A shock at the top which was enough to make football lovers shiver. This Saturday was surely one of the turning points of the season in the Bundesliga between Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen and Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich. Leader, the Werkself then had a two-point lead and an invincible status (16 wins and 4 draws in the Bundesliga) before receiving the Rekordmeister. And if the first minutes highlighted the Bavarian team, Bayer Leverkusen slowly gained strength to never relax its grip on the game.
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A goal from Josip Stanisic, on loan from Bayern Munich, launched the debates (18th) before Alejandro Grimaldo (50th) doubled the lead. In the final moments, Jeremie Frimpong pushed the Rekordmeister (90th +5). A clear score of 3-0 which clearly represents the score delivered by Leverkusen. Dominating the debates and efficient, the locals dominated the match head and shoulders, each time giving the boost when necessary. The consequence is terrible for Bayern Munich. The title holders (and the last 10) are now five points behind with thirteen days remaining. Bayer Leverkusen’s first German championship title (often mocked for this reason in Neverkusen) is no longer such a far-fetched option.
Read Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen humiliates Bayern Munich and takes off
A worrying collective performance
In the dock, we obviously find Thomas Tuchel on the front line. Expected to turn the corner this season, especially with his demands met during the last winter transfer window (Eric Dier and Sacha Boey), the German coach had made strong choices by leaving Thomas Müller and especially Joshua Kimmich on the bench while opting for a 3-4 -2-1 in order to counter the system used by Bayer Leverkusen. It was a total fiasco with offensive animation close to nothing which only led to one shot on target throughout the entire game. The reigning German champion’s match can be summed up as a sterile domination, symbolized by insignificant phases of possession which at no time unbalanced a very compact and united defensive block of the Xabi Alonso gang. The contribution of the entrants did not change much because the Bavarians were never able to create the gaps necessary to force the opposing lock.
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Without directly blaming his coach, Thomas Müller used strong words to highlight the collective failure of his team. In this regard, he did not spare his teammates. “There are many symptoms on the ground. To be honest, I’m pissed. To quote Oliver Kahn: What is missing from our players are the balls in the game. We show much better approaches in training. It’s normal to feel pressure, but it takes energy and freedom. This is what is missing in our game. Sometimes we have to question ourselves, the players. It’s not just about the coach. We have a lot of international players at the highest level, we need to improve our game.said the German international.
A Bavarian defense in agony
Clearly above from start to finish, Bayer Leverkusen excelled in all areas of the game, unlike Bayern Munich. Apart from the attack, the Munich defense also showed its limits at the BayArena. A few weeks after the alarming defensive performance of Thomas Tuchel’s men on December 9 in Frankfurt, the overall copy provided by Dayot Upamecano’s partners is far from having dispelled doubts. Proof is in the opening score of Josip Stanisic (loaned by Bayern Munich to Bayer Leverkusen) where he finds himself devoid of any marking at the second post and has plenty of time to adjust his shot to pierce Neuer. Far from being equally free from reproach throughout the game, Eric Dier was far too feverish and his multiple errors of approximation caused harm to his team. What can we say about Kim Min-Jae, physically diminished and regularly outpaced by Nathan Tella or even Sacha Boey, suffering against the ball carrier.
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“The first goal we conceded is something you normally can’t concede with a five-man defense. This cannot happen with this type of device. After halftime we conceded a goal with a one-two which was too cheap. We had the whole week to prepare. We wanted to defend high up the pitch and that’s what we did. I think we managed to do that for a long time, but we also made some really bad decisions, especially after winning the ball. We then lost our confidence”, regretted Thomas Tuchel after the final whistle. In addition, Bayern Munich will quickly have to rectify the situation if it wishes to maintain the hope of gleaning a twelfth coronation in a row. But for now, the Bavarians have something to worry about. A bad omen a few days before a trip to Italy to play the round of 16 of the Champions League against Lazio Rome.
Pub. on 02/10/2024 9:54 p.m. Updated on 02/11/2024 00:48
2024-02-10 21:35:06
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