Despite having an injury-ridden squad after suffering long-term injuries to both Ismael Saibari and Serge Gnabry in the 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund over the weekend, Bayern Munich pulled off a dominant display, defeating Atletico Madrid 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in the Champions League. The result means the German Rekordmeister remain undefeated across all competitions this season, as the only team left in Europe’s top five leagues that can boast that statistic.
Goals from Lennart Karl (54’)
and Konrad Laimer (74’) put Bayern past Atletico in a strong performance that very well could have ended with a larger scoreline in Bayern’s favor. They registered six shots on target to Atletico’s three, and VAR ruled out what would have been a third goal for Bayern in the 82nd minute when Dayot Upamecano’s header was disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Jan Oblak just prior to the goal. Roughly ten minutes before the disallowed goal, another Upamecano chance required a touch from Oblak to steer it onto the crossbar and deny Bayern a third.
On the other end, Manuel Neuer only had to make a total of three saves and was the quieter of the two goalkeepers on the balance of play. After the match—an occasion that saw Neuer become the German player with the most Champions League appearances (164)—the veteran goalkeeper said he felt it was a truly dominant performance from Bayern.
“I’d say it was total dominance from the first minute to the 93rd. Whatever Atlético threw at us, we always had an answer. And we’re incredibly happy, especially considering the circumstances and the fact that we’ve had to make some adjustments due to injuries and everything that’s happened at FC Bayern in recent days. But I think we stuck together, gave everything we had, and made sure we could enjoy a team performance like this today. It was exceptional,” the veteran goalkeeper explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
All things considered, Neuer’s sentiment is spot on. Joshua Kimmich suffered the unfortunate loss of his father, Vincent Kompany collapsed in training two weeks ago and is still on rest and recovery, and the club is dealing with mounting injuries. There is every reason for Bayern to be going through a slump right now, but they have stuck together and battled against the odds to remain undefeated, top of the Bundesliga table, and safely in the top eight of the Champions League table.
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