Bayern Munich exacted their revenge on SC Freiburg by virtue of a 1-0 win at Europa-Park Stadion thanks to an absolute wonder strike from center back Matthijs de Ligt just days after losing to them 2-1 in the DFB-Pokal, knocking them out of the competition. The midweek result was a bitter pill for Bayern to swallow, as it is now the third year in a row they will not lift the title, which is the first time they’ve fallen to this feat in 100 years, remarkably enough.
Joshua Kimmich’s post-match jubilation aimed towards the Freiburg ultras section perhaps underlined just how good it felt for Bayern to get the edge over the Breisgau-Brasilianer. His emphatic fist bumps caused a bit of a stir with several Freiburg players starting with a slight shove from Michael Gregoritsch and it crescendo-ed to a brief skirmish between both sets of players and staff members.
On the brighter side of post-match affairs, there was a genuine exchange between Freiburg manager Christian Streich and Jamal Musiala. Rewinding back to Bayern’s DFB-Pokal loss, Musiala came under a bit of criticism for what appeared to be ignoring Streich after the manager went to console him after the match, and the 20-year-old apologized via the press afterwards. This time around, the two were seen in a warm(er) embrace, and Streich affirmed that there was no bad blood whatsoever.
“I congratulated him on the win and we hugged each other, that was nice. The shirt is for my boy,” Streich explained to DPA (via @iMiaSanMia) after the match had ended. With “the shirt,” Streich was making reference to Musiala’s kit, as Bayern’s number 42 had promised to give it to the Freiburg manager as an apology for snubbing him after the DFB-Pokal loss. The latter had also said that he’s really not into collecting kits after the match, but that he does it from time to time to give them to his kids.
What started as emotions getting the better of a young footballer after a frustrating night at the Allianz Arena ended with a touching embrace between a legendary Bundesliga manager and a player that’s well and truly been labelled as the future not only for Bayern and Germany, but for the entire Bundesliga and all of Europe.