“It happens too often. I don’t know that from us in the past, that we concede four or five goals several times,” Kimmich referred to FC Bayern‘s 0: 5 in the cup in Mönchengladbach in the autumn. The German team player added: “We missed all the virtues. We have to ask ourselves if that’s the mentality of Bayern.”
Such a discussion was actually reserved for the pursuer from Dortmund in recent years. Not only the high number of goals conceded in Mönchengladbach and Bochum could be taken as an indication of a similar problem. It is also unusual for Bayern that all four previous defeats of the season came against teams with a double-digit place in the table.
Kimmich warns of negligence
The fact that the start of the second half of the season was lost to Gladbach could perhaps be explained by the many coronavirus failures. That wasn’t the case this time. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann looked similar to Kimmich and spoke of a “crappy game”. Bochum was defeated 7-0 last September. The lead in the championship to second from Dortmund is still comfortable. Nevertheless, Kimmich warned of continued negligence. “You can’t go into a game like that. It doesn’t matter how much of a lead we have.”
The 27-year-old midfielder was alluding to the desolate 31 minutes before the break, when Bochum’s furious performances were secured by goals from Christopher Antwi-Adjei (14′), Jürgen Locadia (38’/penalty), Christian Gamboa (40. ) and Gerrit Holtmann (44th) rewarded. Bayern last conceded more than three goals in the first half in 1975 in Frankfurt (0:5 at the break). Goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, who had been let down a few times by the back line and stood in for the injured national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, certainly hadn’t imagined the afternoon like this.
Nagelsmann saves the cabin sermon
Despite the unworthy performance of a league leader, Nagelsmann spared his players a cabin sermon at the break: “If you’re 4-1 down at half-time, you don’t have to shout as a coach. Then every player has to know for himself that what we did in the first 45 minutes was obviously stupid.”
Logically, the atmosphere in Bochum was completely different. “The way we played the first half was like something from another planet for me,” said Holtmann happily. Gamboa was just as happy. When asked how the team would celebrate the unexpected success, the Costa Rica defender laughed loudly and replied: “Three points, three beers.”
Most Bavarians didn’t notice anything from the Bochum party. Shortly after the final whistle, a large part of the team had disappeared into the dressing room in frustration. ÖFB team player Marcel Sabitzer only made a short appearance in the final quarter of an hour, as is so often the case.
Salzburg with a successful dress rehearsal
The game in Salzburg (9 p.m.) is scheduled for Wednesday. In contrast to the Munich team, Red Bull had a successful dress rehearsal with a 2-1 win at Rapid. The domestic series champion can also count on the support of 30,000 spectators again for the first time after the relaxation of the CoV measures.
“You could see that our mentality is fine. That gives us the tailwind we need for the game against Bayern,” said RB coach Matthias Jaissle in reference to the Rapid game. The mentality could make the difference in the Champions League duel. Bayern coach Nagelsmann was confident: “I’m not worried.”
