Nobody at FC Bayern was in the mood for humorous sayings about the big reunion with “Mr. Lewangoalski” and FC Barcelona – certainly not Thomas Müller.
Rather, the original Bavarian grumbled after the next draw frustration in everyday league life at 2: 2 (1: 0) against VfB Stuttgart, who were rewarded late with the penalty equalizer. “I’m angry for the first time this whole season – angry at ourselves. I have a nice tie,” said Müller.
The Bayern magic of the first few weeks is gone – at least in everyday business in the Bundesliga. “We have been warned,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. He also left the Allianz Arena “upset” on Saturday evening. The anticipation of the “huge game” against Barça, as Serge Gnabry called the top game in the Champions League, was severely dampened during the dress rehearsal. The mood in Munich could change shortly before the Oktoberfest begins – and Robert Lewandowski, of all people, could contribute to this.
Lewandowski in bestechender Form
The world footballer is in impressive form before his exciting return to the Allianz Arena this Tuesday (9 p.m. / Amazon Prime Video). In Barcelona’s 4-0 win at FC Cadiz, the 34-year-old sufficed for 30 minutes to score his sixth goal of the season and then make it 3-0 as an encore and initiate goal number four as a passer.
Even before these next Lewandowski acts, Salihamidzic had warned his own stars like a clairvoyant: “We have to shift up two gears, even three against Barcelona.” After all, the Dortmund slip-up in Leipzig played down their own league failures. “But of course there are six points that we are missing. That’s at least four too many,” said Salihamidzic after three draws in a row.
“Today, for the first time, I have the feeling that we gave something away,” said Müller. In fact: Bayern, who were rotated through by Julian Nagelsmann after the premier class success at Inter Milan, did not play brilliantly against the courageous and defensive Stuttgart.
Meet Bayern-Teanger
She still led twice through teenagers Mathys Tel and Jamal Musiala. Sturmjuwel Tel replaced Musiala as the youngest Bayern goalscorer in the Bundesliga at the age of 17 years and 136 days. “I’m very happy to be part of the club’s history and to be a goalscorer for this legendary club,” said the young Frenchman. For Salihamidzic, Tel was a “positive bright spot” of the afternoon.
Stuttgart hit back twice through substitute Chris Führich and last-minute signing Serhou Guirassy, ??who fearlessly and powerfully hammered a penalty in the 92nd minute against national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, which was his fault and awarded after video evidence. “Cool”, VfB sporting director Sven Mislintat praised the shooter and summed it up: “This game is good for us.”
The next slip-up in the league should have “no effect” on Nagelsmann’s preparation for Barça, as the coach, who was visibly and audibly angry, said in the press conference. “I approach the week the same way I would have if we had won. We’re trying to come up with a good idea for Barcelona, ??which will be difficult. I would have done the same if we had won 4-0 today,” said Nagelsmann. On Sunday morning, the reservists trained on the pitch in the Munich rain. The starting players against Stuttgart meanwhile delighted the spectating fans with autographs.
“Got to score the third goal”
Nagelsmann lamented the previous evening about unnecessarily giving away points due to the 3:1 missed several times on the counterattack. “We have to score the third goal, then the game is over,” complained the coach. He had declared the Stuttgart game for his pros as an application platform for a starting eleven when they met Lewandowski again.
“Barcelona is a top game, you want to shine there. But the work has to be done in the Bundesliga,” spokesman Müller admonished his teammates: “It’s a warning to us. We have to realize that we have to deliver points in the Bundesliga. “
