“Seven points from three”

7. Borussia Dortmund are top of the Bundesliga after three games, level on points with four rivals but ahead on goal difference. Their 1-1 draw at FC Bayern München on 1 September kept both clubs unbeaten and left the table’s leading places crowded: Hertha Berlin are second, Bayern third, Fortuna Düsseldorf fourth and FC St. Pauli fifth. Each has seven points.

Dortmund’s position rests on a strong opening balance: two wins, one draw and a goal difference of +8. Their 4-0 win over SpVgg Greuther Fürth on 25 August supplied much of that margin. The trip to Bayern brought no further separation, but a point there was enough to keep Dortmund first. Bayern had already beaten VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 and Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0; the draw leaves them level with Dortmund, Hertha, Düsseldorf and St. Pauli rather than clear at the top.

Hertha are second after a 4-1 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05 on 1 September, their second victory in three. Fortuna moved up from seventh to fourth, having beaten Wolfsburg 2-0 and Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0. The Düsseldorf side are among the five on seven points, and among ten clubs still unbeaten. RB Leipzig also climbed, from ninth to sixth, after a 4-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim. Leipzig’s earlier 1-1 draw at St. Pauli means they, too, have yet to lose.

The other side of the table is less comfortable. Wolfsburg are last, with no points and three defeats; the latest was a 3-0 loss at Sport-Club Freiburg on 2 September. Bayer 04 Leverkusen are 17th, also without a point after three games, and have fallen from 14th. Hoffenheim dropped from 11th to 15th after the Leipzig defeat. Greuther Fürth sit 16th with one point, earned from a draw; their defeat at Dortmund was their second loss.

There are seven clubs still waiting for a first win, including 1. FC Köln, Mainz, 1. FC Nürnberg, Hoffenheim, Fürth, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. Mainz fell from eighth to 13th after Hertha’s four-goal return. The standings are already sorting themselves into clear contrasts, though three games are a small base on which to build certainty.

For Dortmund, the immediate arithmetic is simple: they have the best goal difference among the five clubs on seven points, and no defeat to answer for. The summer’s attention around the club has included Bernard Plaßhenrich, the young dribbler who drew scouting interest, and the £38.7m signing of Sadio Keita. Neither changes the table. The 1-1 at Bayern does, just enough to keep Dortmund at its head.