The Success Stories You Might Have Missed From the First Weekend of the Bundesliga's Return

Turns out football without fans is still football after all...sort of.

While you've probably had bigger live audiences to watch your terrible seven-a-side team get thrashed on a Wednesday evening, the last few days of Bundesliga action have turned out to be a blessing for football-starved viewers everywhere.

Julian Brandt, Alfonso Davies and Marcus Thuram were amongst the more prdictable headliners of Matchday 26's long-awaited action as they dazzlingly reaffirmed their respective reputations with the world watching.

But a few players who would only have been familiar to the most devoted of Football Manager 2020 players have also seized the opportunity to steal some of the limelight over the last three days.

Let's have a look at some of the surprise stars as the Bundesliga made its big return.

Bote Baku (Mainz)

Cologne and Mainz's 2-2 back and forth was easily the weekend's most unmissable contest, packed with nifty dribbling, silky attacking play and some truly, truly abject defending from Mainz.

Indeed, the only one of Rouven Schröder's defenders to emerge with any credit was the outstanding Germany U21 international Baku.

Though he lost Florian Kainz for Cologne's second, the right-back's indefatigable foraging down the wing proved a crucial outlet for a Mainz side struggling to convert possession into goals, as his inch-perfect cross to Taiwo Awoniyi gave his team the platform to press for an equaliser.

Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Monchengladbach)

It's been a long journey to the top for the Algerian defender, who has had to compete with veteran Sweden international Oscar Wendt for a starting spot with Die Fohlen.

The man who was Gladbach's two-goal hero as they defeated the mighty Bayern Munich in December was excellent yet again as his side climbed above RB Leipzig in the table with a win over Eintracht Frankfurt, turning Almamy Toure inside out to assist Thuram early on before adding a penalty of his own.

If he keeps playing like this, Arsenal might regret not signing Bensebaini after a 2013 trial...

Mijat Gacinovic (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Eintracht will be pretty eager to forget Saturday in a hurry, a tepid afternoon where they were outplayed by Gladbach quite literally from the first minute.

Star midfielder Filip Kostic was struggling to get involved in the game without the mobile presence of star forward Gonçalo Paciência, and getting his fellow Serb, the lively Gacinovic, involved a little earlier may have provided the wide man with some much-needed support.

As it was, the man who scored Frankfurt's infamous cup-winning goal against Bayern Munich in 2018 looked effervescent in a 15-minute cameo, trying time and time again to jolt his lethargic team into life with his sharp movement.

Marko Grujić (Hertha Berlin)

Ever produced a midfield display so complete your teammate breaks the law to give you a peck on the cheek?

This modern-day tale of forbidden love was Liverpool loanee Grujić's reality at the weekend, as he was a little too warmly congratulated by Dedryck Boyata after locking down Hoffenheim's forwards with an impressive all-round display in the middle of the park.

It's a real shame that James Milner is immortal, because he might have a shot at the Liverpool first-team in this form.

Uwe Hünemeier (Paderborn)

Another former Premier League man had a strong outing in Germany this weekend, although we'll forgive you for not remembering the Paderborn defender's solitary appearance for Brighton in the English top flight.

The newly-promoted side desperately needed a point, any point, against relegation rivals Fortuna Dusseldorf, and Hunemeier made sure that they wouldn't leave with nothing, throwing himself at everything that moved as Paderborn rode their luck.

The best of his blocks came right at the beginning, going to ground to deny Matthias Zimmerman when he looked certain to finish in the bottom right corner.

Robin Koch (Freiburg)

A great Saturday for Koch almost turned into one for the books, as the centre-back came close to taking the fizz out of Leipzig with an injury-time header that was eventually disallowed.

The heavily sought-after defender, who can count Leeds and West Ham amongst his suitors, was nonetheless instrumental as Timo Werner endured an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon.

Deputizing as a midfielder, Koch was one of the main obstacles in the way of an out-of-sorts Leipzig, proving vital as he blocked a Kevin Kampl shot which looked set to get the better of goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.

Mark Uth (Cologne)

Uth is nowhere near as young as some of the players on this list, but it was intriguing to see a player linked so often to a Premier League transfer in action during Cologne's thrilling clash against Mainz.

Since Uth's debut on the 18th January, having signed from Schalke, relegation candidates Cologne have thrived, losing only three out of nine games, while top scorer Jhon Cordoba has been in his best form with the former Germany international behind him.

It's easy to see why, as a bit of wizardry from Uth won his side a penalty that he dutifully converted, and the quality of his touch and movement opened up numerous possibilities for Cologne in a game which was ready to be turned on its head by a moment of magic.

Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

There was a lot going on in Bremen's heavy Monday night loss at the hands of Die Werkself, between Kai Havertz announcing himself to the world with a poaching clinic, Moussa Diaby's magic on the left, Karim Bellarabi's vile no-look assist and both sides just abandoning 'defending' as a concept.

It was almost enough to overshadow one more extraordinary event, the debut of Leverkusen's youngest ever Bundesliga player in the right-winger Wirtz, who, just over two weeks after his 17th birthday, was being asked to adapt to some pretty odd circumstances.

In just over an hour on the pitch, Wirtz looked incredibly comfortable, repeatedly turning Marco Friedl inside out with his elastic touch and directness - if this was what he produced on debut, Bundesliga defenders should be tossing and turning about what the future holds.