Match Report: Bayern Munich (H)

Pre-match

Football eh. What a game.

We came into today’s clash with champions-in-waiting Bayern Munich with just the faintest glimmer of hope. Last week’s surprise plunder of Frankfurt lent a degree of optimism, while our recent home form left heavy degrees of pessimism all around.

There’s a scene in Zoolander where the titular character peers at his own reflection and whispers “Who am I?”

The reflection replies “I don’t know”.

“I guess I have a lot to ponder”, concludes Zoolander. It’s deep stuff.

Anyway I feel this sums up FCU this season, an almost comical ball of confusion, at times swashbuckling and resolute counter attackers, at other times crumbling like the driest Ryvita at the first hint of pressure.

Our opponents came into the game with their own issues, on the back of a tricky defeat against fellow stragglers Bochum.

They named a strong team for what was always going to be a backs to the wall job in Köpenick.

While spring was not exactly in the air, there were a few rays of sunshine poking through the afternoon clouds over the Alte Försterei.

The crowd was in mild but good spirits as the filled up before kickoff, the Bayern end full but remarkably silent in the buildup to the game.

The Waldseite warmed up our vocal chords pre-match with some energetic chants.

Christian Arbeit paid tribute to the traveling fans in Frankfurt who survived a 15-hour Sonderzug and a stranding in Leipzig after last week’s game.

But none of us were looking forward to the ordeal of facing Bayern with a point to prove.

Baumgart was prowling the stands rather than the touchline, having already collected too many yellow cards.

First Half

The game kicked off with Bayern in attack mode advanced well over the halfway line and looking for openings behind the Union defence.

After just a couple of minutes hearts were in mouths as the visitors found their way through the defense, but our deep line was back far enough to snuff out the danger.

Much of the first half was spent repelling attacks from thai traveling site. But I have to say that the game plan from Union was quite successful in negating the threats that the All-Star team brought to the party.

While we defended very deep and soaked up a lot of pressure, Bayern never really had a clear sight of goal throughout the first half, and reverting to 5 at the back gave us much more structure and discipline.

On the negative side, we looked very panicky in clearing the ball and did not take advantage of a few situations where we could have sprung forward with numbers.

Juranovic got clear, roared on from all sides of the ground, but was chased down by a thundering Upamecano before he could get too far, really the only time we threatened in the first 45 minutes.

Union came with a clear plan to stop Bayern playing through them and to be fair it worked well. Everyone was back, Jeong especially working overtime to help Juranovic with the lively Olise.

Although we gave poor Ilic nothing to chase up front, we forced Bayern to play slow and wide, floating in crosses which Querfeld and Trimmel were particularly good at dealing with.

Bayern looked pretty, Kimmich pulling the strings, but found themselves running into a red wall. Upamecano had one of the more notable efforts, blazing well over from outside the box.

We felt that if we could restrict them to wild efforts from centre backs, that was probably a good thing.

Union had chances to break, but too often the urge to hoof took over and the willing Ilic was unable to capitalize, visibly frustrated.

Bayern forced a string of corners but could not compete against our giant defence. Kimmich reverted to some training ground moves of pinging the ball to the near post for someone to flick back into danger, but it didn’t work and Freddie was mostly untroubled.

We were certainly second best, but you felt that the plan was to survive the first half, and we were close to doing so when a corner came back out to a Bayern Player who clipped Gnabry in with a deft pass behind the defence. The angle was tight but Freddie made himself huge as he always does to smother the shot.

Musiala did little other than getting booked for something I was too short to see, while former Letting Orient striker Kane, so often the death of hope, had not even a sniff of goal. Dropping very deep to link up play, his most notable contribution was spaffing a ball to Olise straight out of play, much to our delight.

Surviving to half time brought a huge cheer from the crowd, appreciative of the team’s efforts against a strong side.

We looked ragged at times but determined, and the crowd appreciated the shift the players had put in.

My dad was along for the game today and we spent half time in glorious sun queuing for beer and discussing the embarrassing state of our language skills, no better illustrated than when we used the word ‘highfalutin’ and a nearby German laughed and engaged us in conversation in perfect English.

Which year do German kids learn the word highfalutin in? I never got past learning the word for gateau in French.

Still, a tip of the hat to both the German school system and also the baseline friendliness of the Unioner.

Second Half

We rejoined the action with 50 minutes gone and still nothing to speak of in terms of goal mouth action.

Schäfer went down after a collision and looked like he’d have to come off, but returned after some treatment. He did a great job alongside Khedira in breaking up the play and making a nuisance of himself.

We had a rare foray forward, Juranovic again finding himself clear beyond Bayern’s high line and this time staying clear, driving a shot from a tight angle that Urbig palmed behind.

After 60 minutes Hollerbach and Ljubicic came on for Ilic and Haberer, a small nod to a more attacking plan.

Bayern almost got in immediately, Musiala ghosting between defenders and finding himself with a shooting chance inside the box, but scuffing a tame effort into Ronnow’s magical paws.

Trimmel had put in a huge shift and was replaced by Rothe, Juranovic shifting to right wing back. I think Rothe will grow and grow, but a few minutes after he came on Bayern found a way through on his flank, a pull back coming across to substitute Sane who buried a more or less open goal.

With 75 minutes on the clock, heads could have dropped here, but to our great credit, the team kept at it, the crowd in positive mood willing the team forward.

This game last year was a 5-1 drubbing, but today was a much more even affair, Bayern looking much more Vincent Kompany’s Premier League Burnley than Vincent Kompany’s Championship Burnley.

We ticked well into the 80s when Leite, inexplicably high, flipped a terrific ball out wide right to the ever present Juranovic.

Right in front of us, he took a beauty of a touch to control before whipping in the cross.

It looked too close to the goalie, but he flapped at it badly and pushed the ball right to Hollerbach, who had the simplest of touches to stroke the ball home and send us into delirium, beer and limbs flying everywhere.

From then on the Alte Försterei was seething, sensing a huge result. Hollerbach got loose again on the left, let down by a lack of support.

Hollerbach has become such a central player for us. Still a headless chicken at times but his development since joining has been remarkable. He’s so much more direct and dangerous, and while he must be exhausted, the last two games as an impact sub have also been huge contributions.

The fourth official signalled 5 added minutes, who knows where from, to much disappointment from all.

But we rode it out well, Bayern half-hearting a few chances out for goal kicks and us winning some free kicks up high.

The ref seemed determined not to blow, but eventually did to cheers which sounded and felt like a win, and could be a massive point in the coming weeks.

With spirits high, the little beer cup goblins really cleaned up today, 8 year olds wobbling around with about 50 sweet Euro worth of pfand towering above them.

The players soaked up the lap around the ground and the Waldseite unfurled a big, appropriate banner for the day.

No better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Union Gibt Niemals Auf!

Eisern!

--

By @MarkJB on Bluesky