Another weekend of headlines, golazos and unpredictable finishes across Europe’s biggest league is in the bag. From Bayern Munich hitting top gear in a 6-2 thrashing of Mainz, to Chelsea‘s shock loss at Brighton, to Atletico Madrid once again coming unstuck in the 99th minute — there was no shortage of drama.
ESPN correspondents Julien Laurens, Sam Marsden, James Tyler and Mark Ogden break down the big stuff you need to know about the weekend.
It’s taken them eight rounds of matches and almost two months of fumbling around in league play, but Bayern Munich are finally where they expect to be season after season. Just one point off the top after Union Berlin‘s last-gasp win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday, Bayern showed their fullest on Saturday, thrashing Mainz 6-2 at the Allianz Arena. From here, you’d expect normal service to resume, with two slumping teams (Hertha Berlin, Schalke 04) and two wildly inconsistent ones (Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig) to play before the World Cup and an extended winter break, especially after another huge win that didn’t really require much effort.
Mainz seemed beaten from the opening whistle and were behind after just five minutes, giving Serge Gnabry tons of room and time on the edge of the six-yard box to receive Sadio Mane‘s low centering pass and chip it beyond a flailing Robin Zentner to open the scoring. Another flowing move on the half-hour mark led to Bayern’s second goal, with Alphonso Davies and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting combining nicely on the edge of the box to tee up Jamal Musiala for an emphatic, low-driven finish into the far corner. Combination play, precision passing and a thumping finish: you have to enjoy the entertainment, right?
Mainz did threaten in what remained of the first half, with Jae-Sung Lee and Jonathan Burkhardt hitting the post within seconds of each other as Sven Ulreich was beaten, but Mane made it 3-0, tapping in from close range after Zentner saved his penalty (confirmed by VAR).
After a run of three draws and a defeat allowed their rivals to sit in the champions’ seat for a few weeks, Bayern have quietly found form despite spells of not playing well with Julian Nagelsmann still figuring out the right combinations in midfield and attack. Mane looks like he’s always been a Bayern player, while Musiala continues to show the dynamism and purpose in midfield that should see him breakout in front of a global audience at this winter’s World Cup.
As for Mainz and the rest of the Bundesliga, they should keep pushing to not let the Bavarians get too far away, but as usual for Bayern these days, it only seems like a matter of time before they do. — Tyler
