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The resumption of the season in the Bundesliga without exaggeration was waiting for the whole world. With all due respect to the championship of Belarus, fans are missing the top-level football.
And the very first match of the German championship gave them a vivid sight. In the Ruhr derby, the Dortmund Borussia fighting for the championship did not leave Schalke any chance. The hosts sent four unanswered goals into the opponent’s goal and for the first time since 1966 beat the principal opponent with a goal difference of four goals, and after the final whistle in full force they went to applaud the empty stands.
One of the main culprits of a major defeat can be called goalkeeper guests Marcus Schubert, who missed all four shots on target and became the culprit of at least two goals. And after the final whistle, the frustrated Gelsenkirchenians made a tough joke on Borussia midfielder Axel Witsel. In his Twitter, the Belgian wrote that the score is in the full name of the opponent - “Schalke 04”.
The scoreline is in the name 😉😂
Schalke 0-4 🖤💛
Historical goal
On Saturday at the same time, five matches of the tour began at once, but the first goal after the resumption of the season was scored in Dortmund. It is symbolic that the Norwegian child prodigy Erling Holland became its author. In the middle of the first half, the striker competently detached from the defender and calmly shot into the far corner after a cross from Torgan Azar from the right flank. So the striker went down in history, and on Twitter the Russian part of Euro 2020, his goal was even called "a great victory for humanity."
“Just a goal for one person, but a great victory for all of humanity”
© ️ Erling Holann, Borussia Dortmund pic.twitter.com/O0W0OyEs4M
Perhaps an additional motivation for the striker in this episode was the rude words of the defender rival Jean-Claire Todibault. Just a few minutes before, he swore dirtyly at his opponent, which did not slip away from the cameras. The cold-blooded Scandinav in response only smiled and soon answered the Frenchman in a football.
And after the break, the Norwegian himself assisted the partner. Rafael Gereiro after a subtle forward forward sent the projectile into the net with the outside of the foot. Schubert could only signal the offside, which was not there. Thus, the Portuguese in the derby designed a double. Holand managed with one goal, and he became for him the tenth in nine matches of the current Bundesliga season.
Celebration
On Saturday, the Norwegian not only scored a historic ball, but also beautifully celebrated it. Forward ran to the front and depicted some semblance of dance. At the same time, the partners, as expected, kept a social distance and did not get too close to Erling. And the fans even compared the celebration of the striker with the viral dance of the African undertakers.
If possible, other teams could do without hugs after goals. So, the defender of “Freiburg” Robin Koch after a goal scored by “Leipzig”, which was soon canceled, the partners welcomed by touching the elbows. The same thing happened in other game episodes. For example, helping each other rise, the players held out their elbows. And in order to apologize to the opponent after breaking the rules, sometimes they simply kicked the boot.
However, some forgot about the simplest precautions. So, the defender of “Hertha” Dedrick Boyata after a goal scored in the “Hoffenheim” goal kissed one of the partners.
The Bundesliga won't punish players who get too close when celebrating, the DFL has confirmed.
Hertha Berlin's players got a bit too close during their 3-0 win today! 😘 pic.twitter.com/lUTzMFuXXX
Journalists
But the journalists behaved as carefully as possible. No more than ten media representatives were allowed into each game. They were forced to communicate with football players at a distance of about 2–2.5 m. In order not to tear their voices, trying to shout to the interlocutor, TV reporters used a special long tripod for a microphone.
Post-match press conferences were very unusual. Trainers spoke with representatives of online media through WhatsApp.
“The coach got in touch through audio messages and answered questions from the journalists who typed them into the chat. The audio from the coach’s phone was broadcast on the big screen in the lobby of the stadium, ”quotes Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung journalist Nicholas Back Metaratings.
Injury
Before the resumption of the season, many fans feared that frustrated footballers in a busy schedule would be overly susceptible to injury. Fortunately, the first meetings cost almost no damage.
The only exception was the midfielder of the Dortmund Borussia Giovanni Reina. The 17-year-old American felt unwell right at the pre-match warm-up and as a result remained on the bench, although he initially got into the starting lineup. His place at the base was taken by Torgan Azar.
In order not to overload the players and possibly avoid injuries, the German football leadership allowed the teams to make five substitutions before the end of the season. However, only five coaches took advantage of this option on Saturday. Some of the old way cost three castling.
Var
Returning directly to football - the first game day of the Bundesliga after the resumption of the season turned out to be eventful. While Borussia smashed Schalke, the Leipzig leader who finished the first round made another misfire and sank to fourth place. Moreover, the wards of Julian Nagelsman barely left the defeat in the match with a modest “Freiburg” - 1: 1.
Moreover, in the 94th minute, guests could snatch victory. The aforementioned Koch, after applying the standard, sent the ball into the opponent’s goal, but the assistant referee on the VAR, after watching the replay, spotted a microscopic offside and canceled the goal.
But that was little comfort for Leipzig. The team extended the unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to three meetings. In addition, in the last eight matches of the tournament, the Zenit rival in the Champions League group gained only two victories.
The rescue
Another striking event took place in Frankfurt, where the Eintracht defender Martin Hinteregger made a truly amazing rescue. At the end of the match with the Mönchengladbach Borussia, three rivals immediately ran to the owners ’gate, and the goalkeeper was reclaimed.
However, the Austrian remaining at the last frontier played better than any goalkeeper. He managed to kick the ball out of alignment with his foot after hitting Jonas Hoffman in the near corner. True, the spectacular save of the defender did not help his team too much, because by that time the guests were 3: 1.
What have I just witnessed # Bundesligapic.twitter.com / odi7eEjeoS
- Billy (@BlueEyeLife) May 16, 2020Reaction
Meanwhile, the matches of the German championship were watched with pleasure in Russia. For example, Akhmat midfielder Denis Glushakov did not miss the opportunity to watch the confrontation in Dortmund and shared his impressions with Instagram followers. What was happening reminded the football player of the training camp, and as part of the “Borussia” he especially singled out Holland.
“The 17th issue of Borussia is textured. I think there are prospects, ”Glushakov joked.
The head coach of Ufa Vadim Evseev also watched this game. Moreover, he combined the viewing of the Ruhr derby with training on a stationary bike. According to the expert, for an hour he “kept pace” with “Borussia” and “Schalke”, and then the viewer in it “defeated the athlete”.
The most aptly about the attitude towards the championship of Germany at the moment expressed the famous Italian agent Marco Trabukki.
“Everything started! Yesterday everyone was a virologist, and today everyone has already become experts of the Bundesliga, ”Trabukki wrote on Twitter.