Borussia Monchengladbach comes off two goals against to stun leader Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich collapsed 2-0 when Borussia Monchengladbach produced a surprising comeback to inflict a second defeat of the season on the Bundesliga leaders.

A Jonas Hofmann double in the first half tied Gladbach at half-time after a Robert Lewandowski penalty and a Leon Goretzka piledriver gave Bayern an early lead.

And Florian Neuhaus scored what turned out to be the winning goal shortly after the break with a shot from the edge of the area. Bayern pushed hard for the tie, but Gladbach held on to a famous victory that keeps them in touch with the upper echelons of the league.

Bayern took the lead thanks to a friendly hand from VAR and another from Neuhaus, and the referee judged on replay that Gladbach’s midfielder had handled the ball enough on the edge of the area to deserve a penalty, allowing Robert Lewandowski to score. the ball. far.

However, there was no question as to the validity of Bayern’s second, with Leon Goretzka thundering off a long-range shot in the 26th minute to seemingly put the visitors on the road to a convincing victory.

However, the hosts had other ideas, risking and pressing higher on the field to great effect. Gladbach repeatedly recovered the ball in dangerous areas and on two of those occasions Jonas Hofmann played fair to get the ball past Neuer’s right hand in the bottom corner to level things out just before halftime.

And Gladbach completed his comeback shortly after the break when Bayern was again stolen possession in their own half and the ball was worked to Neuhaus on the edge of the area to sound a superb shot in the upper corner.

The result makes it six wins in his last 12 meetings with the German champions for Gladbach, comfortably the best record in the Bundesliga against Bayern.

The defeat leaves Bayern just two points clear at the top of the table, and their closest rival Leipzig have a chance to go to the top when they take on the heavy hitters Dortmund on Saturday night. Monchengladbach are still seventh but have moved within one point of the Champions League qualifying spots.

They may be German and European champions, but Bayern Munich’s defense didn’t come close to the level you’d expect from a team with such recent honors. Time and again they were opened at halftime by Gladbach, with the right side particularly vulnerable.

Full-back Pavard seemed reasonable on the ball, but was often caught on the field as the hosts recovered the ball with their high pressure, but the most troubling performance came from big man Nicklas Sule. The 6-foot-4 defender might have an impressive figure, but he’s not the ideal fit for a team that so often leaves its center-backs exposed, particularly against a team with the quick attack threats that Gladbach possesses.

Neither Sule nor his alternate Jerome Boateng have seemed like the solution at the right back this season and Flick will surely be tempted to delve into the transfer market to fix that problem.

The Gladbach captain produced two real quality moments to aid Hofmann’s goals in the first half and it was his incisive passing and clever movement that unsettled the Bayern defense all night as he crossed the front row.

Bayern Munich: New 6; Pavard 5, Süle 4, Alaba 5, Davies 5; Goretzka 7, Kimmich 6; Sané 6, Müller 6, Douglas Costa 4; Lewandowski 6th Subs: Eat 6th

Gladbach: Summer 8; Lainer 7, Ginter 8, Elvedi 7, Bensebaini 7; Neuhaus 8, Zakaria 8, Kramer 7; Plunger 8, Stindl 8, Hofmann 8. Subs: Hermann 7, Wolf 7. (Wendt and Jantschke showed up in overtime.)

20 ‘Penalty – Woah, that’s an interesting call. The referee is called to the monitor after a VAR intervention and penalizes Bayern for a hand against Neuhaus. They were the fingertips of the Gladbach man. Enough for a kick on point? Debatable.

20 & # 39; GOAL! – Lewandowski hits the penalty far to make Bayern 1-0. A little sick for Gladbach.

26 & # 39; GOAL! – A thunderous blow from Goretzka! The midfielder recovers the ball initially as Gladbach looks to counterattack and then fails to close, allowing him to unleash a monstrous volley from outside the box. 2-0.

35 & # 39; GOAL! – It’s a lifesaver for Monchengladbach! They pressure Bayern at the top of the field and recover the ball. Stindl slides a beautiful ball through and Hofmann shoves it past Neuer. 2-1.

45 & # 39; GOAL! – Hofmann returns to play behind Bayern’s high line defense and accelerates his shot past Neuer. The flag is raised initially, but replays suggest it was in play and the goal is scored. 2-2!

49 & # 39; GOAL! – What a goal is that! Gladbach recovers the ball in midfield and passes it to Neuhaus on the edge of the area. Much work remains to be done, but the midfielder produces a brilliant shot into the upper corner to complete the hosts’ surprising comeback. 3-2!

92 ‘- Out of line! Ginter returns to the line when a corner results in a pinball inside the area and punches to keep Gladbach ahead.