BUNDESLIGA
"THE FORM OF RB LEIPZIG WOLFSBURG HAS BEEN A WELCOME SURPRISE." BY: FEARGAL BRENNAN
UNUSUAL SUSPECTS THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
THE GOOD The 2020-21 Bundesliga season has had a more competitive race than usual at the top, even as Bayern Munich stepped up a gear in 2021 and powered through the rest of the pack. Behind the Bavarians though it has been a real slugfest for the Champions League, as Borussia Dortmund’s form failed. RB Leipzig, pretenders to Bayern’s crown, were always going to at least take a Champions League spot and the form of Wolfsburg has been a welcome surprise. Oliver Glasner’s side got their act together in 2021, losing their first game of the year – against Dortmund, ironically – but then not losing again until the beginning of March. That defeat to Dortmund was the turning point, with the performance arguably worse than the outcome. Wolfsburg responded in the best possible way, picking up 27 points from a possible 33 in the 11 games that followed. Netherlands international forward Wout Weghorst has been the standout name for Glasner this season, as his goals have propelled the team up the table. He in particular turned it on in 2021, with eight league goals in the first three months of the year A place in next season’s Champions League will be key for Glasner’s ability to retain the highly rated Weghorst this summer with Kevin Mbabu and Bote Baku also attracting growing attention from Europe’s biggest clubs. A first Champions League berth since 2015-16 – when they reached the quarter-finals and only lost
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SOCCER360 MAY • JUNE 2021
