Bundesliga Bulletin: Bayern bromance blossoms

Good week for: Amine Harit, Philippe Coutinho, Hertha Berlin, Robert Lewandowski

Bad week for: Newly promoted sides, Werder Bremen, Lucien Favre

The lowdown:

— Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal for Bayern in a comfortable 4-0 home win against Cologne. Despite being on a hat trick, Robert Lewandowski let the Brazilian take the spot kick. His first effort was a nervous one, down the middle, but he had a chance to improve when the referee ordered a retake because of encroachment in the box. The second spot kick was much better, curled into the top left corner. This was an afternoon stroll for Bayern, who got the win they needed just before their Oktoberfest visit. Cheers indeed.

— Borussia Dortmund and the question of mentality. Marco Reus thought it was "s***" to be asked about it after Dortmund scored a late own goal to draw a game in Frankfurt that they should have won. Poor mental strength, bad defending, or just a lack of quality — whatever it is, Dortmund have already dropped points twice this season. Not great news for Favre, Reus and co.

— Amine Harit proved the difference on Friday night, assisting one and scoring a sensational outside-of-the-boot winner in the last minute to quietly push Schalke into the top four. It might be early in the season, but Harit's return to form (something he attributes to increased confidence from  coach David Wagner and an increased sense of responsibility after becoming a father recently) is promising for Schalke. Visitors Mainz were hard done by not to get a point, but they ended up sending the far bigger message on the day anyway by supporting "Fridays For Future". 

— Hertha's 2-1 win against Paderborn was as close as the score suggested, but it does mean that the newly promoted side are now the only winless team in the league. It also opens things up in the bottom half of the table, where Mainz and Cologne are now separated from Hertha, Union, Hoffenheim and Düsseldorf by just one point.

— Julian Nagelsmann has made quite the start to life at RB Leipzig. Granted, it's still very early in the season but just days after sealing his first European victory he guided his side to a comfortable 3-0 away win in Bremen. RB Leipzig sit two points clear at the top of the table, with 13 points from five games, having scored 12 and conceded just three. A message has been sent: Nagelsmann means business.

The quotes:

"I have to put the work in now and make sure the food is on the table at home."

Amine Harit being asked about the impact becoming a father has had on his game

"It was a spontaneous decision to let him [Coutinho] take the penalty and score his first goal at home as it's important for his self-confidence."

Robert Lewandowski on not taking the penalty when on a hat trick

"I remember other times, so it's nice when you win at Oktoberfest time."

Bayern captain Manuel Neuer on Bayern's win on the opening weekend of the beer festival

"You're really getting on my nerves with this whole mentality s***. Today? The equalizer was a mentality issue? You can't be serious. It has nothing to do with mentality. It has to do with the right defensive cohesion."

Marco Reus after Dortmund's 2-2 draw

"We don't always have to pass the ball into the goal. As a player, you hear shouts of 'shoot!' from the stands. Maybe we should let fly more often."

Leverkusen's Kevin Volland

"I saw a goal and I was happy. Then I saw: no goal and that was s***."

Hertha's Davie Selke after having a goal ruled out due to offside

"But we are not Bayern Munich."

Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer when asked about a title race between Bayern and Leipzig

The stats:

— Lars Bender made his 300th appearance in all competitions for Leverkusen. A club legend if ever there was one.

— Robert Lewandowski equaled Carsten Jancker's Bundesliga record of scoring at least one goal in each of the first five games. He has nine goals after five games, which is the first time that's happened since Peter Meyer (Gladbach) in 1967. This is Lewandowski's best-ever start to a season. He has 202 in 250 for Bayern. Blimey.

— RB Leipzig have not lost any of their seven games under Julian Nagelsmann, and have six wins in that time.

— For the first time ever, Gladbach haven't scored in the first 45 minutes of their last seven home league games.

—  For the first time in over two years (May 2017), Werder Bremen didn't score a goal in a Bundesliga home game. Given their injury list, it's perhaps not that surprising. 

The fans:

A chilling moment on Friday night as Schalke's Veltins Arena went quiet with news filtering around the ground that a Royal Blues' fan had collapsed. The person in question was taken to the hospital, but as of yet there has been no word on their condition. Schalke CEO Jochen Schneider had praise for the reaction of both sets of fans: "The tact displayed by the supporters was very impressive."

The weird:

Sebastian Polter came on after 61 minutes for an Union Berlin side headed towards defeat away in Leverkusen. Five minutes later he was sent off after the VAR reviewed his yellow card. Polter dragged his boot down the heel of an opponent. A (short) day to forget for him, and a worrying outing for his team too.