After being substituted, Wolfsburg’s players raged in the cabin aisle
With a win in Wolfsburg, FC Bayern took back the lead in the table. Viewers saw six goals, including an outstanding solo by Jamal Musiala, and Joshua Kimmich being sent off. VfL threw everything forward, but the connecting goal was not recognized.
KMaxence Lacroix had just considered going to the bank. Shaking hands, high fives – as usual after substitutions in team sports. But the Frenchman chose to go straight into the dressing room.
Shortly thereafter, cameras captured that, given the state of mind of the Wolfsburg defender, it might even have been the right decision for everyone involved to leave immediately. Lacroix hit the wall. He pushed away a courageous supervisor who tried to bring him back and refused. Only Joshua Guilavogui, who rushed over, was able to resolve the situation and brought his team-mate back.
Lacroix had been on the pitch for less than half an hour when coach Niko Kovac swapped him for Jakub Kaminski. Lacroix was angry, but so was Kovac. Never before in its Bundesliga history had VfL Wolfsburg been 3-0 down after 19 minutes. A debacle was brewing against Bayern, the game seemed lost. After all: the other two thirds of the game decided the Lower Saxony in 2: 4 (1: 3) for themselves.
Bayern were unimpressed by the fuss surrounding their goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and on Sunday evening they regained the briefly lost lead in the Bundesliga with a 4-2 (3-1) win at VfL Wolfsburg, but in the end they had to tremble when outnumbered.
Kimmich sees yellow-red early
Two goals from Kingsley Coman (9th/14th minute) and a header goal from Munich’s new record field player Thomas Müller (19th) achieved a wow effect in less than 20 minutes. Substitute Kaminski took advantage of the fact that the Bayern game lost pace and sharpness shortly before half-time to make it 3-1 (44th).
After the break, the game even threatened to tip over. National player Joshua Kimmich saw the yellow-red card in the 54th minute after an unnecessary foul on Maximilian Arnold. “The player history was such that it became work. I still see room for improvement. Of course, the yellow-red card didn’t give us any impetus, let’s put it that way,” said Müller.
Micky van de Ven and Mattias Svanberg (50th) had a great chance to make it 2:3 for VfL, who never gave up. Ridle Baku failed after an hour from close range (61′). This took revenge from Wolfsburg’s point of view when Jamal Musiala scored to make it 4-1 (73′). Svanberg’s goal (81′) no longer jeopardized Munich’s victory.
The man’s on a roll: Jamal Musiala scored a dream goal
Which: REUTERS
Unlike the convincing 4-0 cup success at FSV Mainz 05, Nagelsmann allowed his team to play in their preferred 4-2-3-1 system. Leroy Sané was allowed to act on the wing instead of in the center, Jamal Musiala back in the tenth position.
A place was also found for club icon Müller – this time as a center forward in place of the ailing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (gastrointestinal). The 33-year-old played his 427th Bundesliga game in Wolfsburg and is now, together with Gerd Müller, the outfield player with the most top-flight appearances in the history of the German record champions. Only goalkeepers Sepp Maier (473) and Oliver Kahn (429) played more often.
Another Munich problem, in addition to the drop in performance after half an hour, was the bank, which was severely thinned out after eight injuries and illnesses. After Serge Gnabry, Nagelsmann, outnumbered, initially only brought on comparatively inexperienced players such as Josip Stanisic and Mathys Tel.
But Kimmich’s dismissal sharpened Bayern’s senses rather than turning the game around. In the 64th minute, the 17-year-old Tel missed the big chance to make it 4-1. Musiala then raised after a fantastic solo when he left eight outfield players from Wolfsburg. Shortly after Svanberg’s Wolfsburg goal, Yannick Gerhardt’s supposed 3:4 did not count because of a foul by Baku.
