The hosts were able to welcome back their usual left-sided partnership of Christian Günter and Vincenzo Grifo as they prepared to host the defending champions from Munich. SC looked confident right from the start, with Grifo able to get off a shot in the first minute of play – however, his effort from 18 metres out went wide of the target. Bayern, in what was their 2,000th Bundesliga game, were forced to sit back and wait for opportunities to win the ball off an energetic and motivated Freiburg side. Anyone observing Thomas Tuchel on the sidelines during the opening 10 minutes would have seen that the coach was less than pleased with his side’s performance, as the hosts needed just 12 minutes to open the scoring.
After forcing Manuel Neuer into a brilliant save, Roland Sallai got his own rebound and attempted a bicycle kick, with the ball crashing off the crossbar. After bouncing around amongst the Freiburg attackers, the ball fell to Günter, who was in the perfect spot at the edge of the box to power home a left-footed volley into the back of the net – a deserved opener for the hosts. Four minutes later, the captain nearly managed to add a second as he looked to put the ball past Neuer from a tight angle. This time, the ‘keeper was able to get the better of Günter. Up until this point, SC had done well to keep the record champions from creating any chances on goal.
Bayern fight back
SC had the space and time to generate plenty of danger in front of goal in the opening half. Grifo was able to break past three Bayern players in the 22nd minute and was unlucky to narrowly miss the target with his shot. FCB’s defence looked shaky and it took a good 30 minutes before they were able to begin creating anything in attack. Bayern were able to start asserting their dominance from that point on, as SC’s control over the match started to slip. “We wanted to play good football and have possession, so that we could build confidence in our game. The team were able to do that and put in an excellent performance in the first 30 minutes,” said SC head coach Christian Streich.
What sets the record champions apart so often is their ability to turn a game on its head with quality individual performances. Tonight, it was Mathys Tel who managed to create a moment of magic for the visitors, netting a stunning effort from the edge of the box that left Noah Atubolu helpless (35′). It was also Bayern’s first shot on goal of the night. Raphael Guerreiro attempted a similar shot in the 43rd minute, but was unable to put it on target.
Musiala solo puts Bayern ahead
Both sides came out of the break looking strong. Bayern went close twice in quick succession, through Tel and then Harry Kane. At the other end, Sallai laid the ball off to Maximilian Eggestein, who controlled the ball without breaking stride before sending a shot over the bar (49′). FCB enjoyed slightly more possession at this stage, but struggled to keep the ball when advancing down the pitch. This allowed SC to mount attacks of their own, such as Grifo’s low cross across the face of goal that only narrowly missed Ritsu Doan’s outstretched foot at the far post (57′). Eggestein later attempted a shot from outside the box, but it also went wide of the target (58′).
SC continued to increase the pressure, with a free kick from Grifo bouncing off Manuel Gulde’s thigh and towards goal, before heading out of play. Atubolu was then forced to get down quickly to push a shot from Musiala wide of the goal (71′). Four minutes later, Musiala finished off a well-worked solo run by curling the ball in at the far post after evading three SC defenders, putting Bayern 2-1 up. “You always expect Bayern to be able to create chances due to their individual quality,” Günter said after the game.
Deserved equaliser
Despite the setback, SC didn’t let it thrown them off and were ultimately rewarded in the 87th minute. Lucas Höler, who had put in a strong performance thus far, netted a superb equaliser late on. After a long throw from Killian Sildillia, Merlin Röhl laid the ball off to Höler, who struck home a volley on the turn to earn a point for the hosts in a 2-2 draw. It was a fitting close to a strong showing from SC, in which they rewarded themselves with a point. “We played well, especially in the first half. The draw was more than deserved,” said Günter. Streich added, “The important thing was that the team continued to look for ways to play themselves out of trouble. I was very pleased with that.”
Photo: Achim Keller