No Yellow Wall, Losing Leverkusen, the best photos from Tuesday’s Bundesliga action
AFP Sport looks at some of the most notable moments from the third round of matches since football’s restart in Germany:
No Bricks in the Yellow Wall
The largest free-standing terrace in Europe was barren as Dortmund had to play in an empty stadium and without the power of the 25,000 passionate voices in the famous southern stand end of the ground. They lost 1-0 loss to Bayern.
The Signal Iduna Park was eerily quiet when normally it would be deafeningly loud for the visit of the Bavarians for the ‘Klassiker’.
Any attack from the likes of Erling Braut Haaland or Jadon Sancho lacked the roar from the Wall especially as the hosts searched for a second-half equaliser.
“It’s obvious, everyone knows it, we miss our fans,” Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said.
Back-tracking Buerki
Bayern’s victory came down to Joshua Kimmich’s effort two minutes before the break which caught Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki off-guard.
The defensive midfielder’s delicate chip from outside the box looped into the net despite back-tracking Buerki’s best attempts.
“We knew that Buerki always stands well in front of his goal. It’s the most beautiful goal of my career and a it’s a very important goal,” Kimmich said.
‘There for you’
Bayer Leverkusen were hammered 4-1 by Wolfsburg in their first home game since the German top-flight returned and missed a chance to move into the top four
Their supporters welcomed the Bundesliga back by printing images of themselves on a large canvas across one of the main stands of their BayArena home with the message: “We’re there for you, you’re there for us”.
Leverkusen’s loss means only three of the 22 games played since the Bundesliga restarted behind closed doors have been won by the hosts.
Arnold’s birthday gifts
Wolfsburg midfielder Max Arnold played a part in three of his side’s goals the day before he turned 26.
Arnold set-up defender Marin Pongracic, who scored his first for the club just before the half-time whistle.
Midfielder Arnold was on the scoresheet himself after the hour with a deflected free-kick. He then set up Pongracic once again a quarter of an hour from the end.