F At least this season you had the feeling that FC Bayern Munich were operating in completely different spheres than the other Bundesliga teams. The Kompany team swept the rest of the Republic’s top teams off the pitch in the first half of the season, with speed, perfection and precision, indeed a class that even the biggest Bayern hater has to recognize. The current one Goal difference of plus 56 speaks for itself.
So far, Bayern have played the Bundesliga the way other teams play friendly games with third division teams, to warm up and warm up for the big international tournaments with their opponents on equal terms. With PSG, Real and Co.
Only two teams – Mainz and Union – managed at least somewhat to slow down Munich’s high hopes and get a draw. Otherwise, the Reds dominated throughout and were lonely and unchallengeable at the top of the league.
In short: The Bundesliga would be more exciting if it were played without FCB.
Bitter home defeat
But now it has (finally) happened – from Bayern’s perspective in the worst of all forms: the reigning German champions lose for the first time this season and then also in the derby against FC Augsburg and, very bitterly, at home in Munich. 70 percent ball possession, almost three times as many passes played as the guests and a 1-0 lead that lasted until the 75th minute of the game were not enough against strong Augsburg players who were not intimidated by Munich’s dominance.
A strong defense with an even stronger goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, who simply doesn’t allow Harry Kane to finish successfully, and perhaps a bit of luck in the last minute, lead to the final score of 1:2 and the victory for FCA.
It is also a small irony of fate that right now Ex-FCA-Trainer Sandro Wagner He was probably right when he remarked after the lost first leg that he didn’t see that “we have less quality than Bayern”. FCA coach Manuel Baum now delivers this quality, which he himself did not get on the pitch. As a former goalkeeper from the 1960s, this is probably a little personal satisfaction for him. And an important win to escape the bottom of the table.
Losing is human
Some Leverkusen fans also celebrated the defeat. This means that the 2023/2024 championship season, in which the Werkself did not experience a single defeat, remains a record in Bundesliga history. Meanwhile, Joshua Kimmich spoke about the Munich team’s lack of “hunger” after the game. But how can you stay hungry in the long term if the table is always richly set?
Yes, okay, as a non-Bayern supporter there is of course always a little satisfaction when they lose at least once a year. But it’s not just that. The Bayern-Augsburg game at the weekend was finally fun to watch again. Things remain somewhat exciting in the Bundesliga. The supposedly overpowering FC Bayern can be beaten.
Or, as Kimmich then said: “It’s human to lose a game.” FCB discovers its humanity. Hey, that’s great.