Bayern, at its home “Allianz Arena”, lacked offensive power in its 2-1 loss to Freiburg in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, as its orphan goal was scored by French defender Daewoo Upamecano.
And Freiburg returned the debt to the Bavarian club in only its second match under the supervision of its new coach, Thomas Tuchel, who had knocked him out of the same role in the first confrontation between them in the competition when he beat him by seven clean on the second of March 2005.
Manet frustrates the Bavarian giants
The newcomer’s fasting in the summer transfer market, Mane, regarding scoring, introduced frustration in the hearts of the German champions in the past ten seasons.
Mane played 7 matches with Bayern since his return from a leg injury that prevented him from participating in the World Cup in Qatar with his country, without scoring and contenting himself with a decisive pass only.
After Thursday’s match, the 2021 African Nations champion with the “Elephants” said in front of reporters, smiling, “Soon, I promise you,” when he was asked when he would return to his impressive level with his former team, Liverpool.
“I have no doubts at all regarding the quality of Sadio and what he can offer us,” said Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelmsen from his duties, explaining, “It is only a matter of time.”
For his part, the former goalkeeper and current CEO of Bayern, Oliver Kahn, said that Mane may suffer because of “a lot of competition” for the main positions in the club.
“He doesn’t know it (from Liverpool) and maybe he’s not used to it. He’s still looking for himself.”
Bayern leads the league by two points from its runner-up Borussia Dortmund, who kept it from first place by beating it 4-2 in the beginnings of Tuchel with the team in the last stage, knowing that Dortmund receives Union Berlin III (51 points) on the same day.
The ultimate challenge
And Freiburg is armed with not losing only one match at home this season to occupy fourth place with 47 points, on its way to a historic achievement represented by reserving a seat in the Champions League competition for the first time in its history.
Freiburg coach Christian Streich, who barely smiled following his team’s victory Thursday, said he was “very happy” ahead of Saturday’s second match once morest the Bavarian giants.
“This is the ultimate challenge, right following the ultimate challenge,” the 57-year-old added.
And he added, “It was a wonderful event, but that was it. Now it comes to what happens on Saturday.”
The blunt coach promised his team “two days off, maybe” following the match, adding further motivation to his grueling style as he sought to inflict a second successive defeat on Bayern within four days.
Freiburg seeks to end a lean period since its rise to the elite in the 2016-2017 season, during which it was unable to beat Bayern at home, contenting itself with two draws and 4 defeats.
Bellingham savior Dortmund?
In turn, the situation of Borussia Dortmund was not better than Bayern, as following losing to him in the last stage and giving up the lead in favor of his rival, the “yellow and black” club fell once more once morest Leipzig, 0-2, on Wednesday, to be eliminated from the local cup.
And the loss, in the event that it occurred once morest Union Berlin on Saturday, which will be the second in a row in the “Bundesliga”, will allow the guest team to monopolize the second place, and reduce the chances of Dortmund celebrating winning the title for the ninth time in its history and the first since 2012.
In order to stop the decline, Dortmund needs the return of its English midfielder, Jude Belligham, to shine and lead him to continue his series of victories at home once morest Union Berlin, which reached five in various competitions.
The 19-year-old, who played the most minutes among his teammates, started the cup match on the bench, and as soon as he came on in the 63rd minute, he asked the visiting fans to make more noise.
The team’s sporting director, Sebastian Kahl, praised Bellingham following the match for giving “a new wind to the squad,” saying that the Englishman “knows what the team needs.”
Indeed, Dortmund will need Bellingham in a new look to beat Union Berlin and keep the pressure on Bayern.
And receives Mainz eighth (40 points), which has achieved 5 wins once morest two draws in its last seven matches, and has become a competitor for European places, Werder Bremen eleventh (31 points), on Saturday as well.
