Some took the historic lead, others had the worst start to the season in 40 years - but both acted as if nothing big had happened. "I'm really not interested in that," said Christian Streich about SC Freiburg's only second lead in the Bundesliga. And for his coaching colleague from Bayer Leverkusen, Gerardo Seoane, the fifth defeat in the sixth competitive game does not seem to have any professional consequences.
"Of course he has our full support and trust, no question about it," said sporting director Simon Rolfes after the 2-3 (1-0) from Bayer's point of view. The performance in this game was "better than last week" in the actually redeeming 3-0 in Mainz, said Rolfes: "We could have left the field as winners today."
Streich assured that his team could have lost 3:4. "In terms of results, things are going extremely well for us at the moment. But we also have the necessary luck at the moment," said Streich, who has been an SC coach for more than ten years, at the first and previously only league lead on the first matchday in 2000 under Volker Finke but was still a U19 coach. "Some of the last three games were good, some were so-so, and we all won," said Streich: "It's sometimes like that. But I can classify it correctly."
Leader Freiburg remains modest
Despite the snapshot, no one is currently looking up in Freiburg, the coach assured. "In a year in which we play European Cup, it's about making good games in the European Cup and keeping Freiburg in the Bundesliga," he said. "That is our goal. If we succeed, it will be a good and nice year."
The Freiburg players even acted as if they hadn't heard the news of the jump to the top after the 1-1 draw in the top game between Union Berlin and FC Bayern Munich. "I'm hearing that for the first time now. How did Bayern play?" Asked Maximilian Eggestein. Outside, the fans celebrated with shouts of "front runners".
In national player Matthias Ginter (48th minute), Michael Gregoritsch with his third goal of the season (51st) and Ritsu Doan (72nd), three newcomers turned the game around after a weak first half. They ensured a successful dress rehearsal for Thursday's game against Azerbaijan's Karabakh Agdam, Freiburg's first group game in the Europa League in nine years.
Bad Leverkusen mood before the Champions League
At Bayer, despite ex-national player Kerem Demirbay's first goal in a competitive match (16th) in exactly eleven months and striker Patrik Schick's first goal of the season (65th), the mood for the Champions League opener on Wednesday at FC Bruges failed . "We lost. We don't jump in the air," said Seoane. Nevertheless, he saw "very positive approaches".
Callum Hudson-Odoi was one of them. The winger, who was loaned out by Chelsea on Tuesday, came on in the 60th minute. Less than four minutes later, he prepared Schick's goal and set many other accents. "I'm happy with my performance," said the England international. "But it's not about me, it's about the team." And it is still deep in the crisis.
