Bayern on Top, Chaos follows: Six Weeks into the Bundesliga Season

Six weeks into the Bundseliga season and already so many talking points: Bayern München and VfL Wolfsburg are at the top of the table, while the recently promoted club Mainz are at the bottom. So everything is just as it always is, right? Well, not entirely.

There have been some surprises so far, dramatic games, clubs performing differently to expectations and five red cards.

The Table

Six matchdays into the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the top of the table looks familiar, but there are plenty of surprises further down. Bayern München are doing Bayern München things, six games, six wins, 18 points and 19 goals scored. VfL Wolfsburg are trying to keep up, currently sitting at 15 points with 18 goals scored, while both Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen have also made strong starts.

1, FSV Mainz are still waiting for their first point in the Bundesliga, while Nürnberg can't seem to win despite several good games.

Looking at the rest of the table, however, there have been some surprises. Spectacular comebacks, late winners, surprisingly good or disappointing starts for several clubs and quite a few bizarre moments and games, which already have made this year's start to the season entertaining for everyone watching.

Bayern are setting the pace -  to no one's surprise

The defending champions wasted no time in reminding everyone why they have only lost two domestic games since the summer of 2022, winning the league for the fourth consecutive time in May.

They opened the season with a 4-1 win against 1. FC Union Berlin in front of 17.000 spectators at the Stadion an der alten Försterei in the German capital and they have won every game since.

The Bavarians secured their latest victory in Frankfurt, where Sophie Proost's brilliant pass found Klara Bühl's perfectly timed run, enabling the German winger  to score the only goal of the match. This marked Frankfurt's first defeat of the season and allowed Bayern to maintain their three-point lead over Wolfsburg.

There are obviously still a lot of games ahead this season and anything could happen, but Bayern do have the better baseline going into the international break.

Wolfsburg are hot on Bayern's heels, but not without some drama

After finishing as runners-up once again last season, the SheWolves are eager to reclaim the title.

Their season started with an absolute cracker of a game in Nürnberg, keeping everyone watching on their toes. 1. FC Nürnberg scored two goals in the first half, leaving Wolfburg 2-0 down at halftime. A yellow-red card for Nürnberg in the 51st minute changed everything, though. Just four minutes later, Wolfsburg were awarded a penalty which Janina Minge slotted into the back of the net. Five minutes after that, Cora Zicai scored the equaliser and then another four minutes after that, she put Wolfsburg 3-2 ahead. In the remaining 25 minutes of regular time, the SheWolves managed to score four more goals, two of which were scored by Janina Minge, one regular goal and one more penalty. In the fifth minute of added time, Ella Peddemors scored the last goal of the game, with Wolfsburg making one of the craziest comebacks the Bundesliga has ever seen, winning the game 8-2.

And it seems that just one crazy comeback was not enough for Wolfsburg.

On matchday three, they faced Werder Bremen and found themselves behind twice. Bremen took an early lead, Mara Alber equalised but Werder managed to regain the lead in the second half. However, Wolfsburg's centreback Camilla Küver was not going to accept defeat. She equalised in the 88th minute before scoring the winning goal in the fourth minute of added time, securing a huge comeback and an important win for Wolfsburg.

But that's not the end of the entertaining games from Wolfsburg.

On matchday six, they faced Hamburger SV at home and while the game itself wasn't particularly out of the ordinary, the first goal certainly was. When the ball landed in Hamburg's goal in the 45th minute, the referee awarded the goal to Wolfsburg despite heavy protests from the HSV players. And looking at the replay, it appears that the ball deflected off Ella Peddemors' arm into the net, so the protests were valid. However, as there is no VAR in the Bundesliga, the goal stood and Wolfsburg won the game 2-1.

The SheWolves have therefore collected their fifth win in six game, with their only defeat coming against TSG Hoffenheim.

Stuttgart's brilliant start and their reality check

One of the early surprises this year was VfB Stuttgart.

Although they were only promoted this summer, their first couple of games did not show that. They started their Bundesliga journey with seven points from three games, securing victories against TSG Hoffenheim and HSV and drawing with 1. FC Nürnberg. Captain Maxi Rall and Nicole Billa were particularly crucial for the team, scoring most of the goals.

However, they then faced VfL Wolfsburg who ended Stuttgart's unbeaten run by defeating them 2-0. Nevertheless, the newly promoted team has already made a huge impression in the league.

After drawing with Werder Bremen, Stuttgart lost 0-4 to Union Berlin in their last matchday before the international break. They are still eighth in the league, though, showing that Stuttgart are here to stay rather than fighting relegation like most newly promoted teams.

Union Berlin - from an awful start to the first signs of life

Speaking of Union Berlin, the club was tipped as one of this season's favourites to finish high in the Bundesliga before the season started.

These predictions, however, have not aged well. Unlike Stuttgart, Berlin had a rather underwhelming start to the season. Obviously, playing the reigning champions in the first game was a tough challenge, but losing that game wasn't the problem, it was the games that followed that caused concern.

Because not taking a single point from the first four matchdays and scoring only one goal in that time was certainly not how Union expected to start the season.

