The Bundesliga resumed action today after being out for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, and there are a lot of talking points from the games.
RB Leipzig played out a 1-1 draw with Freiburg, Frankfurt were beaten 3-1 by Borussia Monchengladbach, Duesseldorf played a goalless draw with Paderborn, Borussia Dortmund stole the show by beating Schalke 04 4-0, Wolfsburg defeated Augsburg 2-1, Hertha Berlin defeated Hoffenheim 3-0.
Football returned behind closed doors in an almost empty stadium, as not more than 300 people were in the stadium, ranging from medical team, media team to security personnel. The games never looked the same without the fans in the stadium as the sound of every pass was heard even from afar.
Despite months of no physical activity, the players didn’t look out of shape as the game did not lack intensity despite the absence of crowd noise. Tackles flew in, and the players did look fit. This shows that the team’s program given to the players during the lockdown were well followed.
Not all players stuck to the guidelines though as emotions ran wild for Hertha Berlin’s third goal in their win over Hoffenhein. In some games, players maintained social distancing while celebrating, but the emotions in some games didn’t permit the players to do so. Borussia Monchengladbach striker Lillian Thuram waved away his teammates after scoring against Frieberg only to kiss a teammate on the cheek moments later, with the new rules clearly taking time to bed in.
A lot of care was taken to ensure that the virus won’t be spread, to the point that substitutes wore face mask and sat apart.
In the end, we learnt that there is still life for football after Covid-19.