15:30 Kickoffs: Bayern dismantle Union, Frankfurt destroy Bochum, Kiel and St. Pauli both win

German record champions FC Bayern München have kicked the ball squarely back into the court of potential title-contenders RB Leipzig ahead of this evening's "Top-Spiel". Vincent Kompany's FCB - in a match not unlike this past Wednesday's Pokal win - quickly and easily dismantled Bo Svensson's 1. FC Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena. Harry Kane - who himself has scored more league goals than the entire Union team this season - recorded a brace in the win. 

Kompany made four changes to the team that manhandled Mainz in the cup midweek. Raphaël Guerreiro, Michael Olise, and Kingsley Coman took the place of Konrad Laimer, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané. Dayot Upamecano was also once again fit enough to start. The Frenchman replaced Eric Dier in central defense. Svensson responded to his own side's cup disappointment with five total changes. Of some interest, Danilho Doekhi moved up from central defense to the left-wingback role for the first time. In place of Leite, summer signing Leopard Querfeld made his starting XI debut.

The Berliners were able to frustrate the record champs for a time by successfully disrupting build-up play and closing ranks at the back. By the 14th minute, however, Bayern had their chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot. Union could have no complaints when Benedict Hollerbach knocked Olise down on the edge of the area. Kane duly converted the 1-0 at the quarter-of-an-hour mark. To their credit, the Köpenickers were able to keep the FCB under wraps for a time. Some neat artistry from Kane nevertheless ultimately led to Coman netting the 2-0 in the 43rd. 

With Bayern lording over upwards of 80 percent possession in the opening 45, a Union comeback never really appeared likely. An excellent team goal involving Coman, Joshua Kimmich, and Jamal Musiala in the 51st more or less put the affair to bed. Kane polished off the 3-0 not long after the restart. Svensson's team never really showed much of a will to recover from this knockout blow. Pace never really returned to the game and matters crawled to an uneventful finish.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga's 15:30 kickoffs:

Frankfurt-Bochum

Eintracht Trainer Dino Toppmöller stayed true to his word and opted for youth in his match-up with the league's worst team. Nnamdi Collins, Nathaniel Brown, and promising young talent Jean-Matteo Bahoya all featured in the SGE. The RheinMainAdler absolutely destroyed their Ruhrpott guests with regular actors Omar Marmoush, Hugo Ekitiké, and Ansgar Knauff helping Frankfurt rush out to a 3-0 lead before 20 minutes had been played. Highly touted new additions Collins and Brown then impressively combined for the 4-0 in the 32nd. 

Bochum's Dani de Wit - at least looking a bit more menacing in his new tactical role - did pull a goal back before the break. A 51st-minute tally from VfL striker Philipp Hoffmann briefly ameliorated the scoreline. Had Ibrahima Sissoko finished off a chance shortly thereafter, the match might have gone in a different direction. Regrettably for the Bundesliga's last-placed side, the goals began to rain down at Deutsche Bank Park after Sissoko's miss. Ekitiké, Mahmoud Dahoud, and Can Azun added their names to the scoresheet. The match ended in a 7-2 SGE rout.

Kiel-Heidenheim

The Bundesliga's two newest members convened at Holstein Stadion, naturally meeting in the top flight for the very first time. Marcel Rapp's Storks were able to take a 1-0 lead off a seemingly innocuous free-kick near the half-hour mark. A poor clearance from FCH defender Tim Siersleben enabled Patrick Erras to secure the opening goal. Kiel took their slender lead into the dressing room. The hometown fans - sensing that their team's historic first-ever Bundesliga win might be within reach - did a fantastic job of lifting their team up in the second half. 

Kiel produced chance after chance in the second 45 and found themselves extremely unlucky not to score a second goal. So many chances at the 2-0 went begging. In the end, bad misses by Steven Skrzybski and Finn Porath did not come back to haunt the north Germans. The scenes at the Holstein Stadion proved both wild and touching as the club supporters finally received the chance to commemorate a victory in the German top flight. 

Hoffenheim-St. Pauli

Over at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim, the 2024/25 Bundesliga's other newly promoted team also rushed out to a 1-0 half-time lead against their opponents. Kiezkicker striker Oladapo Afolayan helped the guests gain a slight advantage over their favored hosts. Pellegrino Matarazzo's TSG by far played the better football in the opening 45 minutes, yet remained behind on the scoresheet due to Afolayan's clinical finish. Matarazzo brought on the surging Haris Tabakovic to help being his team some fresh offensive impetus in the second half.

This led to a short burst after the restart, but the Kraichgauer hosts slowly faded from view over the course of the second 45. Several defensive-minded substitutions from St. Pauli trainer Alexander Blessin enabled the Hanseatic side to close the game out effectively. Hoffenheim's Tom Bischof put forward the most effort in search of the 1-1. An error from Bischof near the end nevertheless enabled St. Pauli skipper Jackson Irvine to set up the 2-0 on a counterattack at 90+3.

Wolfsburg-Augsburg

Ralph Hasenhüttl's "Autostädter" found themselves in a similar position to Hoffenheim and Heidenheim after the first-half of play at the Volkswagen Arena. Despite delivering the better optical football, die "Wölfe" trailed Augsburg 0-1 at the half courtesy of a goalkeeping error from VfL net-minder Kamil Grabara in the 34th. The hosts fought hard in search of an equalizer, eventually succeeding eight minutes from the end of normal time. Mohammed Amoura hammered home the 1-1 impressively off the volley in the 82nd. So it would end.