Bundesliga Players Show Off Social Distancing Goal Celebrations

Bundesliga players didn't let social distancing guidelines stop them from finding creative ways to celebrate during games.

Bundesliga fans are excited to have live soccer back after its two-month hiatus, but they'll notice a few things looked different in Saturday's games.

All of this weekend's matches will be played behind closed doors, and players are embracing the new normal by enjoying social distancing goal celebrations. 

Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland wasted no time getting back to his old ways when he one-timed it home from the center of the box in the 28th minute against rivals Schalke. Haaland celebrated Dortmund's 1–0 lead with a little dance in the corner while his teammates stood a few yards away and clapped for him.

Erling Haaland scores ... and enjoys a social-distancing-appropriate goal celebration to boot. 1-0 Dortmund! #Bundesliga #Revierderby

(via @FoxDeportes) pic.twitter.com/c2VP5b3JQB

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) May 16, 2020

Dortmund found plenty of creative ways to celebrate throughout the match. After Raphael Guerreiro scored his second goal of the day, his teammates safely showed him some love with elbow bumps.

Raphael Guerreiro gets his second, and it's elbow bumps for Dortmund to celebrate. 4-0! #Revierderby #Bundesliga

(via @FoxDeportes) pic.twitter.com/FoF2f3tOTO

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) May 16, 2020

Following their 4–0 win over Schalke, the players applauded the yellow wall where their fans would normally be sitting.

Dortmund players applaud the yellow wall 😅 pic.twitter.com/kqoRq2hnBk

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 16, 2020

Dortmund wasn't the only club to embrace bumping elbows. Freiburg also chose to celebrate with elbow bumps over high fives after Manuel Gulde scored the first goal of the match.

Elbow bumps for Freiburg goal pic.twitter.com/5JtoUp0GHf

— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) May 16, 2020

Freiburg was denied the chance for a second celebration when VAR overruled a would-be winner in a 1-1 draw vs. title-challenging RB Leipzig.

Borussia Monchengladbach got in on the elbow-bumping fun, too, celebrating Alassane Plea's goal 35 seconds into the club's match at Eintracht Frankfurt.

How raring to go was Borussia Monchengladbach? It took all of 35 seconds for Alassane Plea to score vs. Eintracht Frankfurt 😱 #Bundesliga

(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/DQYGd32jZF

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) May 16, 2020

Marcus Thuram's goal six minutes later took social distancing to the extreme, with the son of French great Lilian Thuram wanting no part of his teammates in a lighthearted celebration.

¡Gool de @borussia_es! ⚽💥
¡Gool de @borussia_es! ⚽💥
¡Gool de @borussia_es! ⚽💥

Marcus Thuram amplía la ventaja con un gran remate dentro del área@Bundesliga_ES EN VIVO por TUDN

🔴📺🇩🇪https://t.co/Ytr0YiPesj#Bundesliga | #SGEBMG | #EintrachtFrankfurt pic.twitter.com/5HfoE7JNyw

— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) May 16, 2020

Elsewhere across the league as it restarted, Hertha Berlin routed Hoffenheim 3-0, Wolfsburg beat Augsburg on a last-minute goal and Fortuna Dusseldorf and Paderborn played to a 0-0 draw in a game between two clubs trying to stave off relegation and stay in the top flight.