Seven matches into the Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund remain unbeaten, with Der Rekordmeister leading the way on goal difference ahead of next weekend's meeting at the Allianz Arena.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim brought Bayer Leverkusen's winning run to an abrupt end, Borussia Mönchengladbach finally gave their supporters something to celebrate, and Niclas Füllkrug remains in the spotlight at Werder Bremen.
Looking back at Matchday 7, here are five of the weekend's biggest talking points.
Bayern show their strength in difficult circumstances
It had been quite a week for Bayern Munich before Sunday, with Vincent Kompany hospitalised on Friday, leaving assistant coach Aaron Danks in charge of Sunday's trip to Freiburg.
The champions were also heavily depleted, with the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Luiz Diaz, Manuel Neuer and more all missing.
And while Freiburg themselves had fallen to successive defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco, the clash had banana skin written all over it for Bayern, before they managed the task impeccably.
Dayot Upamecano would make amends for his chance against Arsenal, opening the scoring with a wonderful goal on the break, and Serge Gnabry doubled that lead shortly before the pause with his 100th Bundesliga goal.
Freiburg threatened a late comeback after Tom Bischof's own goal, but Michael Olise punished a mistake from Mio Backhaus in stoppage time to secure all three points and keep Bayern at the top of the standings.
Board member for sport Max Eberl emphasised the importance of upholding Kompany's standards in his absence, and Bayern most certainly did that on their trip to the Black Forest.
After a trying week, it was a more than welcome result heading into the cup tie with Magdeburg and Saturday's Klassiker against a stalling Dortmund.
Dortmund's attack remains a concern
Borussia Dortmund are unbeaten after seven Bundesliga matches, level on points with Bayern and have conceded just four goals.
However, there is still something missing in Niko Kovac's side.
BVB earned three points for the fifth time this season on Saturday, but the performance itself was another laborious one as they narrowly edged past Eintracht Frankfurt on home soil.
Die Schwarzgelben produced 18 shots on the night, missing two big chances courtesy of their best player on the night, Serhou Guirassy. But, the performance was largely uninspired until the introduction of Jobe Bellingham and Maximilian Beier.
In the 80th minute, the pair would combine to finally open the scoring at Signal Iduna Park, lifting them top of the standings until Bayern's outing in Breisgau.
Kovac is a top operator, with the goals-against record telling that story, but their 12 league goals and fewer than half of Bayern's 25 this term, while even newly-promoted Elversberg have registered the same number.
At the same time, the sustainability of those goals is a concern, with BVB becoming increasingly reliant on late interventions.
Dortmund do naturally deserve their praise for winning without playing particularly well, especially with injuries to attacking players.
Sitting level at the top is an encouraging start, but their current league position does flatter their performances, and the question will continue to arise as to what happens if, or when, the late goals dry up.
Kramaric remains a joy to watch
At the age of 35, Andrej Kramaric is no longer a guaranteed starter at Hoffenheim, but he is simply so valuable to the squad, and Sunday's win against Bayer Leverkusen shows just why.
Introduced from the bench, the Croatian broke the deadlock from the spot in the 79th minute, scoring the 1000th Bundesliga goal for the Sinsheim side.
He then assisted Alexander Prass to score the second, before his looping effort hit the crossbar and allowed Max Moerstedt to add a third.
On a personal note, Kramaric ranks among the very best footballers I've had the pleasure of watching live - naturally, that was unexpected.
Such an intelligent player, whether it's his movement into space, deftness of touch and the aspects of a game you can only appreciate when following his movement from the stands.
And without waxing lyrical about that too much, it is fantastic to see him continue operating at such a high level, especially having had to fight for his place under Christian Ilzer this season.
After a difficult start to the term, Hoffenheim have won three in a row, and his return to form could hardly have come at a better time.
While they were clinical in the final third, Ilzer's side also kept Leverkusen to nothing outside a flashing Nathan Tella effort in the opening minutes, securing their first clean sheet, their second 3-0 win in a row after beating Besiktas, and conceding just 0.62 expected goals.
How the mood can change in a week.
Mohya gives Gladbach something to smile about
After six successive defeats, Borussia Mönchengladbach travelled to Stuttgart on Friday evening facing the possibility of unwanted Bundesliga history.
Instead, Alexander Blessin's injury-hit side came up with a well-deserved win, while 17-year-old Wael Mohya stole the show at the heart of their turnaround.
Having shown promise in recent weeks, the youngster played his part in Joe Scally's equaliser and Shuto Machino's effort to complete the turnaround, then scored Gladbach's third himself, becoming the fourth-youngest player in Bundesliga history to score in consecutive outings.
The Foals themselves were missing 11 players heading into the fixture, before Blessin went and took three points in his childhood home of Bad Cannstatt.
Nonetheless, they do remain bottom of the standings with three points and 22 goals conceded in seven, and Friday's result will count for little if Gladbach cannot build on it.
But, Mohya's emergence does give supporters at least one reason to be optimistic.
Meanwhile, Stuttgart's problems continue, with Sebastian Hoeneß's side now having lost five of their opening seven league matches.
Füllkrug is giving Klopp plenty to think about
Niclas Füllkrug's return to Werder Bremen is looking better with every passing week.
After an impressive start to the campaign, the 33-year-old struck twice from the spot against Mainz on Saturday, lifting his league tally to eight goals in seven.
For context, only Rudi Völler had previously managed eight goals after seven matchdays for Bremen, with Füllkrug now netting in six successive matches.
As a result, his form has naturally ignited the debate surrounding his Germany future.
You're as cold as ice 🥶🎶 📺 Jetzt die Highlights von #M05SVW anschauen 👉 youtube.com/watch?v=GMT5GkOjycw #Werder[image or embed]— SV Werder Bremen (@werder.de) 26 October 2026 at 09:06
Jürgen Klopp himself has recently acknowledged Füllkrug's goalscoring record, before the new boss pointed towards his age.
But his form is reaching a level where Füllkrug will be too difficult to ignore, especially given that he has never let his nation down on the pitch.
His goals have helped lift Werder into sixth place, with Daniel Thioune's side scoring 15 times in their opening seven league fixtures.
Defensive problems remain, with 14 goals conceded, but the change in fortunes in the final third for Bremen has been one of the stories of the season so far across the entire division.
As for Füllkrug, if he keeps scoring at this rate, calls for a Germany recall are unlikely to disappear.