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Best of Bundesliga: Pulisic hits number 3,000 - Uth the hero

September 21, 2017

A sensational Hoffenheim comeback, a pair of milestones for Christian Pulisic and the obligatory refereeing controversy, it was a packed midweek Bundesliga round. Here's the pick of what happened on Matchday 5.

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Fußball Bundesliga - Mainz vs Hoffenheim Torjubel Uth
Image: Reuters/R. Orlowski

Everything you need to know from Matchday 5 in the Bundesliga.

Good week for: Augsburg, Weston McKennie, Hoffenheim, Mathew Leckie, Dortmund, Martin Harnik, James Rodriguez

Bad week for: Daniel Baier, Mainz, Peter Stöger, Florian Niederlechner, Manuel Neuer

Best bits:

- Mainz and Hoffenheim shared eight goals at the Coface Arena last year but even that game didn't quite have the dramatic finish the sides provided on Wednesday night. The visitors were two down in 17 minutes but fought back to level at the break, before Mark Uth struck in injury time to win it for Hoffenheim.

- Mathew Leckie scored 3 goals in 62 Bundesliga games for Ingolstadt. When he cut inside to beat Bernd Leno with a wonderful, curling first half strike he made it 4 in his first 5 for Hertha Berlin and set them on their way to a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Pulisic vs. Leckie

- Christian Pulisic has also started the season in fine form. The American added to his goals on the opening day and in the Super Cup with Dortmund's third as they brushed aside Hamburg. The tidy strike was BVB's 3000th in the Bundesliga.

- Tuesday was an evening of firsts. James Rodriguez scored his first goal for Bayern - on his first shot to boot - and Wolfsburg's Divock Origi scored his first for his new club. Michael Gregoritsch isn't a league newbie but he did score his first goal for Augsburg.

- Schalke's Weston McKennie made his first start for the club - and against Bayern Munich too. He had a quiet game and was brought off after 57 minutes with a pass accuracy of 81 percent.

- James Rodriguez shone on his full debut with a clever goal and a beautifully crafted assist.

Fußball FC Schalke 04 - FC Bayern München James Rodriguez
James Rodriguez shone on his full debutImage: picture alliance/dpa/Revierfoto

Injury update:

 - Manuel Neuer is out until January 2018 with a fractured left foot.

- Andriy Yarmelenko took a heavy knock in Dortmund's win but carried on. He looks touch and go for the weekend.

- Hamburg skipper Gotoku Sakai was taken off after only a couple of minutes of the second half of the same game. 

Best quotes:

"The 3000th goal in the Bundesliga is, of course a great late birthday present,"

Christian Pulisic on scoring the milestone goal two days after his 19th birthday.

"It wasn't about tactics anymore, it was about heart."

Julian Nagelsmann on Hoffenheim's sensational comeback.

"All of a sudden we have to be heroes. I'm not going to rely on that one game."

Augsburg captain Daniel Baier to Sky after the 1-0 win over RB Leipzig

"I don't want to talk about the video [referee] today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today."

Cologne coach Peter Stöger after a controversial penalty led to another defeat. They're bottom and pointless. 

"It's a good point for the morale."

New Wolfsburg head coach Martin Schmidt after the 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen

Fans von Eintracht werfen Klopapier aufs Spielfeld beim Fußball Bundesliga spiel Frankfurt vs Köln
Eintracht Frankfurt fans throw toilet paper on the field before the start of their club's game against CologneImage: Imago/Eibner

Bizarre Bundesliga:

The Bundesliga may like sqeezing in a midweek matchday early in the season, but the fans certainly don't. Several traveling fans held banners condemning the midweek fixtures, including one from Hannover ultras that said Gleiche Scheisse seit Jahren, Mittwochs 500km fahren (loosely translates to "Same s*** for years, driving 500 kilometers on a Wednesday).

Frankfurt fans had a similar protest, holding a sign that said "18:30... Why" and throwing toilet paper, as well as other things, onto the field in Cologne. The game was delayed as stewards moved the garbage off the field.