Bundesliga table: Bayern and Dortmund level as Freiburg and Bremen chase

Eight rounds into the Bundesliga season, the champions finally have company at the top. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are level on 18 points after their 2-2 draw in Munich last Saturday, and neither has lost a league game yet. Behind them, SC Freiburg are enjoying one of the best starts in their history, while Werder Bremen ride a Niclas Füllkrug scoring streak into fifth place.

The table after matchday 8

Pos	Team	P	W-D-L	Goals	Pts
1	Bayern Munich	8	5-3-0	27:8	18
2	Borussia Dortmund	8	5-3-0	14:6	18
3	SC Freiburg	8	5-1-2	18:10	16
4	RB Leipzig	8	5-0-3	22:11	15
5	Werder Bremen	8	4-3-1	17:14	15
6	Bayer Leverkusen	8	4-1-3	18:16	13
7	Elversberg	8	4-1-3	16:16	13
16	Union Berlin	8	1-4-3	7:19	7
17	Schalke 04	8	1-3-4	4:9	6
18	Borussia Mönchengladbach	8	1-1-6	11:22	4

The top four go straight into the Champions League. Live standings: Bundesliga table.

Two unbeaten leaders, two different profiles

Bayern and Dortmund have identical records – five wins, three draws – but they got there in very different ways. Bayern have scored 27 goals, almost twice as many as Dortmund, and their goal difference of +19 is the best in the league by a distance. Dortmund have conceded only six, the tightest defence in the division, which echoes last season, when Niko Kovač's side let in fewer goals than anyone.

The Klassiker showed both sides. Bayern led twice through Konrad Laimer and Dayot Upamecano, and Harry Kane hit the woodwork twice, once from the penalty spot. Dortmund answered twice: Serhou Guirassy levelled on the hour and substitute Fábio Silva struck in the 89th minute. For Bayern, chasing a third straight title, it was the first time this season that a rival left Munich on equal terms.

Freiburg and Bremen: the surprise packages

Freiburg came from behind to win 2-1 at Augsburg, with Igor Matanović equalising and Cyriaque Irié heading in a Vincenzo Grifo cross for the winner. According to the Bundesliga, 16 points from eight games is the club's second-best start ever – and Julian Schuster's side are doing it while also playing in the Conference League and the DFB Cup.

Werder Bremen beat Hoffenheim 2-0 for their first back-to-back league wins of the season. Füllkrug, 33, scored for the eighth game in a row in all competitions and has nine goals this season; Eren Dinkçi added the second. Marco Grüll leads the league with seven assists. Daniel Thioune's team are level on points with RB Leipzig, who won 2-0 at Schalke.

The biggest statement of the weekend came from VfB Stuttgart, who won 4-2 at Leverkusen with two goals from Ermedin Demirović – Leverkusen's first home defeat of the season.

Trouble at the bottom

Borussia Mönchengladbach are last with four points after a goalless draw against newly promoted Paderborn – one win from eight games and a goal difference of –11. Schalke, back in the top flight, have scored just four goals, the fewest in the league. Union Berlin sit in the play-off place after a 1-1 with Köln.

Matchday 9: what to watch

Date	Kick-off (CET)	Match
Fri 6 Nov	20:30	Hamburger SV v Gladbach
Sat 7 Nov	15:30	Mainz v Bayern
Sat 7 Nov	15:30	Dortmund v Elversberg
Sat 7 Nov	18:30	Stuttgart v Werder Bremen
Sun 8 Nov	15:30	Köln v Leverkusen
Sun 8 Nov	17:30	Freiburg v Union Berlin

Bayern and Dortmund kick off at the same time on Saturday afternoon. Gladbach open the round on Friday night in Hamburg, and Bremen's run faces a real test against an in-form Stuttgart.

Our take

A two-horse race is the most likely outcome, but this one looks more balanced than in recent seasons. Bayern's attack is in a league of its own; Dortmund's defence gives them a floor that Bayern's rivals have often lacked. The interesting part is the gap below: only three points separate third from fifth, and Freiburg and Bremen are getting results that look sustainable rather than lucky. Saturday's simultaneous kick-offs could produce the first change at the top – Mainz were thrashed 4-1 by Elversberg last Friday, while Dortmund host the promoted side that did it.

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