Thomas Müller felt a bit like Groundhog Day.
The Borussia goalkeeper recorded 19 repelled shots on goal and drove Bayern to despair. Ultimately, only Leroy Sané was able to overcome the Swiss (83rd) and thus equalize the guest lead through Marcus Thuram after a mistake by Dayot Upamecano (43rd).
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“It was a bit bitter today,” said Joshua Kimmich on “Sky”: “We played a good game, but somehow a little bit was missing.”
Three things we noticed.
1.) A wall called Summer
Gladbach’s game can be described in one sentence: Thuram counterattacked – and the rest was Yann Sommer. The Gladbach keeper has already delivered one or the other highlight game with his 33 years for club and country (Switzerland); But what Sommer did on Saturday night in Munich was simply outstanding.
The Gladbach goalkeeper kept his goal clean up to the 83rd minute with calmness, strong reflexes, the right ability to anticipate and of course a bit of luck. Sommer saves 13 shots on goal; sometimes twice against Sadio Mané (61st), sometimes in a one-on-one against Sané (64th), with a flight against Benjamin Pavard (75th) or with lightning speed against Joshua Kimmich (90th + 1).
“He held up exceptionally well – good man, Yann,” said teammate Christoph Kramer. The Borussia keeper was only powerless when Sané was able to choose the corner from twelve meters after a pass from substitute Jamal Musiala and placed it in the left corner.
Nevertheless: The Swiss could pin the point win on his own lapel with 19 (!) shots on goal saved at the end with an expected goals ratio of 3.16 to 0.77. “He also held a few unsustainable ones, but you need that here too,” said Gladbach’s sporting director Roland Virkus.
“That was a world-class performance – with Manuel Neuer he’s definitely the best keeper in the league,” said VfL coach Daniel Farke. “He was the best man on the pitch today,” Bayern’s Kimmich had to admit.
Leroy Sané (l./FC Bayern) and Yann Sommer (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Fotocredit: Getty Images
2.) Upamecano and his Thuram goat
As self-sacrificingly as Gladbach defended for a long time around Sommer, Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano was just as amateurish in the 43rd minute when the goal was conceded. The Frenchman completely misjudged a harmless liberation shot by Christoph Kramer at the center line and missed the ball.
Thuram said thank you and was not caught by his compatriot on the long way to 0: 1 (the fact that Manuel Neuer came out hesitantly and opened the right corner did the rest).
“He wants to play the clean solution and back to Manu – but anyone who has ever played football knows how difficult it is,” analyzed coach Julian Nagelsmann: “He just has to play it forward.”
So it was a severe setback for Upamecano, who was otherwise unemployed defensively, but may have lost a little ground in the internal fight for a regular place in central defense due to his mistake.
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Against Gladbach, the 23-year-old, who did not reveal problems with high balls for the first time, was allowed to play alongside Lucas Hernández in the center of defense for the fifth time in a row, as he did against Leipzig (Supercup), Frankfurt and Wolfsburg.
Top newcomer Matthijs de Ligt, who played alongside Upamecano in the 7-0 win in Bochum, had been rotated back to the bench, but could now form central defense with Hernández for the first time next weekend in the top game at Union Berlin – and not just in the final phase be ordered to the center of the attack as a header, as against Gladbach.
Despite the blunder, Nagelsmann didn’t want to break the wand over Upamecano. “Otherwise he’s having an outstanding season,” said the Bayern coach.
Marcus Thuram (Borussia Mönchengladbach) scores the lead against FC Bayern
Fotocredit: Getty Images
3.) Sané bites and stabs, Musiala decides again
Leroy Sané could not be accused of being too lax or lacking in attitude this time. No matter how unlucky the national player was long in front of goal (and especially against Sommer) – he didn’t give up and finally earned his second goal of the season (83rd).
Nobody looked for a finish more often than Sané (8), who also acted with great ball security (29 of 30 passes arrived) and won six of his ten duels.
In the first half, the 26-year-old looked unhappy when he was first deprived of the lead by Ko Itakura, who was lying on the ground, (21′) and later thwarted a goal by Sadio Mané (34′) through an offside position.
In the second round, however, Sané emerged as Munich’s most dangerous attacker. And while Sadio Mané was substituted for Serge Gnabry after 67 minutes, Sané was allowed to stay on until the 85th minute – and score.
Jamal Musiala made the equalizer possible once again. The Bayern youngster was still missing in Bochum with a strain in the adductor area and therefore did not make it back into the starting XI against Gladbach.
Against Gladbach, however, it was enough for a joker to be used from the 67th minute. And the 19-year-old made an immediate impact.
As usual, Musiala interpreted his role more offensively than Marcel Sabitzer, who had been substituted for him, always offered himself well between the Gladbach lines and had the calm and overview at the decisive moment in the penalty area to serve Sané to 1: 1 (83rd) – already his sixth scorer point in the fourth competitive game this season.
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