DThe deeply disappointed stars around Harry Kane and Leroy Sané stood in front of their fans with expressionless faces, coach Thomas Tuchel kept shaking his head. A shockingly weak FC Bayern is already seven points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen after a sobering 0-1 (0-0) against Werder Bremen.
“Over the 90 minutes we didn’t deserve to win. We were far too sluggish, there was no life in it,” Thomas Müller told broadcaster DAZN: “We didn't have the joy to really get through it. That was a hard slap in the face.” In the catch-up game on Wednesday (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) against Union Berlin, a win is mandatory.
“We really enjoyed that”
The strong Mitchell Weiser ensured the guests' undeserved success in the 59th minute. Despite a desperate final offensive, Bayern failed to turn the game around and remained without a league goal in the home arena for the first time in four years.
As a result, the record series against Werder was broken after 28 games without defeat. Bremen won against their former title rivals for the first time since September 2008. Afterwards, the overjoyed Bremen players were celebrated by the fans who had traveled with them, jumping wildly.
“We really enjoyed that. We showed everything you need to win here. That’s good for us,” said Weiser. “It’s crazy that we won here,” added the good goalkeeper Michael Zetterer.
Bremen's first goal doesn't count
The much-praised esprit from the short training camp in Portugal was nowhere to be seen at Bayern for long stretches. The Munich team visibly found it difficult to bring Tuchel's “extremely high training level” into play.
Bremen, who had to do without Leonardo Bittencourt and Marvin Ducksch (both suspended), acted more decisively from the start. Jens Stage (9th) failed to score against Manuel Neuer, and shortly afterwards Dayot Upamecano had to clear from Nick Woltemade in desperate need.
Neuer also brilliantly parried a deflected shot from Weiser. The Munich team were also lucky that a goal from Justin Njinmah was revoked due to a previous foul (25th) according to video evidence.
And Bayern? They kept getting stuck. The actions were too slow and far too transparent. Apart from an Upamecano chance that Zetterer (28th) defused, the well-positioned Bremen team had no problems fending off the poorly executed Munich attacks.
Even after the break, Bayern's performance remained tough. Goalscorer Harry Kane was largely hanging in the air apart from one shot (50th). Hardly anything came from Jamal Musiala, Sane and Co. The penalty followed promptly when Weiser scored with a powerful shot after winning a duel against Alphonso Davies.
Tuchel reacted and brought on Müller, Mathys Tel and Leon Goretzka. He also switched to a three-man chain. The pressure now increased, but Bremen were able to clear Kane's header (72'). In the end, Tel missed a triple chance (87th, 88th, 90th + 5) – after that there was frustration and disappointment.
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