Alarms went off in Munich: after the slap suffered over the weekend in Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, Bayern seriously complicated its continuity in the Champions League by losing 1-0 against Lazio, this Wednesday in the first leg of the round of 16 .
Ciro Immobile scored a penalty for the celestial team in the 69th minute. The maximum penalty was accompanied by the expulsion of Frenchman Dayot Upamecano, something that made the path very difficult for Bayern, who at least were able to avoid a more resounding defeat thinking about the return crash.
«In the second half, we completely lost the rhythm and thread of the game. “We made too many individual mistakes, we were awarded that penalty and that expulsion, we have to accept the consequences of that,” analyzed Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel. “I know we can do better in the return,” he said.
After the match, Bayern issued a statement denouncing “racist comments” on social media against Upamecano.
«Bayern condemns them with the greatest firmness. “Whoever makes those comments is not a fan of our club,” he stated.
The two consecutive defeats leave Bayern in a complicated situation, especially taking into account that the Champions League is the team’s great hope to save the season, since in the Bundesliga it is five points behind Xabi Alonso’s solid leader Bayer Leverkusen and that It is already eliminated in the German Cup.
Lazio, seventh in Serie A, thus achieved a prestigious victory against one of the competition’s big favorites.
It was a very different match to the one they both played in in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in 2021. Then, Bayern won 4-1 at the Olympic Stadium, before finishing off the job with a 2-1 victory in the second leg in Germany.
Immobile, who last weekend reached the symbolic threshold of 200 goals in the Italian league, has four goals in the current Champions League. It is also the first goal he has scored in a match in the knockout rounds of this tournament, after having scored twelve during his career in the group stages.
«We had prepared this match well. I was sure that we were going to give it our all and that we could achieve something big. We should have scored one or two more goals, we will have to be more decisive in the second leg,” Immobile declared at the end of the match.
In the first half, both teams tested each other with some caution, but Bayern arrived more fluidly.
Jamal Musiala had a great chance in the 40th minute, but he raised too much. Before, Harry Kane (7) and Leroy Sané (32) had been close to opening the scoring, while Lazio had more problems finding space, with Luis Alberto being the greatest danger with an attempt that went high in the 22nd minute.
In the second half, Lazio came out more inspired and the Dane Gustav Isaksen (47) missed a one-on-one against Manuel Neuer.
In 67, a stomp by Upamecano was punished with a red card and a penalty in favor of the locals. Immobile (69) did not forgive and Lazio took control.
In numerical inferiority and against a defensively organized rival, Bayern could not avoid defeat but at least they were able to leave with a narrow defeat, which they hope will be overcome in the second leg on Wednesday, March 5 in Munich.
Before that crucial event, Bochum, RB Leipzig and Freiburg will test Bayern in the German championship, where they need to correct course without delay to not be completely adrift.
In Lazio, the match left two injured, the Albanian Elseid Hysaj and the Spanish Mario Gila, both substituted due to physical problems in the second half.
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