Grimaldo with a goal worth seeing
In a thrilling top game at eye level, FC Bayern failed to put their own fans in an exuberant beer tent mood against Bayer Leverkusen. In the 2:2 (1:1) on the eve of the start of Oktoberfest, coach Thomas Tuchel’s Munich team conceded the equalizer shortly before the end after a late goal of their own and failed to replace Bayer as leaders in the Bundesliga table.
After the early lead by Harry Kane (7th minute), the guests came back impressively with a dream free kick from Alejandro Grimaldo (24th). Shortly before the end, Leon Goretzka (86th) had the Bayern fans cheering again, but world champion Exequiel Palacios (90th + 4) secured the point for Leverkusen with a penalty kick.
The “Werkself” with the outstanding goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky presented themselves on Friday in front of 75,000 spectators in the Allianz Arena not in the “Vizekusen” style, but as a team that, led by coach Xabi Alonso, can challenge Bayern for the championship this season . Only the post saved Bayern from Florian Wirtz’s shot (78′).
Tuchel and Alonso greeted each other with a warm hug immediately before kick-off. The mutual appreciation is great. Things got off to a much better start for Bayern: the Munich team dominated the early stages, particularly through Serge Gnabry. Konrad Laimer, initially playing as a right-back again, was the first to test Munich’s Bayer goalkeeper Hradecky (3rd), and a short time later Bayern’s lead fell.
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Kane scored his fourth goal in the fourth game for the record champions after a corner from Leroy Sané, Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba was unfortunate in passing the ball on. Everything as always? Except for 1986, Bayern had won the previous eight duels between the two clubs in the top two positions in the table.
Alonso seemed pretty dissatisfied after a quarter of an hour and his team continued to struggle. Jonas Hofmann’s cross to his national team colleague Wirtz was half a chance (22′). But then Grimaldo’s masterpiece brought Bayer back into the game. The dream goalscorer got the set piece himself after a foul by Thomas Müller.
Tuchel complained so much about the whistle after Bayer’s goal that he received a yellow card. His team then had a surprising period of weakness, which Bayer was unable to take advantage of despite promising opportunities. Victor Boniface’s shot went just over Sven Ulreich’s goal (32nd), the 22-year-old’s supposed lead a little later did not count because of his offside position.
Then it was Hradecky who kept the guests, who were reeling again shortly before half-time, in the game: The 33-year-old made strong saves against Müller (35th), Sané (43rd), Leon Goretzka (44th) and Gnabry (45th). They documented Bayern’s increased chances.
The high pace continued after the half-time break. Leverkusen didn’t hide, Boniface almost surprised Ulreich with his attempt from 55 meters, but the ball went just over the goal (52nd). Bayer’s self-confidence remained high. And Bayern? They almost despaired of Hradecky, who was also very strong with his foot against Kane (57th).
After about an hour, the game became a little flat; both teams didn’t take any major risks during this phase. More changes followed and another exciting final phase, including Wirtz’s shot against the post. Goretzka then scored after excellent work from Mathys Tel before Alphonso Davies conceded the penalty.
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