DFC Bayern took advantage of Borussia Dortmund’s blunder and set course for the eleventh championship in a row. As the new leaders, the Munich side celebrated a 2-0 (0-0) win against bottom-placed Hertha BSC on Sunday after a long and inefficient run-up. Serge Gnabry (69th minute) and Kingsley Coman (79th) saved coach Thomas Tuchel and the Bayern bosses a tedious afternoon. “Only FCB will be German champions,” rang out loudly through the Munich Arena.
After BVB only came to the hotly debated 1-1 draw at VfL Bochum on Friday, Bayern led the table in the Bundesliga with four games before the end of the season, with Joshua Kimmich providing the goal twice. The heavily weakened Berliners from coach Pal Dardai are on the way to the second division despite self-sacrificing defense work after the next defeat and (partial) successes of the competition. The gap to the relegation rank is six points.
As in the best of times as a management duo, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß sat together in the grandstand. However, they did not see a Bayern performance inspired by the BVB draw. Your heart club recorded plenty of ball possession, many corner kicks and shot attempts. Rummenigge and Honorary President Hoeneß were only able to celebrate goal celebrations against the defensively weak bottom of the Bundesliga team in the closing stages. Hoeneß had imagined things differently when he talked shop with Tuchel during a much-admired visit to the training ground this week.
Bayern lacks executors
The Munich team, who once again started without captain Thomas Müller, lacked the pace and finesse to overcome the defensive Hertha team. The performance in front of 75,000 spectators was further proof that an enforcer is missing from the center of attack. Sadio Mané, who was called up at the front again in place of the injured Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, lacked precision and timing. With dissatisfied expressions, the criticized Bayern bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic followed the very committed but only late successful performance on the pitch. They blew through with relief.
Two good shots by Coman (35′) and Gnabry (41′) used Hertha keeper Oliver Christensen to distinguish himself. That wasn’t enough for the fans who were craving the eleventh title one after the other – at the break there were a lot of whistles. There was also after Coman fell in the penalty area (27th). Referee Patrick Ittrich, whose colleague Sascha Stegemann was heavily criticized for the Dortmund draw, rightly did not point to the penalty spot.
Mané (48′) and Matthijs de Ligt (50′) with two headers initiated a superior second half, in which Tuchel brought another offensive power by bringing in Leroy Sané, and Müller also came. But the appearance of the 49-year-old coach on the sidelines was not at least visibly satisfying for a long time. Freed, he took a seat on the bench after Gnabry’s lead – after four competitive games without a win, he was finally able to celebrate success again. A smile crossed his face after Coman’s hit.