Bundesliga: Controversial celebration to lack of fans, talking points from the weekend which saw league's return

Elite football made a comeback last weekend as Bundesliga resumed with eight matches taking place between 16 teams. It was for the first time since the month of March that elite footballers were back on the pitch for competitive football as the sport and everything else was disrupted due to COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the talking points from the Bundesliga’s return at the weekend: No fans The Bundesliga’s return to action on Saturday was the best news clubs have had for weeks but with no fans in the stands due to conoravirus restrictions the atmosphere took some getting used to. “It is very strange,” Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said. “You have no noise, you take a shot on the goal, you play a great pass, you score a goal and, nothing. Nothing happens.” For Bayern’s Thomas Mueller the atmosphere reminded him of “old men’s games played in the afternoon.” [caption id=“attachment_8379361” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  While teams were ordered to avoid group celebrations, Hertha Berlin players were seen violating the order. AP[/caption] Hertha celebrations Teams were ordered to avoid group celebrations as part of the health and safety regulations for the restart but Hertha Berlin players were unable to contain themselves and celebrated in the usual fashion during their 3-0 win over Hoffenheim. “I am sorry but we are passionate footballers, not robots,” said Vedad Ibisevic, who scored once. “I asked our doctor before the game if the goal would still count if we did that. That was for me the most important thing,” he said. Zagadou injury Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou will not play again this season due to injury. The player suffered a knee ligament injury in training in April and was expected to be fit for the run-in but remained sidelined for the win over Schalke 04 on Saturday. “He will not play any more this season,” coach Favre said. With inputs from Reuters