Manuel Veth - MUNICH — Bayern v Gladbach could kick off a historic shift in German football. Der Rekordmeister was defeated 3-0 at home and has dropp
Manuel Veth –
MUNICH — Bayern v Gladbach could kick off a historic shift in German football. Der Rekordmeister was defeated 3-0 at home and has dropped to fifth in the Bundesliga standings.
- Gladbach withstand the pressure
- Plea cannot stop scoring
- Lars Stindl scores on his comeback
Bayern v Gladbach
Goals: 0-1 (Alassane Plea, 10′), 0-2 (Lars Stindl, 16′), 0-3 (Patrick Herrmann, 88′)
Given Dortmund’s result against Augsburg, and that Werder, as well as Hertha, also collected points Bayern needed three points in order not to drop further down the standings. The pressure was palpable ahead of a game that could have the potential to change German football for quite some time.
With the pressure on Bayern, it was no surprise that the Bavarians right away tried to put their mark on the match. Gladbach, in the meantime, sat deep looking to counter, a tactic that worked well for die Fohlen as they took the lead in the 10′ minute. Alassane Plea played a quick one-two with Jonas Hofmann and then beat Manuel Neuer with a low drive from 18 yards.
The goal changed little of the patterns. Bayern attacked almost like headless chickens, which allowed Gladbach to counter and in the 16′ minute it was 0-2 with Lars Stindl being allowed to much room in the box, following a bad buildup play out of Bayern’s box, and the national team striker made no mistake beating Neuer with a shot in the far corner.
Now Bayern were seemingly shocked. Der Rekordmeister continued to press high up the pitch, but Gladbach were now seemingly in control, but at the same time it is almost impossible to shut down Bayern completely. Arjen Robben found himself with plenty of space inside the box in the 31′ minute, but his shot was blocked, Mats Hummels saw a half-volley in the 32′ minute go over the crossbar, and Robert Lewandowski had a shot from six yards blocked by keeper Yann Sommer in the 36′ minute.
Halftime 0-2 just no win during Oktoberfest, Bayern were just 45 minutes away from a major crisis. Bayern head coach Niko Kovac reacted taking off Thomas Müller for Serge Gnabry and Arjen Robben for Frank Ribéry. Furthermore, within 54′ minutes, Bayern had completed their contingent of substitutions as David Alaba had to be brought off with an injury – he was replaced by Renato Sanches.
With Alaba off Kovac was forced to shuffle the deck. Joshua Kimmich now moved into the left-back position, and Leon Goretzka was pushed back to the right-back position.
The changes did little to change the picture on the pitch. Bayern continued to dominate and had 71% ball possession but struggled to turn their ball possession dominance into anything tangible. It took until the 63′ minute for Bayern to produce a chance, Frank Ribéry tested Sommer with a shot from just a few yards out after slaloming through Gladbach’s defence.
In the 68′ minute everyone in the Allianz Arena thought Bayern had finally scored. Left wide open in the box Robert Lewandowski beat Yann Sommer, but the call was waved off for offside and VAR then confirmed that the Polish forward had indeed been offside.
Gladbach were very much unfaced by everything Bayern produced. Die Fohlen continued to sit deep looking for that one counter that would finish the game off. That chance appeared to have arrived in the 69′ minute when Thorgan Hazard broke free and went one-on-one with Neuer, but his shot missed the far post by a couple of yards.
Other than that the two sides neutralised each other with Gladbach continuing to park the bus and Bayern struggling to find a way through a tight defence. And while Gladbach fans were celebrating and Bayern fans were rushing out to beat the traffic in and around Fröttmaning only Renato Sanches seriously tested Gladbach’s defence.
The Portuguese midfielder broke through in the 85′ minute and again in the 86′ minute, but both times his shots missed the target. Instead, Gladbach thought they had the glorious finish to the night.
In the 88′ minute, Patrick Herrmann was left alone after a corner kick inside the box and had no problem putting the ball past Neuer. The goal was briefly reviewed, but referee Frank Willenborg pointed to the middle after taking another look at the monitor. It was the final point of a game that will go into the history books for Gladbach and will be an evening to forget for Bayern supporters.
Bayern v Gladbach – Man of the Match
Borussia Mönchengladbach Lars Stindl was the man of the match on his return to Bundesliga action. The striker was on the pitch for 66 minutes scoring the second goal of the game but also was important in the defensive third winning ten of his 15 duels. He also succeeded in three of his dribble attempts and provided the leadership Gladbach needed against Bayern.
Bayern v Gladbach – Lars Stindl of Borussia Mönchengladbach celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Allianz Arena on October 6, 2018 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Bayern v Gladbach – Talking Point
No victory during the Oktoberfest for Bayern. It is an event that has not taken place since 1999. That season Bayern would, however, still win the title on the last day of the season after Leverkusen lost 2-0 to Unterhaching. The results during the Oktoberfest mean that Bayern have dropped to fifth place in the Bundesliga and could even drop to sixth should Leipzig win their game against Nürnberg tomorrow.
Bayern v Gladbach – Match Stats
- Bayern concede a goal in seven consecutive Bundesliga home games for the first time since the 2008/09 season.
- Arjen Robben made his 300th appearance for Bayern today.
- For the first time since 1999 Bayern have failed to win four competitive games in a row during the Oktoberfest.
Bayern v Gladbach – Line-ups
Bayern München:
Formation: 4-1-3-2
Neuer – Alaba (Renato Sanches, 54′), Hummels, Süle, Kimmich – Goretzka, Thiago, Müller (Gnabry, 46) – James, Lewandowski, Robben (Ribery, 46′)
Coach: Niko Kovac
Borussia Mönchengladbach:
Formation: 4-1-4-1
Sommer – Wendt, Elvedi, Ginter, Lang – Hofmann (Herrmann, 74′), Krämer, Neuhaus – Hazard (Traoré, 83′), Plea, Stindl (Zakaria, 66′)
Coach: Dieter Hecking
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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