Finally, the last major European league is back! It’s been a long time coming: Serie A, the Premier League and La Liga have already kicked off, as well as other German domestic competitions, such as 3. Liga (almost a month ago!), 2. Bundesliga (not so long after the 3. Liga), and of course the DFB-Pokal, that produced a number of shocks that saw no less than six Bundesliga outfits knocked out in the first round. But despite all of this, a ball has not been kicked with points at stake for the top 18 clubs in Germany since Dortmund were crowned Deutscher Meister way back in May.

With all this in mind, I’m sure you’ll join us in being pleased with the return of the league we’ve talked about a lot, a league in its fiftieth season, no less. Without any further ado, let’s discuss the nine games of this weekend!

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Werder Bremen

Last season was of slightly different levels of success to both clubs involved in the opening tie on Friday. Werder slipped to ninth in the table while Dortmund secured a second consecutive title, with Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski both important components in an impressive attack. The summer has been one of rebuilding for Bremen, but despite this they fell behind early on. Summer signing Marco Reus put Dortmund ahead, and this lead lasted until half time. On balance of the first half, 1-0 was perhaps unfair, with Werder playing some very attractive football, and the game fairly well balanced. Their patience and good play was rewarded in the 76th minute, with Gebre Selassie (also a new signing) equalising for die Grün-Weißen.

The harsh reality of football is that even if you play well, you have to score some goals to put points on the board. While Werder managed one, Mario Götze scored a second for Dortmund, leaving Bremen pointless and Dortmund with all three.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 Hoffenheim

Another 2-1 result, and a perfect start to the season for Lucien Favre’s Gladbach, who will be trying to follow up on an excellent season last year. Despite losing important players from all around the pitch, (Reus, Neustädter and Dante have all left to various clubs), die Fohlen have signed ambitiously with Luuk de Jong, Granit Xhaka and Alvaro Dominguez all joining. Hoffenheim finished eleventh for the third year consecutively, but Markus Babbel’s men have been bolstered with many signings such as Tim Wiese and Eren Derdiyok, and despite being bundled out of the DFB-Pokal by Berliner AK last weekend, may still harbour hopes of a higher finish this year.

Mike Hanke scored a bullet header after half an hour to give Gladbach a half time lead, but Roberto Firmino showed he was equal to his opposite number in the second half by scoring a similar header to level the scores at 1-1. The game was thrown open to both teams to stake a claim for points, but it was Gladbach who found the initiative as they did so much last season: Juan Arango scoring a stylish free kick to win the game late on.

Augsburg 0-2 Düsseldorf

It was a sophomore against a newcomer at the SGL arena. Augsburg were newly promoted this time last year but Jos Luhukay guided them to a neat 14th placed finish, while Düsseldorf enjoyed promotion after a playoff final and a court battle against Hertha Berlin. Augsburg dominated the vast majority of chances throughout the game, but while they were profligate, Düsseldorf managed to produce some form of end product: Dani Schahin netting twice in 10 second half minutes to put the game beyond the opposition.

HSV 0-1 Nürnberg

Last season was horrible for Hamburgers worldwide (unless they supported St Pauli), with HSV nearly succumbing to relegation and having to switch off their famous Bundesliga clock. They came fifteenth, however, after a last minute push (or, more accurately, Köln imploding on a massive scale) for survival. Nürnberg were actually involved with the relegation battle too, but pulled away successfully towards the end of the season, finishing a respectable tenth. With all of this in mind, this game could have been a relegation six-pointer had it been later on in the season, but it not being so, Nürnberg will still be very pleased to have registered three points through a second half Hanno Balitsch strike. It was a deserved victory too: the Bavarians were by far the better team of the two. HSV will hope that this result isn’t a sign of things to come.

