Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano (l.) brought Gladbach’s Alassane Pléa down – and his colleagues, who continued to play ten, on the losing road.
Photo: IMAGO / Nordphoto
At least Yann Sommer was in a good mood between the many grumpy Munich faces. With a well-known toothpaste smile, the Bayern goalkeeper pulled his suitcase through the basement of Borussia Park 35 minutes after the end of the game. “I’ll go over to the boys for a moment, sorry,” the Swiss ball catcher, on his way to the dressing room of his former Gladbach teammates, apologized for his haste in the interview zone – which apart from him only experienced Bayern players who were silent, frustrated or upset.
Offensive Thomas Müller (»shit gameplay«), for example, was content with a role as a short commentator after the 2: 3 in Gladbach for a change. And head coach Julian Nagelsmann vented his frustration at referee Tobias Welz and the team of referees, whom he had just visited in their dressing room, with the exclamation: “Softened pack!”. Before he later apologized via Twitter for his choice of words to the referees.
He had “unfortunately gone too far,” Nagelsmann rowed back ruefully. After a game in which the red card against central defender Dayot Upamecano after nine minutes threw Bayern so out of step with their feared opponent that they ended up with their second defeat of the season. And midfielder Joshua Kimmich thought a week ahead with a view to the league competition that was concentrated this year.
Next Sunday evening, Union Berlin will be the guest in Munich who came closest to the Bavarians in the first two-thirds of the round. In the 1-1 draw in the first duel in the Alte Försterei, the Nagelsmann ensemble already lost feathers in late summer. And so, as a precaution, Kimmich puffed out his cheeks in Borussia Park and said with a grim expression: “It is important that we are first next Sunday after our game.” Not to forget: “We have that in our own hands. Union Berlin missed out on Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Schalke to take advantage of Bayern’s blunder and take over the top of the table.
Putting rebellious opponents in their place at the right moment is one of Munich’s favorite disciplines. In the past, Dortmund had to experience this more often, as they preferred to catch violent slaps at the FCB home ground. Leverkusen experienced it at their own stadium when Bayern filleted them 5-1 there in October 2021, with all five of the visitors’ goals in the first 37 minutes. And a year later, they beat Freiburg, who arrived with a cheeky two-point lead over the subscription champions, 5-0 in Munich.
The big difference to the many previous seasons: This time, a handful of competitors are constantly clawing their football boots behind Bayern. Even Frankfurt in sixth place is only five points behind. This time, Bayern have to defend themselves against multiple resistance. There are also special appearances on the international stage – where FCB put themselves in a good starting position with a 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain last Tuesday.
The second leg to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League will take place on March 8th. In addition to the duel with the Irons from the capital, the Munich team also has to play against the newly strengthened Stuttgarters, who beat them 2-2 in the first leg. And one thing is certain, with all of this, that Bayern have to pay more attention to their energy balance at the moment.
“The red card came quite early, that’s going to be difficult,” summarized Julian Nagelsmann, who also stated in Borussia-Park: “With the game in Paris behind us, the strength was a little bit gone in the end. That wasn’t easy.« And that made it a little easier for the Gladbachers to come up with a bunch of chances and three goals against their exhausted guests.
For the fickle Fohlenelf, the European Cup places are still a long way away despite the nice success. That’s why their coach Daniel Farke spoke this time primarily on behalf of the five Bayern hunters when he dismissed his colleague Nagelsmann with a friendly wish in the direction of the Free State: “Julian, all the best – especially for Europe.” In the Bundesliga, could If you interpret Farke’s parting words, on the other hand, after ten years, a club other than Bayern Munich can lift the championship trophy in the air at the end of May.
