A defensively disastrous FC Bayern was given a football lesson of the bitterest kind during the painful reunion with Hansi Flick and Robert Lewandowski.
After the 1:4 (1:3) defeat at FC Barcelona with the former successful Munich duo, the record champions in the premier class have their backs against the wall. In order to reach the knockout round as a stopover on the way to the “Finale at home 2.0”, we now have to win in a row.
“There are zero excuses. There is only a clear defeat,” said Kompany on “DAZN”. Joshua Kimmich also said: “The game wasn’t sold 4-1. But it was still a deserved defeat. It’s partly hara-kiri what we did.”
The celebrated match winner of the ice-cold Flick team was captain Raphinha with a hat-trick (1st, 45th, 56th). Only Roy Makaay, Sergio Agüero and Cristiano Ronaldo managed to do this in the Champions League against Bayern. Lewandowski (36th) also scored, and the duel between the exceptional strikers ended 1-1 after Harry Kane (18th) equalized.
“I’m very happy. About the game, about what we did,” said Raphinha. “It was a game like a final, something special – to win like that against an opponent like Bayern makes us very happy.”
After just three points from three games, coach Vincent Kompany’s team is doomed to win against Benfica Lisbon on November 6th. Flick’s Barca has six points – and has freed itself from the Bayern curse: After six defeats in a row, including an 8-2 defeat against Flick’s Bayern in 2020, it was the first success over the “Black Beast” since May 2015.
“Be compact, be together,” demanded sports director Max Eberl before kick-off at DAZN. But the 1-0 win for Barca already provided a prime example of how Kompany’s Bayern can be cracked: Lewandowski pulled “Manndecker” Dayot Upamecano into his own half, and a 50-meter-deep space opened up behind the Frenchman and Raphinha ran into it. Joshua Kimmich, planned as protection, couldn’t keep up and the Brazilian executed alone in front of Manuel Neuer.
Kane’s first goal (10th) didn’t count because the Englishman was just offside when Thomas Müller crossed. Typical Flick: Barca were also very high. “I’m surprised that a top team takes so many risks, Barcelona is taking it to the extreme,” said TV expert Michael Ballack in disbelief: “It’s almost hara-kiri.” But ultimately it was Bayern who committed football suicide.
First, Kane scored after a pass from Serge Gnabry. The guests often became dangerous after quick shifts, and Flick’s team was vulnerable from the outside. But she quickly adapted. When Neuer misused the ball against young star Lamine Yamal, it went unpunished (26th). But then Lewandowski struck from eleven meters, a push from Fermin Lopez into the back of Min-Jae Kim during the creation went unpunished.
FC Bayern too sloppy
At 3-1, Barca beat Bayern with their means: a shift to the left, Raphinha shot the ball through Upamecano’s legs into the goal.
Bayern also played too sloppily in the second half. After the interim high against Stuttgart (4:0), the same mistakes appeared as in Frankfurt (3:3) or at Aston Villa (0:1). After a pass from Yamal, the advanced defense was once again exposed and the outstanding Raphinha scored again.
Kompany reacted almost desperately with a quadruple substitution, and magic foot Jamal Musiala also made his comeback after recovering from hip problems. But the Barca fans’ shouts of “Ole” soon echoed through the Olympic Stadium, and Raphinha left to a standing ovation (76th).
Source: www.sport.de
