Musiala dream goal proves insufficient as Bayern drop more points against Freiburg
League leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen have a chance to open up a ten-point gap at the top of the table Sunday after German record champions FC Bayern dropped more points on Friday evening. Xabi Alonso's Werkself can inch closer to the title with a win away at Köln.
Thomas Tuchel's Bavarians played a strong match against Christian Streich's Breisgauer in the 2023/24 German Bundesliga's match-day 24 curtain raiser, but a spectacular solo goal from Jamal Musiala proved insufficient to claim all three points in the end.
Musiala and Mathys Tel saw tallies cancelled out by Lucas Höler and Christian Günter. A 2-2 draw at the Europa Park Stadion leaves Bayern in second place on 54 points. Leverkusen have 61 points with a game in hand.
Thomas Tuchel's Bavarians played a strong match against Christian Streich's Breisgauer in the 2023/24 German Bundesliga's match-day 24 curtain raiser, but a spectacular solo goal from Jamal Musiala proved insufficient to claim all three points in the end.
Musiala and Mathys Tel saw tallies cancelled out by Lucas Höler and Christian Günter. A 2-2 draw at the Europa Park Stadion leaves Bayern in second place on 54 points. Leverkusen have 61 points with a game in hand.
| Photo: Анна Мейер, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Streich made three changes to the XI that lost away at Augsburg on Sunday. Matthias Ginter returned to the starting blocks after a injury layoff that kept him out of the lineup for three weeks. Ginter took Merlin Röhl's spot while Nicolas Höfler moved back up into his natural midfield position. Kiliann Sildillia was called upon to deputize for the injured Lukas Kübler at right back. Roland Sallai was preferred to Michael Gregoritsch up top as Streich maintained the 4-4-2 formation he began with five days ago.
Tuchel made two enforced changes to the squad that lined up against Leipzig last Saturday night. Mathys Tel filled in for the injured Leroy Sané while Min-Jae Kim took the place of suspended central defender Matthijs de Ligt. The tightly packed 4-2-4 deployed in the previous fixture widened out to a more evenly spaced 4-2-3-1. The German giants commemorated an unrivaled milestone in the round 24 curtain raiser, becoming the first German club to contest 2,000 top-tier fixtures.
The hosts played courageous football from the very start, pressing forward with vim and vigor into Bayern's penalty area. FCB keeper Manuel Neuer prevented the Breisgauer from going up early with an incredibly double save on Sallai in the 12th. Streich's team would nevertheless beat Neuer on the ensuing corner. Returning SCF skipper Christian Günter - back for just his third start of the season - powered home an unstoppable first-time effort from 18 meters out off the set-piece.
Four minutes after putting his team ahead, Günter nearly doubled the advantage. Neuer was once again called upon to be at his best when Günter headed a diagonal in his direction in the 16th. The German national team #1 could only parry at full stretch. Freiburg - accorded quite a bit of space by the frazzled Bayern ranks - continued to generate more chances throughout much of the opening half-hour. Only after 30 minutes had passed did Streich's side retreat a bit and focus on defending.
Bayern would find the equalizer off their own corner in the 35th. Tel did a marvelous job of collecting a failed clearance, duping SCF defender Manuel Gulde, and flicking the ball artistically into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area. Bayern rode the momentum for the duration of the first half, ultimately failing to produce much that would trouble Freiburg keeper Noah Atubolu. The two teams went into the tunnel with the score deadlocked 1-1.
Günter and Kane both traded scoring opportunities during an energetic start to the second half. Freiburg settled into a very deep low block some five minutes after the restart, however, and the Bavarian guests began to take control of the vast majority of possession. Kane had three efforts on goal before both coaches began introducing subs in the 64th, but the Englishman couldn't get anything on target.
Tuchel introudced Konrad Laimer and Alphonso Davies, switching to a back-three with Leon Goretzka working as the libero. The tactical shift yielded immediate results. Atubolu prevented Musiala from scoring with an amazing save in the 71st. Musiala ended up notching the 2-1 four minutes later with an amazing solo effort.
The young phenom dribbled his way past Sildillia, Maximilian Eggestein, and Ritsu Doan with a scintillating solo dribble on the left. Musiala capped it off with a nonchalant cheeky flick into the far corner; a stunning piece of individual improvisational brilliance. Bayern appeared to be on course for victory. The hosts had other plans.
Lucas Höler smashed home the 2-2 in the 87th following an exceptional hold-up and tap back from the just subbed on Gregortisch. Bayern were unable to muster up much in response. The affair concluded with the spoils shared. The record champs have now failed to win seven league fixtures in the current campaign.