However, the past two matchdays make it seem like they are finally moving in the right direction. After a narrow 3-2 win over RB Leipzig, the Berlin side won 4-0 against Stuttgart, climbing to 10th place for now. This is still nowhere near what was expected of them, but maybe Union just needed time to find their form. There have also been some changes to the team and coaching staff aswell, with Marie-Louise Eta taking over after having already coached the men's team for a few months.

Hoffenheim - same, same but different

Hoffenheim's start hasn't been much better than Berlin's. Unlike Union, however, they have shown their capabilities in previous seasons, consistently finishing in the top five and even archiving a top three position before, thereby qualifying for the UWCL.

Therefore, everyone expected them to start the season well, but that didn't work out. Despite scoring four goals in their first four games, Hoffenheim were left with zero points, loosing to newcomers Stuttgart in their season opener at home.

It was therefore rather surprising that the team they got their first win against was VfL Wolfsburg. It was a really tight match, but Hoffenheim ultimately took home three points with a 2-1 win. They topped that performance with another win on matchday six, putting them joint tenth with Union Berlin for now.

This is surely not how they imagined their first games would go, so maybe the international break will allow them to catch their breath and rediscover what they seem to have lost over the summer.

Leverkusen also love a dramatic comeback

Bayer Leverkusen produced a major comeback on matchday six against Werder Bremen.

About 25 minutes into the game, Rafaela Borggräfe, Leverkusen's goalkeeper, fouled a Bremen player in the penalty area, resulting in a yellow card for the keeper and a penalty for Bremen. However, Borggräfe was injured during the incident and had to be substituted, leaving Charlotte Voll to face the penalty she hadn’t even conceded. Bremen scored and just five minutes later, they scored again, leaving Leverkusen 2-0 down at halftime. Having lost to Wolfsburg and Bayern in their previous home games, Leverkusen were determined not to lose a third consecutive game at home. Cornelia Kramer scored a brace within just two minutes in the second half and Lobke Loonen secured Leverkusen's first home win with a goal in the 81st minute.

This victory also lifted them above Bremen in the table, climbing to 4th place.

The red card trend continues

Last season, 23 red cards were issued in 26 matchdays and after just six matchdays this season, we have already seen five red cards once again.

Hoffenheim saw the only straight red card in the league so far, against Eintracht Frankfurt, just eighteen minutes into the game. Bayer Leverkusen received a yellow-red card in the final minutes of their game against Hoffenheim, Leipzig received one in the second half against Bremen and Nürnberg received one in their opening game against Wolfsburg and again against Leipzig.

Nürnberg's frustrating pattern

1. FC Nürnberg finished rather low in the table last season, so while no one expected them to win every single game, watching them this season is just frustrating, even from a neutral perspective.

They were 2-0 up against Wolfsburg at halftime, only to lose the game 2-8. They scored against Frankfurt in the first half only to concede the equaliser in the 86th minute, ending the game in a draw. They took the lead against Stuttgart twice, only for Stuttgart to equalise in the 90th minute. They conceded a goal in the 87th minute against Hoffenheim, losing the game 1-2 despite taking a 1-0 lead into halftime.

You see where I'm heading. Nürnberg keeps conceding last-minute goals that cost them crucial points, leaving them with just two points after six matchdays.

Mainz - the newcomer at the bottom of the table

1. FSV Mainz knew that it would be hard to make a name for themselves in the Bundesliga. And despite gaving it their all, it hasn't worked out so far. Mainz sit at the bottom of the table with zero points, having scored three goals and conceded nineteen.

They performed quite well in the first ever Rhein-Main derby in women's football, scoring two goals against Eintracht Frankfurt in front of 16.500 spectators in Mainz. However, Frankfurt made a huge comeback, scoring three goals in just twelve minutes. And once again, the derby produced a situation that could have been resolved with VAR. Because when Kara Bathmann cleared a ball away, videos of the situation suggest that the ball had actually crossed the line before she did so.

Overall, the two newly promoted teams have had quite different experiences in the Bundesliga so far, while Stuttgart are comfortably sitting at eight points, Mainz have yet to score a point.

Six games in and the table is as close as it can get

Although there are familiar faces at the top, the Bundesliga seems a little less predictable this season.

Bayern München have been flawless so far, with VfL Wolfsburg hot on their heels. Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen are close behind, both hoping to overtake if Bayern or Wolfsburg drop points. SC Freiburg, Werder Bremen, 1. FC Köln, VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig are all within three points of each other, one matchday could change the entire midfield of the table.

Just below them, TSG Hoffenheim and Union Berlin are trying to improve on their start, while Hamburger SV are trying to keep up in their second consecutive season in the Bundesliga.

Finally, 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Nürnberg need this break to catch their breath, reorganise themselves and then go again, otherwise the relegation battle at the end of the season might not be as close as it was last year's.

At this point, anything can happen

An unpredictable start for several teams, an open table, a 2-0 lead that led to a heavy 2-8 defeat, goals that should and shouldn't have been given. One promoted side starting their season unbeaten for three games while the other remains on zero points. Favourites for a European spot have had a catastrophic start but are picking themselves up.

And this is just the start, who knows what's going to happen after the international break.