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Game player: After almost 20 minutes, Florian Neuhaus unnecessarily moved his hand away from his body in the penalty area and it happened as it should: After the advice of the video assistant, referee Harm Osmers looked at the scene again and saw that the ball was minimally Neuhaus ‘sche Hand brushed – shame! A decision that the regulation gave with a clear conscience, but that was extremely annoying for the Gladbach company. Lewandowski scored a penalty, Neuhaus seemed set as the unlucky one of the night. 30 minutes later the international scored 3-2 – Gladbach had become a 0-2 disadvantage.
The first half: After an uneventful opening phase, in which Bayern tried to control the game and Gladbach to get balls behind the opposing defensive line, the Neuhaus scene put the first exclamation point. The 1-0 for Lewandowksi’s guests (minute 20) was followed by Leon Goretzka with a powerful shot in minute 26, 2-0. Finally, after the last eight 0-1 deficits, he took the lead again, so finally peace for Bayern? Think. After a dream pass from Lars Stindl, Jonas Hofmann reduced the lead to 1: 2 (35th), in the 45th minute he tied after another preparatory work by his captain.
The second half: Less than three minutes were played when Niklas Süle lost the ball in preparation. Hofmann removed Neuhaus after a double, which gave Manuel Neuer no chance from a central position with a shot to the right corner (48). The Bavarians from now on eaten, but penniless. Gladbachers’ concentrated defensive work left almost nothing, it only got really dangerous for Yann Sommer’s goal in injury time – a deflected shot from Thomas Müller barely missed, and a header from Süle was cleared down the line shortly after.
Flick has staff issues: Just a few months ago, the Bayern team seemed to shine and shine, with each substitution one top international player applauding the other. In January 2021 he screeched a lot: Benjamin Pavard was allowed to play as a right back again and lost the first game at 20 seconds, his rival Hofmann hit twice; Joshua Kimmich fell into the second starting eleven after his return; solutions 1b on the wing, Leroy Sané and Douglas Costa, have been disappointments so far this season; the other commitments such as Bouna Sarr, Marc Roca and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting ensure mass on the bench, but not quality on the field. Flick only used one of his five transfer options, a clear signal to his substitutes.
Rose has ideas: Even without the top two forwards Marcus Thuram and Alassane Pléa, Gladbach’s coach Marco Rose with Stindl, Hofmann and Breel Embolo had a huge offensive threat. Important for success: After two free goals in the first half, the three-man midfield around Neuhaus, Christoph Kramer and Denis Zakaria kept the opponent away from their own goal. Above all, Zakaria, who was associated with FC Bayern, provided constant support to his teammates to ease the burden. Costa and Sané constantly doubled up on the wings, in changing situations, the diagonal balls in particular found their buyers.
The classic of the series: Gladbach against Bayern, that’s since the seventies the Bundesliga classic. When the VfL were champions for the last time in 1977, both clubs had five titles. Since then, there have been zero for the Gladbach team and 25 for the Munich team. When the record champions meet their former rivals, time seems to have stopped. Nowhere have Bayern such a bad away record (22 losses!), Nowhere have they conceded that many hits (87!).
Term, Term: When should Bayern run out of breath, if not this season? The Cup continues in Holstein Kiel on Wednesday (8:45 pm), one of six games in three weeks before the Club World Cup in Qatar. He may win another title there, but he may also lose more steam by the end of the season. A crisp structure (ten games in a row, always at least one conceded goal), without impulses from the bench: FC Bayern will not be able to repeat the successes of the previous year in 2021.
