Bundesliga team of the week – Matchday 4

After the international break, Bundesliga clubs were looking to gain important early points in the opening stages of the 2018-19 campaign.

VfB Stuttgart and Fortuna Dusseldorf started the same week with a 0-0 draw against each other. Hertha BSC continued their high-flying start with a 4-2 win over Monchengladbach. With 10 points from 4 games, this is the best ever start for a season for them.

Wolfsburg were defeated by Freiburg and an exciting match between FC Augsburg and Werder Bremen ended with the result 2-3. Nurnberg secured a win over Hannover. Elsewhere, Hoffenheim were denied a victory with a late equalizer by Pulisic, which resulted in a draw against 10-men Dortmund.

Schalke's disastrous start continued, as Bayern defeated them comfortably 2-0 to leave them without a point. Leverkusen won against Mainz, with Eintracht and Leipzig sharing points with a 1-1 draw.

Now let us turn to the individual performances of the weekend. Here is the team of the week, starting with the man in goal.

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Goalkeeper

Ron-Robert Zieler

GK: Ron-Robert Zieler, VfB Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart can thank Zieler for winning a point against Fortuna Düsseldorf. The 29-year-old made sure his side kept a clean sheet with numerous great saves.

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Defenders

Valentino Lazaro

RB: Valentino Lazaro, Hertha BSC

The natural winger has been solid at right-back this season and did very well to keep Gladbach's Thorgan Hazard under control. He also contributed to the offence and scored the 2nd goal in Hertha's 4-2 win.

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LB: David Alaba, Bayern München

Combined very well with Franck Ribery down the left side and was involved in many dangerous situations. Hit the bar with a well-struck free-kick and made Schalke's goalkeeper Fahrmann work hard.

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CB: Dominique Heintz, SC Freiburg

Heintz was very reliable and strong in the 3-1 win over Wolfsburg. He won almost 80 percent of his duels.

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CB: Makoto Hasebe, Eintracht Frankfurt

Having his first start this season, the Japanese veteran oozed calmness and experience in the 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig. Generally a defensive midfielder, he started as a centre-back in this match and he didn't disappoint. He was good at bringing the ball forward from defence.

Midfielders

Kai Havertz

Defensive midfielder: Gelson Fernandes, Eintracht Frankfurt

The defensive midfielder worked extremely hard and never stopped running in the 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig. He was the engine in the Frankfurt's midfield. He was also in the right place at the right time to score Frankfurt's only goal.

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Right midfielder: Roland Sallai, SC Freiburg

What a Bundesliga debut! The 21-year-old winger scored a goal, won a penalty and then had his debut cut as he had to be substituted shortly before the break after a collision with Wolfsburg's Camacho.

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Left midfielder: Javairo Dilrosun, Hertha BSC

Gladbach's Nico Elvedi had a very difficult day on Saturday, and that was largely due to the young Hertha winger Javairo Dilrosun. The youngster was everywhere and made two assists in Hertha's 4-2 win.

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Offensive midfielder: Kai Havertz, Bayer Leverkusen

Havertz is just 19 years old, but is already such an important player for Leverkusen. He scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Mainz with a nice header to earn 'Die Werkself' their first win of the season.

Strikers

Vedad Ibisevic

Striker: Max Kruse, Werder Bremen

The Werder Bremen captain looked dangerous in the 3-2 win over FC Augsburg. He had five shots on goal and scored once.

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Striker: Vedad Ibisevic, Hertha BSC

You should not be surprised as three players from high-flying Hertha BSC make our Bundesliga team of the week this time around. From one experienced captain to another, Ibisevic had five shots on target and netted twice in Hertha's 4-2 win over Gladbach. Also, he was a big physical presence during the game and won a lot of duels.