Julian Brandt has netted six times this season, with four of those strikes serving as the initial goal in their respective matches. He holds the top spot in the league for scoring the first goal of a game this campaign, outpacing even Harry Kane. Remarkably, a quarter-century of his 76 career Bundesliga goals have been game-openers, a truly notable achievement. Furthermore, the 29-year-old has already exceeded his total goal count from the previous season, which stood at five. His highest goal tally at this point (after 21 fixtures) occurred only once before: during the 2022/23 season, when he had registered seven goals.
Nevertheless, finding the back of the net with his head is an infrequent occurrence for him. His 76th goal in the Bundesliga marked only the third instance of him scoring using his head, and notably, it was his inaugural headed goal for BVB, the club he joined in 2019. “I’ve certainly managed a couple, just regrettably not for the Black and Yellows,” he remarked during a conversation with BVB-TV, adding with a laugh: “Perhaps my role on the field isn’t quite right for heading opportunities, I wonder.” His two prior headed scores happened in 2016 (versus Darmstadt) and 2018 (versus Frankfurt), both during his tenure at Bayer Leverkusen.
Julian Brandt maintains a significant history with Wolfsburg. He was a member of the VfL youth squad between 2011 and 2013; however, this past connection does not appear to influence his current performance against them. Throughout his Bundesliga tenure, he has directly contributed to 15 goals when facing the Wolves, comprising five goals he scored himself and ten assists, either direct or indirect.
