Borussia Mönchengladbach impressively demonstrated in the 5-0 win against FC Bayern Munich in the second round of the DFB Cup that and where the series champions are vulnerable. Could the title fight in the Bundesliga be exciting again? The pros and cons.
Pro: Bayern’s cup failure is good news for the league
by Philipp Schmidt
Admittedly: There are only a few football clubs on this planet that are better known for giving themselves a brief shake after setbacks and for relentless counterattacks than FC Bayern. For what happened on Wednesday evening in Borussia-Park, however, one has to look far into the past in order to find an adequate comparison.
This relates not only to the team’s non-performance on the pitch, but also to the total perplexity that was expressed on the microphones after the game. “I have never seen such a collective failure of a Bayern team in a knockout game myself,” said Thomas Müller, who is known to have seen a lot. “It’s difficult to grasp, if I’m honest. We’re used to different things from each other.”
FCB was “torn apart from A to Z in the first half”, and terms such as “shame” and “catastrophic” were also used. The Bayern veteran missed a clear challenge for the upcoming games and said almost humbly: “We’ll see how we react after a game like this over the next few weeks.”
Investigating the cause seems difficult, despite first place in the Bundesliga and flawless record in the Champions League, there are signs that the national competition can hope for one or the other weakness of the record champions. It was no coincidence that Gladbach manager Max Eberl said it was a great day for soccer Germany and a Bayern team that was “a bit at a loss”. FC Bayern in a dangerous situation?
FC Bayern “only people” – hope for football Germany
Bayern are “only human”, explained Jonas Hofmann, referring to the guests’ early 3-0 deficit after the Munich team had “rattled”. This statement can also be related to the non-sports arenas that Joshua Kimmich (non-vaccination), Lucas Hernandez (legal proceedings) or Julian Nagelsmann (corona infection) are (or are) employing these days. “Lots of stories”, as sports director Hasan Salihamidzic admitted, but refused to accept this as an excuse.
A starting point for the highest bankruptcy in Munich Cup history and the first game without a goal since February 2020 is also offered by the staff. Although the FCB is in the midst of countless English weeks, the coaching team decided against giving frequent players like Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Müller or Dayot Upamecano a break – no sign of an overly high appreciation for high-quality alternatives like Jamal Musiala, Marcel Sabitzer or Tanguy Nianzou and proof of the size of the squad.
Instead, some actors seemed dubious, in particular newcomer Upamecano was completely beside himself, so that even Salihamidzic later attested to “inexplicable” dropouts. However, it was only replaced (too) late. The behavior of the substitute Kingsley Coman, who wanted to confront Gladbach’s Ramy Bensebaini in the foal booth, fuels the optimism of all those who are longing for a little slack with the series champion.
And the tough away game at Union Berlin is already on Saturday, followed by the second leg in the premier class against Benfica on Tuesday.
