The previously untouchable league leaders FC Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat of the season in the Bundesliga at 1. FSV Mainz. Hardly anything reminded us of the team that has marched through so confidently so far.
If you look at the sober numbers, you could almost come to the conclusion that FC Bayern Munich is at the 1:2 away defeat at 1. FSV Mainz played like always.
62 percent ball possession and significantly more passes (629:294) – from Bayern’s point of view, a game like there have been many this season. The crux of the matter: For the first time, the visual superiority ended in defeat. Worse still: Unlike the three draws this season against Leverkusen, Frankfurt and Dortmund, FCB’s non-win this time was even deserved.
Kimmich self-critical: no efficiency
Joshua Kimmich, who faced the reporter microphones after the game, confirmed this impression. “We weren’t efficient, we couldn’t create many chances. Mainz took advantage of the few chances they had and scored one more goal than us,” he said appreciatively on the ARD microphone.
Kimmich’s assessment was accurate in that the superiority was actually given according to statistics. Only: At FC Bayern, for the first time this Bundesliga season, a blatant complacency crept in, which culminated in this lack of efficiency.
“In general, we have to match the skills that an opponent can bring. We have to bring them too. Then we are the better team. We didn’t manage that today,” added Kimmich, visibly disappointed.
“We have to resist”
And explained why 1. FSV deservedly won three points: “The Mainz team had a good mix of fight, sharpening the balls, complaining, taking a lot of free kicks, then sharpening the balls again – it’s of course a very physical game . They did very well and we have to counter them.”
Bayern sports director Max Eberl also dictated that Mainz was “more toxic and more grippy” into the microphones: “We rarely had control and allowed their game to be imposed on us.” Nevertheless, he wanted to leave the game as the only slip-up: “We have the quality to win games like this.”
Vincent Kompany saw it similarly. “There is no excuse. Today we didn’t put in our best performance. In other games we showed more quality than today,” said the FC Bayern coach. So the game was just a one-off blip?
FC Bayern looks tired and drained
The certainty and this lack of quality in Mainz also include: FC Bayern are crawling towards the winter break looking very tired, the record champions have lost their game-loving face. It seems as if the friendly Dr. Jekyll is currently wearing the ugly Mr. Hyde face at FC Bayern – and he can’t get rid of it anymore.
The last league defeat was 210 days ago, and for coach Vincent Kompany it is now the first. In addition, three more defeats against FC Barcelona and Aston Villa in the Champions League and one in the DFB Cup against Leverkusen are on the negative side in the current season.
Kompany with fewer points than Tuchel
Spicy: With 33 points, FC Bayern remains confidently at the top of the table. Last season, the Munich team had already collected 35 points under Kompany’s predecessor Thomas Tuchel. There was still some complaining at the time – because Leverkusen was at the top of the table with one point more.
“It’s football, again: no excuses. We don’t allow that, we always want the best,” explained Kompany, who doesn’t want to be criticized and looks at the positive side of the Mainz game: “It’s sometimes a matter of moments. It It’s not that we didn’t have our moments, that we weren’t dangerous, that we didn’t have chances.”
Is FC Bayern a “big club”?
However, it was also clear to the coach that his team was now at a very crucial moment of the season.
“Big clubs react in these moments, that’s what we’ve always done,” he said, referring to the last Bundesliga duel before the winter break: “We have to use this fire for the next game (…) We can’t play this game again , it’s just about the next game.”
RB Leipzig becomes a test of character
RB Leipzig is the opponent in the Allianz Arena next Friday. If there is another defeat, even at home, the Christmas days around Säbener Straße could still be very uncomfortable.
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Source: Blickpunkt Sport December 15, 2024 – 9:45 p.m
