The opening weekend of the 55th Bundesliga season produced the usual hustle and bustle that you would expect from the first round of matches in any European league. However, it felt like some teams were still rusty and lacking match practice. This was noticeable by the lack of goals across the nine matches. This was a weekend where defences were very much on top.
Only one match saw both teams find the back of the net and that was the very first game of the 2017-2018 season as Bayern Munich began in business-like fashion. They beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3-1 at the Allianz Arena on Friday night.
There were also wins for Borussia Dortmund, Hertha BSC and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim but a disappointing start for RB Leipzig who slipped to defeat in Gelsenkirchen against FC Schalke 04.
Here is the round-up of the opening round of fixtures.
VAR success in Bundesliga opener
The opening match of the season was a victory for Bayern Munich and a victory for modern technology. This was proof that the much-maligned VAR system which was used so badly at the Confederations Cup, can work efficiently and quickly. On the pitch, referee Tobias Stieler decided that Charles Aranguiz's pull on Robert Lewandowski in the penalty area wasn't enough to warrant a spot-kick. However, he had doubts and rightly used the video technology available for his two assistants (based in Cologne) to get their opinion.
The decision was reversed in just 36 seconds and the penalty was awarded. Lewandowski duly converted to get off and running for the new season.
There were goals for Bayern debutants Niklas Sule and Corentin Tolisso and a generally solid performance, even if some of the usual free-flowing movement was missing from Carlo Ancelotti's side.
They were missing key players through injury such as Thiago, James Rodriguez and Jerome Boateng plus the terrible weather conditions didn't help. However, he will be happy to have three points on the scoreboard.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen did register through an Admir Mehmedi stunner but still lacked cohesion at times and will need to improve their marking at set-pieces, which played a part in the first two Bayern goals.
Aubameyang still firing for Dortmund
It hasn't been the easiest pre-season for new Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Bosz. He has had to deal with question marks over the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and recently, the hefty transfer speculation surrounding Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele has been suspended indefinitely by the club and looks likely to get his wish to join Barcelona. Aubameyang though silenced any doubters with a fluid display in Dortmund's impressive 3-0 away win over VfL Wolfsburg. The Gabonese striker scored the third goal and played a part in Christian Pulisic's opener. The goal of the game though came from Marc Bartra. The centre-back curled a wonderful effort past a stranded and surprised Koen Casteels in the Wolfsburg goal.
Bartra dedicated the goal to those who lost their lives in the dreadful terrorist attack to hit his home city, Barcelona last Thursday.
With Mario Gotze looking sharp on his first match back from illness in seven months, there were plenty of encouraging signs for Bosz. Maybe Dembele won't be missed so much after all?
A Muller nightmare
Last season, it took until 4th December for Hamburger SV to record their first victory of the campaign. This time around, they notched three points on the opening weekend. Their scrappy 1-0 triumph over FC Augsburg was settled by an early strike from star player Nicolai Muller. Sadly, his winner won't be remembered.
As he revelled in the delight of scoring, Muller kicked the corner flag, crumpled in a heap and needed to be substituted.
Tests on Sunday revealed a serious injury - a torn anterior ligament that will keep him out of action for seven months. Hamburg coach Markus Gisdol said afterwards: "It's bad news. I've never seen anything like it!"
The 29-year-old's absence is a huge blow to Hamburg whose squad looks thin anyway and are set to sell Pierre-Michel Lasogga to Leeds United in the coming days. One player likely to arrive is Augsburg's Konstantinos Stafylidis. The Greek international did not figure on Saturday for his current employers and a move to Hamburg is looking increasingly on the cards.
Whilst Dortmund and Bayern made winning starts, RB Leipzig started underwhelmingly against FC Schalke 04. Emil Forsberg was surprisingly left on the bench by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and the visitors' lacked the creative spark without him.
Goals from Nabil Bentaleb and Yevhen Konoplyanka ensured an impressive 2-0 victory for the Royal Blues. Another player set to leave is Oliver Burke. The Scot was left out of the Leipzig squad and has been told he is surplus to requirements at the Red Bull Arena. Premier League side Crystal Palace is his likely destination should they stump up the cash.
Dream debut for Leckie
Last season, Mathew Leckie failed to score a single goal for relegated FC Ingolstadt 04. He already has two to his tally this season. The speedy Australian winger scored both of Hertha BSC's goals in their 2-0 success over VfB Stuttgart. It has been a fantastic week for Leckie who also became a father for the first time before his debut for the capital club.
Hannover 96 made a winning start to life back in the top-flight. The evergreen Martin Harnik scored the solitary goal as they defeated 1. FSV Mainz 05 1-0 away from home.
Sunday's action saw SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt play out a drab 0-0 draw before Nico Elvedi's effort settled the Rhineland derby in Borussia Monchengladbach's favour against Cologne. Lastly, Andrej Kramaric's deflected shot settled a tight contest between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and SV Werder Bremen in Hoffenheim's favour.
It wasn't the most entertaining start to the 2017-2018 Bundesliga season but as the saying goes - things can only get better from here on.