Munich.- Wolfsburg, second placed, beat the leader Bayern Munich 4-1, bringing them closer to within eight points, in the match of the 18th matchday with which the Bundesliga returned after its traditional break every German winter. It was also Bayern’s first defeat this season in the German championship, where they had previously achieved 14 wins and 3 draws.
This first setback allows Wolfsburg to reinforce its second place and drop below the psychological barrier of ten points in its disadvantage with the Munich team, who now see their advantage cut to eight points.
A ‘double’ by the Dutchman Bas Dost (minutes 4 and 45+2) had already put the game back on track for Wolfsburg, who in the 53rd minute extended their lead with a goal from the Belgian Kevin De Bruyne.
Bayern pulled one back in the 55th minute through Spaniard Juan Bernat, but De Bruyne (73) scored again and sealed the final 4-1, a surprising setback that marks at least a change of tone in the German tournament, which until now had It has been a ride for the reigning champions.
The Munich team found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in this match, for the first time in the last three years.
This 4-1 is the largest defeat suffered in the Bundesliga since they lost 5-1 in April 2009, precisely against Wolfsburg, who that year became champion of Germany.
The victory was dedicated in Wolfsburg to the memory of their former Belgian player Junior Malanda, who died earlier this month in a traffic accident. Both teams wore a black armband in his memory.
Bas Dost opened the scoring already in the 4th minute, with a low shot with which he surprised Manuel Neuer, and in added time of the first half the Dutch player took advantage of a bad rebound from the rival defense with a volley, to make it 2- 0.
De Bruyne scored his first goal of the night culminating a very fast counterattack and Bernat pulled one back with a cross shot in the area.
Again in a counterattack, De Bruyne, accurate in the area, made the score 4-1.
For Guardiola, “it was fair”
«They were better in key moments. We lost too many balls and we couldn’t control their counterattacks,” admitted Bayern coach Josep Guardiola.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was the captain of the Bavarians, replacing the injured Philipp Lahm, and he also acknowledged his team’s poor performance: “We made a lot of mistakes and we let them attack on the counterattack.”
At Wolfsburg, the victory was greeted with euphoria.
«We played a great game. If you want to defeat Bayern you need a day like the one we had today,” celebrated the green and white team’s coach, Dieter Hecking.
The 18th German round continues on Saturday with six games.
The clash between Bayer Leverkusen, third, and Borussia Dortmund, penultimate in the table, stands out.
The first are under pressure and if they do not win they will see their disadvantage with respect to second place widen, which is now 9 points, while the Dortmund team, which aspired to everything at the beginning of the season, will try to show that this second round can be very different from the first, catastrophic for their interests.
(fuente: fifa.com)
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