Bayern gift Leverkusen another chance to make up points in the Bundesliga title race.
If you were hoping to see Bayern Munich jump eleven points ahead of title rivals, Bayer Leverkusen, then this was not the encounter for you. Rather, Bayern and Union Berlin played out to a 1-1 draw at Stadion An der Alten.
As it stands, Bayern carry a nine point lead into the international break after the uninspired draw. Although, Bayer Leverkusen will have the chance to reduce the Bavarians’ lead down to six when they face VfB Stuttgart at the MHPArena.
These were the biggest takeaways
Bayern left the door open for Bayer Leverkusen… again
If Bayern thought the title race was over, then this game will come as the proverbial glass of cold water to the face.
The 1-1 draw comes as the second disappointing Bundesliga result in a row following last weeks 3-2 loss against a feisty VfL Bochum. Luckily for Bayern, Leverkusen fumbled the chance to score three points back in the title race after an equally shocking 2-0 loss to Werder Bremen. However, this time Bayern may not be so lucky.
Die Werkself face what could be a tricky encounter against a Stuttgart side that is still fighting desperately for a spot in Europe next season. Although, given Stuttgart’s recent form, Leverkusen will likely secure three points and reduce Bayern’s lead to six points, a respectable lead but certainly possible to overturn.
Jonas Urbig shows his inexperience
To quote the commentary team: “He’s 21-years-old, looks like he’s 12 and plays like he’s 44.” A memorable, and pretty accurate, piece of commentary until the second half where Jonas Urbig failed to live up to, what looked like, his years of experience.
The former Köln shot-stopper had trouble on one occasion before conceding later in the second half. Struggling to discern what looked like a back pass from Kimmich, but was ultimately a deflection, resulted in Urbig spilling the ball back into the penalty box. Luckily, the Bayern defence were on hand to get rid of the danger.
Urbig was unfortunately not as lucky in the 83rd minute as the 21-year old swatted a Josip Juranović cross right into the path of former Bayern academy player, Benedict Hollerbach, instead of securing it in his hands.
It’s unfortunate that Urbig’s mistake cost Bayern the game, especially after such a strong performance against Leverkusen in the Champions League.
Harry Kane’s Bundesliga goal drought continues
Much like Bayern Munich across the last few Bundesliga games, Harry Kane has struggled to perform.
After another goalless outing the Englishman has now failed to find the back of the net in his last five Bundesliga outings.
While Bayern haven’t been particularly formidable in their last five Bundesliga matches, recording two wins, two draws and one defeat, they still managed to score ten goals, of which Kane scored none.
Albeit far from a crisis, it is uncharacteristic for the 31-year-old striker to go five games without scoring a goal in the Bundesliga.
Consistency is missing for Bayern
Off the back of a phenomenal performance against Leverkusen in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, many would have expected a solid performance against Union Berlin. Wrong. The same could be said ahead of last week’s encounter with VfL Bochum after smashing Leverkusen in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg. Also wrong. What followed instead were two subpar performances, causing Bayern to drop four points out of a possible six.
Losing one and drawing one is also by no means a crisis, however, the lack of consistency seems to be a reoccurring saga for Bayern this season.
If Die Rekordmeister really wish to be crowned champions of Germany and Europe, they will need to become more consistent across the remaining games of the season.
