myOnce upon a time there was this great FC Bayern Munich, which was feared for its angry and powerful “reaction” that always followed defeats. The clear victories were characterized by a dominance that was often described as a show of force.
But in Bayern there is no longer much strength left after the defeats in Leverkusen and in Lazio Rome Now they also lost 2:3 against VfL Bochum. The difference with Bayer Leverkusen has increased to eight points. Dayot Upamecano he left the field for the second time in five days and the question of whether measures such as a change of coach are necessary is more urgent than it has been for a long time. It is a picture of decadence that this club currently presents. “Everything that could go wrong today went wrong,” coach Thomas Tuchel said. “Many things were going against us. We had many high-quality opportunities. “That was not deserved.”
Moments of helplessness
Bayern quickly took the lead in a first phase of pressure, after Jamal Musiala sent the ball to the short corner with a strong shot from a tight angle (14th). But these Munich residents are not currently stable enough to draw sovereignty from such an experience.
After recent defeats, Bochum is looking to “retreat and draw strength from it.” Thomas Tuchel he said before the game. “It is sport at the highest level, but it also requires a positive state of mind and a smile.” However, what followed were more moments of helplessness without a smile and fun in the game. At least with Bayern.
First, Takuma Asano scored 1-1, after both Musiala and Joshua Kimmich He had lost crucial duels. The Munich team also lacked determination at 1:2, when Matthijs de Ligt in particular left VfL defender Keven Schlotterbeck too much space after a corner, allowing Bochum to score the first goal (44').
The first protest interruption, which lasted about ten minutes, may have contributed to tilting the match in VfL's favor. On a banner in the guest block was a threat: “We know the three-point plan and soon all of Germany will know it.” This plan specifies under what circumstances a game can be canceled following spectator unrest.
Kane forgives miserably
Despite another interruption of the protests in the second half, the resistance did not let things get to that point and Bayern could have taken a more comfortable lead before the first break. But Harry Kane Currently he is not the incredible forward he was a few weeks ago. Without opposition, the English striker fired the ball beyond the goal from the best position (19th).
This allowed VfL to turn the game around, and a phenomenon was observed that has been seen time and again on the faces of Kimmich, Neuer and Goretzka: that mixture of helplessness and bewilderment at their own loss of power. When Bayern or the national team no longer know how to assert their individual superiority against rivals whom they previously dominated with ease.
The second half began with some committed minutes from Bayern and another great chance from Asano (46'), but at times the game became a bit flat. After an hour, Leroy Sané arrived, who was injured and had initially sat on the bench in favor of Maxim-Eric Choupo-Moting.
New signing Bryan Zaragoza also entered the game (for Kimmich) and the pressure was on. Bochum The game became bigger, but the Munich team made the crucial mistake again: Upamecano hit Schlotterbeck in the face with his elbow while defending a corner and received a yellow-red card. Kevin Stöger converted the next penalty to make it 3-1 (78th). “All of Bochum is proud of this achievement. The victory is not so undeserved. We played very badly,” Stöger said later.
However, it was really exciting because Kane made it 3-2 after some great preparatory work from young Mathys Tel (87th) and the league's top scorer also missed another great opportunity (90th + 3rd). But at the end of the exciting injury time, the Bochum team, which defended with great dedication and counterattacked very intelligently, celebrated.