Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 6-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, October 17, with Luis Díaz scoring three times, in the 12th, 47th and 69th minutes, ESPN reported. Aleksandar Pavlovic, Michael Olise and Harry Kane scored the other goals, and Andrija Maksimovic replied for Leipzig in the 91st minute. Borussia Dortmund drew 0-0 at Union Berlin, so the two clubs are level on 14 points at the top of the Bundesliga. Elsewhere on Saturday, Hamburg beat Stuttgart 1-0, Mainz won 1-0 at Schalke, Elversberg beat Augsburg 4-3 and Bremen drew 2-2 with Paderborn. On Sunday Bayer Leverkusen beat Freiburg 2-1 and Borussia Mönchengladbach lost 2-1 to Hoffenheim, leaving them without a point after six games.
The case that Bayern are the strongest side in Germany is the clearest in the numbers. They have scored 22 goals in six games, an average of about 3.7 per game, and conceded five, a goal difference of +17 that is ten better than Dortmund’s +7, according to ESPN’s table. Four different players scored in the win over Leipzig, and Díaz’s hat-trick came alongside a Kane goal. Their record is four wins and two draws with no defeat, and their 22 goals are double the 11 scored by Dortmund. The 6-1 margin was the biggest of the Saturday programme, ahead of Elversberg’s 4-3 win over Augsburg, and it came with Bayern leading 3-0 by the 34th minute, a quick start that left Leipzig chasing the game from the first half.
The case against treating the result as a gap is that the table shows none. Dortmund are level on 14 points, are also unbeaten, and have conceded only four goals to Bayern’s five, even though their 11 scored is half of Bayern’s total. Bayern have drawn twice and so dropped four of 18 possible points, and Freiburg and Leverkusen are only one point behind on 13. Leverkusen, who beat Freiburg 2-1 on Sunday with goals from Ibrahim Maza and Patrik Schick, have scored 16 goals, more than Dortmund, and Freiburg have conceded only six. Leipzig also scored late, at 90+1, so Bayern did not keep a clean sheet despite a five-goal lead. Mainz, who won 1-0 at Schalke, are fifth on ten points, level with Elversberg, and Leipzig, seventh on nine points with a goal difference of +5, were beaten heavily, so the chasing pack is crowded.
The race matters for German football because four clubs, Bayern and Dortmund on 14 points and Freiburg and Leverkusen on 13, are separated by only one point after six rounds, which keeps the early title picture open. At the bottom, Mönchengladbach have lost all six games with a goal difference of -12, and Union Berlin, on five points, are 17th, also with a goal difference of -12. Paderborn are 16th on five points. A league with an unbeaten pair at the top and two struggling clubs below is more open than the 6-1 suggests.
Bayern’s win was the weekend’s biggest, but it only returned them to level terms with Dortmund. The table is tight at the top, and Gladbach’s start shows how large the gap is at the bottom. The next rounds will show whether Bayern’s goal difference or Dortmund’s unbeaten defence carries more weight over a long season.
