Manuel Veth - Bayern v Freiburg ended in another disappointment for the German champions. Bayern struck first, but a late goal by Lucas Höler rescued
Manuel Veth –
Bayern v Freiburg ended in another disappointment for the German champions. Bayern struck first, but a late goal by Lucas Höler rescued a point for die Breisgauer.
- Bayern lack creativity
- Gnabry broke the deadlock
- Freiburg’s Höler with a memorable goal
Bayern v Freiburg
Goals: 1-0 (Serge Gnabry, 81′), 1-1 (Lucas Höler, 89′)
It was all Bayern during the opening stage of this match. Der Rekordmeister pressed Freiburg deep into their half, who seemed almost afraid to make crucial mistakes at the opening stage of the match.
Only after about 15 minutes did Freiburg finally come out to play. Die Breisgau Brasilianer were now pressing further up the pitch, which in turn produced room for Bayern to counter. In the 26′ minute Robert Lewandowski broke through Freiburg’s defence but as he went one-v-one with Freiburg keeper Alexander Schwolow the ball ended up on his wrong foot, and the chance was squandered.
Arjen Robben had the next chance in the 34′ minute. A cross found the Dutch winger inside the box, but his volley was swiped away by Schwolow, and Freiburg’s defence was then able to clear up the rebound. Overall, however, Freiburg kept Bayern at bay throughout the first half making it hard for Bayern, who in turn lacked inspiration, to break down the Breisgauer in the first half.
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In the second half, Freiburg were more proactive, to begin with, and in the 55′ minute everyone in the stadium thought they had scored. Tim Kleindienst had scored after a freekick but was deemed offside.
The referee was then at the centre of attention once again in the 58′ minute. A ball was played into Freiburg’s end that eventually found Robert Lewandowski, his close-range shot was off target, but referee Felix Zwayer then reviewed the play for a potential handball by defender Manuel Gulde. For three minutes the bunker in Cologne and Zwayer debated the scene and in the end, while the fans were shouting “Scheiß DFB”, Zwayer decided on a corner kick.
It was the last bit of excitement for 20 minutes. Freiburg once again sat deep looking for a counter and Bayern, in turn, lacked the creativity to break down Freiburg. In the end, it was a piece of individual brilliance by Serge Gnabry in the 81′ minute, that broke the deadlock. The winger slalomed through Freiburg’s defence and scored from close-distance.
Freiburg reacted by aggressively pressing Bayern. But runs into the attacking third were easily pushed back by Bayern. Die Breisgauer had conviction and in the 89′ minute came up with a piece of magic to equalise. A long ball from Christian Günter from the left found Lucas Höler, who was a step ahead of Jérôme Boateng, inside the box and the striker beat Manuel Neuer with a short-range effort.
Five minutes were added, but Bayern could not find a winner. Freiburg have never won in Munich but tonight’s result will feel like a win for them. Bayern just lacked the creativity to break down Freiburg, and when they finally did, they once again lacked defensive composure to see out the result.
Bayern v Freiburg – Man of the Match
Serge Gnabry and Renato Sanches were the only two players to bring some speed to a sluggish Bayern side. Gnabry, in particular, was excellent. The forward scored Bayern’s goal and completed 85% of his 35 passes. He also won 50% of his duels, an excellent number for a forward, and played two key passes. By the time Freiburg scored Gnabry was taken off for Leon Goretzka.
Serge Gnabry of Bayern Munich celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Sport-Club Freiburg at Allianz Arena on November 3, 2018 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Bayern v Freiburg – Talking Point
Bayern are struggling to create surprising moments. The Bavarians lack speed and creativity in the attacking third. The likes of Frank Ribéry and Arjen Robben struggle to beat their opponents in one-v-one situations. Ribéry came on in the second half (63′ minute) but even against tiered Freiburg legs; he was unable to get past his opponents. Of his three dribble attempts, only one was successful. Robben, in the meantime, made just one, unsuccessful, dribble attempt throughout the 63 minutes he was on the pitch. Bayern will certainly hope that the currently injured Kingsley Coman and new signing Alphonso Davies can bring some much needed speed as well as creativity to this Bayern side.
Bayern v Freiburg – Match Stats
- Bayern have not won in four games at home and have managed just three goals in those four games.
- Frank Ribéry becomes the first foreign player to reach 400 Bundesliga games.
- Manuel Neuer and David Alaba made their 200th appearance for Bayern today.
Bayern v Freiburg – Line-ups
Bayern München:
Formation: 4-3-3
Neuer – Alaba, Boateng, Süle, Rafinha – Renato Sanches, Kimmich, James (Müller, 72′) – Gnabry (Goretzka, 83′), Lewandowski, Robben (Ribéry, 63′)
Coach: Niko Kovac
SC Freiburg:
Formation: 4-2-2-2
Schwolow – Günter, Heintz, Gulde, Stenzel – Höfler, Koch – Haberer, Frantz (Terrazzino, 68′) – Höler, Kleindienst (Waldschmidt, 83′)
Coach: Christian Streich
Manuel Veth is the owner and Editor in Chief of the Futbolgrad Network. He also works as a freelance journalist and among others works for the Bundesliga and Pro Soccer USA. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States,” which is available HERE. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada. Follow Manuel on Twitter @ManuelVeth.
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