Greuther Fürth 0-3 Bayern München

A game between two relatively local teams down in Bavaria: newcomers Fürth welcomed old-timers Bayern to Trolli Arena for their first ever game in the Bundesliga. An opening day loss is always hard to take, but with Bayern being stronger than last year (a year where they finished second in the Champions League), and being perennially one of the strongest teams in Germany, Fürth shouldn’t beat themselves up too much. Thomas Müller was perhaps the best player for Bayern in the “finale dahoam”, and he opened up the 2012/2013 campaign with a goal just before half time. It was hard to see a way back into the game for Fürth even at this point, as they mustered up far fewer opportunities than their local counterparts. Mario Mandzukic (who was loved on Ludicrous Display during the Euros) scored his first league goal since joining Bayern in the summer to make it 2-0, and Thomas Kleine got the ball stuck in the wrong net for Fürth, as they succumbed to a 3-0 loss. With important players such as Bastian Schweinsteiger able to start on the bench, Bayern truly have strength in depth this year, and are perhaps better equipped to mount a title offence this time around.

Freiburg 1-1 Mainz

Freiburg finished last season excellently. They looked dead-certs for the drop after the Hinrunde, especially with top striker Papiss Cisse leaving, but a youthful outfit managed by Christian Streich managed to pull it out of the bag: secure with games yet to play, and great prospects for the season coming. Would they go a “Gladbach”, and challenge at the top this time around? Perhaps, but it’s more likely that they’ll sit in mid table again, and against a side in Mainz who’ll want to do the very same, 1-1 is a very good result. Summer signing from St Pauli, Max Kruse, put Freiburg ahead just after half time, but the lead didn’t last for long. Andreas Ivanschitz opened his season’s account for Mainz, and both sides can be content with a point after what was an even affair.

Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Leverkusen

The third and final newly promoted team were in action against Leverkusen, who had an abysmal last few weeks of 2011/2012 but will want to improve this time around. Eintracht Frankfurt hauled themselves out of the 2. Bundesliga at the first time of asking, propelled primarily by the goals of (recently departed) Idrissou. But they’ve brought in an excellent striker in Olivier Occean, who can potentially do the business up front. Since relegation Frankfurt have become a tight-knit unit, and their resolve was tested after a Stefan Kießling opener in the first half. Armin Veh’s team talk, however, clearly paid dividends: the “moody divas” turned things around through Stefan Aigner and Martin Lanig, gifting die Adler three points upon return to Germany’s top division.

Stuttgart 0-1 Wolfsburg

It’s been a disappointing few years for Wolfsburg since winning the league in 2009. Slipping towards the wrong end of the table is the general trend, but Felix Magath has bought wisely this summer, and also managed to keep playmaker Diego (who won the Europa League on loan last season). Other signings, such as Pilar (who was injured for this fixture) have come in too, to bolster a squad who have a real punt at a European place this season. Stuttgart, on the other hand, have not been as chaotic in recent times, and will have a similar dream to their matchday one opponents. Neither side, however, looked on top form, with the game almost ending 0-0. That was until Bas Dost popped up at the far post for a Bundesliga debut goal. Wolfsburg almost rued a first half Dejagah miss (many would say it looked easier to score!), but Stuttgart fans can be heartened by neat build-up play but irritated by profligacy and some bad errors going forward. 0-0 would have perhaps been the fairest result, but both teams will need to turn it up a notch if they wish to contend for the European place they both crave.

Hannover 2-2 Schalke

Hannover and Schalke both finished impressively last season. Schalke slipped just beyond Gladbach to secure a definite Champions League spot, while Hannover will be delighted with a Europa League berth yet again. Both teams showed why they finished so well in this game: strong attacking lineups. Felipe opened the scoring for Hannover, giving the home side a 1-0 lead, but nothing is certain in football, especially not a 1-0 lead. Soon after, top scorer of last season Klaas-Jan Huntelaar showed his class to level the scoring after excellent work by Lewis Holtby on the counter. That man Holtby was on the end of a cross not long after, to flick a header just beyond Ron-Robert Zieler and cap off an excellent display. Schalke will have settled for the 2-1 victory, but Hannover had played excellently all game and really deserved what they got in the end: Jan Schlaudraff setting up Adrian Nikci for a simple finish, but one buried with absolute aplomb. Two apiece, and what a way to end the first weekend of the 50th Bundesliga season.