It was another weekend where Bayern dropped points in the Bundesliga on either side of wins in the Champions League vs. Bayer Leverkusen.
For the second weekend in a row, Bayern Munich have dropped points in the Bundesliga, this time at the hands of Union Berlin. They have opened to door for Bayer Leverkusen to creep closer to them in the table after handedly beating them at the BayArena in the Champions League round of 16, finishing 5-0 on aggregate after the leg 1, 3-0 win at the Allianz Arena.
Steffen Baumgart, despite having to serve a touchline ban at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, had his side setup tactically resolute and compact, making it incredibly difficult for Bayern to thread their way through the deep blocks. In the first half of play, the only real chances to speak of were a Michael Olise curling shot that went just wide and the Serge Gnabry chance right at the end of the half where Frederik Rønnow pulled off an impressive save at his near post.
Bayern continued to press on in the second half, showing patience to break down the Union Berlin lines, and the breakthrough came from substitute Leroy Sané, who was first to get to a low cross into the box from Josip Stanišić. The goal forced Union to become more open and expressive, which paid off in the 83rd minute when Benedict Hollerbach pounced a mistake from keeper Jonas Urbig, who spilled the ball after what appeared to be a half-hearted attempt to punch clear.
It was a frustrating point to have to accept for Vincent Kompany’s side, for which, after the match, Sané said there were absolutely no excuses for despite the energy the expended to get past Leverkusen in the Champions League. “We knew it would be difficult here. They defend very well, the [pitch] condition is not the best, they’re uncomfortable to face. We tried our best and scored the first goal. Their equalizer hurt. But we have to carry on,” Bayern’s goal scorer on the afternoon stressed (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
“Yes but that shouldn’t be an excuse. It’s a Bundesliga game. We wanted to take the 3 points but we didn’t manage that today. We’ll try to do better after the international break,” the winger replied when he was asked whether or not it was difficult for Bayern to maintain the same levels of intensity they showed against Leverkusen midweek in the Champions League.
There’s now the break for the first international break of the year, so there’s time for Kompany to brainstorm how to get things right and not give Leverkusen any more chances to close the gap on them. Bayern play host to St. Pauli in their first match back from the international break, and the took a narrow, 1-0 win the last time out against the promoted side.
