Bayern Munich’s 16-match win streak across all competitions came to an end with their 2-2 draw at Union Berlin and, all things considered, they were perhaps even lucky to have salvaged a point away from home in what was a tricky match for Vincent Kompany’s side. The Belgian manager only made one change to the starting lineup from the side that started in the midweek 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and it was evident there were tired legs out on the pitch since they had to play
45 minutes in Paris with only 10 men due to Luis Diaz’s red card.
Nonetheless, Bayern got rather lucky in the 10th minute when Ilyas Ansah’s header was ruled out for offside by the length of what seemed to be nothing more than a toenail. 17 minutes later, Manuel Neuer uncharacteristically was unable to control a relatively tame effort from Danilho Doehki in what was a bit of poetic justice for Bayern. Luis Diaz’s insane solo goal shortly before halftime provided the spark of life Bayern were missing through the beginning phases of the match, but Doehki struck again against the run of play in the 83rd minute and it took a stoppage time Harry Kane header to prevent what would have been the upset of the season in the Bundesliga thus far.
Had Neuer not made the mistake for Doehki’s first goal, Bayern might just have done enough to get a somewhat undeserving three points away from home, but that was hardly the only small detail that made a difference in the match. In the post-match press conference, Kompany did not want to place any sort of blame on his keeper. “What do you expect me to say? That I’ll say something about my #1 goalkeeper? Of course not. It’s a collective game. When you concede a goal, there are many things and sequences that happen before. We look at those moments too,” Kompany said when he was asked about Neuer’s role in Union Berlin’s first goal (via @iMiaSanMia).
Judging by his reaction after the goal, Neuer might be more critical of himself than Kompany, but Bayern were still far from good enough up until Diaz’s goal seemed to have spurred them on in attack. They had gone far too long in the first half without even registering a shot on target.
Bayern Munich hit the road in the ultimate “trap game” situation after big wins over Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga) and Paris Saint-Germain (Champions League) just before an international break.
For any team, that could have spelled danger — and this Bayern Munich squad was not immune.
Bayern Munich and Union Berlin fought to a 2-2 in a match that reeked of danger for the Bavarians from the opening whistle. Let’s get this started and talk about how this all played out. This is what we have on tap on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:
- A look at Bayern Munich’s starting XI selections…who stood out, who struggled, and more.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions as we walk through the flow of the match.
- Some final takeaways on the match.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
