orussia Dortmund would probably rather not think about the last time that they topped the Bundesliga. It was in May 2023, just before all their dreams imploded, with black and yellow Deutscher Meister t-shirts – 'German champions' – for sale on the approach to Signal Iduna Park and cold beers at the ready. Now, that is no longer the most recent time Dortmund have led the pack.
It's four games, four wins to start this season and the Niko Kovac workout plan is hitting the spot. Saturday night's single-goal win at Stuttgart was a game that had the gravitas of a true Topspiel, if not quite the entertainment value of one. Kovac's fingerprints were all over it. The conversation of whether his view of the game fits with BVB's swashbuckling image will no doubt continue, but this was a case in point to show just how good Kovac has been for the club, and for the team.
Dortmund had taken four points from the two games against Sebastian Hoeness and his Stuttgart team last season – and just as Kovac will not be oblivious to criticism of his side's style, nor is Hoeness to whispers about his impressive team's waning record against direct rivals – but were hardly overwhelmingly impressive either. It had been a huge improvement on the 2024-25 encounters with Stuttgart, in which BVB had been well beaten, twice, once under the short reign of Nuri Sahin and once in Kovac's first game in charge, at which point he must have realised the mountainous task ahead of him.
Here, in September 2026, was the clearest of markers of how far Dortmund have come under the former Croatia midfielder and how deeply his ideas have taken root. To see a Dortmund patient, poised and defensively competent enough to grind this game out is still a novelty, and they didn't have a shot on target until Maximilian Beier prodded in the winner from an inviting ball in by substitute Jobe Bellingham. That Dortmund dealt with everything the home side had in response, with street smarts and limited fuss, was laudable. They made a very accomplished attacking forced look ordinary. "In a top match," Stuttgart's Hoeness later reflected, "decent and okay aren't enough."
That Bellingham and Beier combined for the goal was noteworthy too; the former frequently rubbished for not being the equal of his generationally-talented elder brother and the latter another player who is simply underrated, both were brought in for big money and accordingly viewed with little patience. Their adaptability was striking, with Bellingham impacting off the bench and Beier thriving in a more advanced role. They are both Kovac's type: young, willing, athletic and adaptable.
Should we call Dortmund contenders? That is, perhaps, a bit strong. But there is talk is about reducing the 16-point gap to Bayern that remained at the end of last season, and there were signs here that they may, at least, be capable of that. "It's about annoying Bayern a bit", is how Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken framed it, following the win at Stuttgart.
Dortmund were never going to return to relevance and consistency by trying to relive the Jürgen Klopp years, or by trying to ape Bayern (and yes, both of those approaches have been attempted). To get into the position where they can face the hurt (and potential rewards) of 2023 all over again will take a while, and doesn't just depend on them – it will take Bayern falling down a rung or two. They are at least climbing the right ladder though, slowly, steadily, and diligently.
Talking points
It was only a matter of time and it was probably always going to happen against an ailing Union Berlin, who are enduring a horrible start to the season, but Harry Kane reached 100 Bundesliga goals on Friday night in his 98th game, so much faster than anyone in the league's history. His double was almost a footnote on a night as Michael Olise scored a dazzling hat-trick, with Jamal Musiala and Ismaël Saibari also netting their first league goals of the season in a 7-0 shellacking. It was a good start to the club's traditional celebration of Oktoberfest weekend.
Bayern later mourned Peter Hermann, Jupp Heynckes' popular assistant in the 2013 treble-winning season, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 73. Hermann was also emotionally commemorated at Leverkusen before kick-off on Sunday, having played in their 1979 promotion-winning team and having later served as assistant to Klaus Toppmöller at the helm of the celebrated 2002 Champions League finalists. Die Werkself paid fitting tribute on the field too as they beat RB Leipzig 2-0. The margins were fine, with Christopher Nkunku having an opener ruled out for the visitors before Patrik Schick put the home side ahead from a Miguel Gutiérrez cross. Gutiérrez, Álex Grimaldo's nominal replacement, scored the second himself. Carles Martínez praised his team for "good balance between keeping the ball and playing forward", while his opposite number Martín Demichelis has plenty to think about after a fourth straight away defeat.
Never before had a team scored three times in successive Bundesliga home games and lost both of them but Borussia Mönchengladbach are managing to find a ledge beneath the edge. Gladbach made a bright start against Mainz (who are under interim coach Jan-Moritz Lichte) – with Florian Neuhaus scoring the opener on his return to the line-up, his first since May 2024 – but ended in defeat again, leaving them bottom, without a point. Alexander Blessin, a former St Pauli coach famed for his defensive work, is expected to arrive in an attempt to plug the leaks.
Hamburg had gone into matchday four pointless and goalless but managed to squeeze past a Köln side who dominated them, with Yussuf Poulsen's second goal for the club since arriving in summer 2025 proving decisive. It was an endorsement of their faith in head coach Merlin Polzin, who signed a contract extension this week despite that bad start and successive 5-0 defeats.
There are comebacks and there are comebacks, and several coincided on the Weser as Werder Bremen continued their surprisingly good start to the season. They trailed 2-0 to Augsburg but were level after a Niclas Füllkrug netbuster but even better was around the corner, with Mitchell Weiser rattling in a perfect left-foot winner, deep into stoppage time, in his first home appearance after 16 months out with injury. It brought the former Bayern man to tears and his coach Daniel Thoune described it as "a goosebump moment".
All three promoted teams now have a win after Paderborn's shock victory over Hoffenheim in Sunday's late game, with veteran substitute Steffen Tigges sealing it with a header for his first top-flight goal since 2024. It was a third loss in four for Hoffenheim, who also suffered an embarrassing Europa League reverse at OFI Crete on Thursday.