bayern Munich's marksman Harry Kane, who has 14 strikes to his name. The 25-year-old attacker has shown that he is not just all about goals, as he is currently tied at the top of the assists rankings with seven assists to his name this term.
Omar Marmoush has not missed any of Frankfurt's fixtures in the Bundesliga this season, which is why Dino Toppmoller's side sit in third place, nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Harry Kane is not slowing down
Harry Kane earned plenty of plaudits for his 36 goals in 32 appearances in the Bundesliga last season, setting the record for most goals scored in a debut season.
His exploits last term saw him win the Gerd Muller trophy as a consolation for Bayern Munich missing out on the Bundesliga title.
Despite extending his quest for silverware, Harry Kane has not stopped banging in goals and has already racked up fourteen goals and five assists in just thirteen appearances for the German side.
Only three players have bettered Kane's return for goals across Europe's top five leagues. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, and Robert Lewandowski are all ahead of the Englishman for league goals this season. But these players have all made at least two more appearances than the Bayern Munich marksman.
Borussia Dortmund is no longer Bundesliga top club
Borussia Dortmund may have unofficially lost its status as a top football club in the Bundesliga.
The Black and Yellow appear to now have their ambition reduced to just finishing in the top four instead of winning the league. Since narrowly missing out on the title two seasons ago, they have looked bereft of ambition in the league, even though they have remained somewhat competitive in Europe.
Perhaps they are still looking for an ideal Jurgen Klopp’s replacement. Dortmund are on their ninth managerial try since Klopp’s departure, and all nine coaches have brought two trophies in the post-Klopp era.
Nuri Sahin has shown he is not that man, with Dortmund looking like they will have another poor season. Under the former Dortmund man, the Black and Yellow sit in sixth place, two points behind fourth-placed Leipzig. Although the title race is mathematically not over for them, their immediate ambitions have changed to finishing in the top four.
However, despite the drop in competitiveness, Signal Iduna Park remains one of the hardest stadiums to play in Europe, and Borussia Dortmund tickets remain one of the most sought-after Bundesliga tickets.
The Bundesliga loves high-scoring games
The Bundesliga has lived up to its reputation as a high-scoring league so far this season, with an average goals ratio of 3.38 per match, which is only bettered by the Premier League's 3.81 ratio across Europe's top five leagues.
VFL Bochum is doomed
Bochum has gained a reputation for tenacity in the Bundesliga since being promoted back to the German top flight in 2020. The club secured comfortable placements in its first two seasons in the top flight, finishing in 13th and 14th place, respectively.
However, Bochum survived the drop last season by beating Fortuna Düsseldorf in the relegation playoffs, winning 6-5 on penalties after losing 3-0 in the first leg.
Their fortunes have not improved much this season, and they find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga table with just one win from fifteen games, eight points off the safe zone.
As the Bundesliga returns this weekend, Bochum will need to make a remarkable turnaround in performance to secure yet another season.
Home advantage playing a key role so far
Home team advantage has played a key role in the league standings so far this season. The likes of Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Augsburg have a significantly higher placement when the table is rearranged to feature home games only.
Leipzig and Frankfurt miss out on the top four when rearranged to home games alone, having picked up four wins from their eight home matches so far this season.