January 07, (THEWILL) – Borussia Monchengladbach ushered in the return of the Bundesliga with a comeback triumph at a snowy Allianz Arena, as a depleted Bayern Munich side suffered their first loss since mid-November last year.
During the Christmas break, Bayern had to deal with a number of positive COVID-19 instances, with Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, and Dayot Upamecano among those having to witness Friday’s match from their homes as they self-isolate.
While the starting XI was rather different from the regular squad under Julian Nagelsmann this season, the prolific goalscorer, Robert Lewandowski, was a familiar face as he put his side ahead.
The Pole received a direct feed of a through ball from Thomas Muller and spun wonderfully into the box before blasting a goal into the near corner.
Monchengladbach struggled in attack, with Breel Embolo in particular isolated, but they still managed to equalise before the half-hour mark.
Bayern failed to clear their lines after a cross was delivered, and Florian Neuhaus sprang up to volley past Sven Ulreich.
Soon after their opening strike, the visitors seized the initiative and took the lead when Stefan Lainer met Luca Netz’s corner and nodded into the far corner.
On the stroke of half-time, Lewandowski struck the post from an acute angle, before Muller’s follow-up was astonishingly pushed off the line by Matthias Ginter.
The hosts were up against a strong Yann Sommer in the Monchengladbach goal, who denied Lewandowski, Musiala, and Gnabry on numerous occasions to maintain the lead and frustrate the Bayern forward line to the very end.
While Bayern’s position at the top of the Bundesliga remains unchanged, the defeat gives Borussia Dortmund the chance to close the deficit to six points when they meet Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Monchengladbach broke a five-game losing streak and climbed up to 11th place in the rankings.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
