Julian Nagelsmann has missed this kind of competition and so, in recent months, has the Bundesliga. This felt just like a Saturday night Top-Spiel should, a meeting of minds, of wills, of guts. RB Leipzig have not shone this season like the upstarts they have been since promotion in 2016 – they have been “playing below their potential … it’s no secret”. as Thomas Müller put it at full-time – but they came to Bayern Munich with what a lot of teams leave at home. Hunger and bravery.
On a weekend when Borussia Dortmund underlined that their nominal title challenge is barely even that, this was a ray of light tentatively pointing towards a more competitive future race at the top. Germany’s football critics relished it too. “The fact that [Domenico] Tedesco’s team had stood up to Bayern for so long with a courageous and attacking approach was remarkable,” wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Philipp Schneider.
That’s right, Tedesco. His presence on the Leipzig bench is exactly why this was so keenly anticipated, with he and Nagelsmann coming face to face for the first time since the former’s Schalke visited the latter’s Hoffenheim in December 2019. The two were famously coursemates at the DFB’s coaching school, graduating from the same class in 2016 – and naturally the Bayern coach was asked yet again in the buildup to the game about Tedesco getting the higher mark on their course.
If Nagelsmann recalled and regretted trying to be too cool on his first day, turning up late to find the only seats left were under full teacher scrutiny at the front – “the others could watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy 44 times while I couldn’t even Google anything” – he was clear about relishing the battle here. This was the pair locking horns at the top table for the first time which German football might well have anticipated, but the two protagonists themselves were looking forward to a heck of a lot more. Tedesco and Nagelsmann are competitive spirits as well as friends.
Schalke’s time under Tedesco seems like decades ago because so much has happened there since. It had started brilliantly before going south in the second season and just as it is now clear that the slump was the tip of a much bigger iceberg at the club, we have seen since that with different players and in a different environment, the coach isn’t all about caution. Nagelsmann had warned in the days before the game that under his friend, Leipzig are “much more about possession”, and their refusal to be cowed made this a game to savour. Bayern took an early lead, so André Silva hit back after a Leipzig swarm in the home side’s box. They conceded the inevitable goal to Robert Lewandowski just before half-time, so they came back with a fine second equaliser from Christopher Nkunku. Only a Joško Gvardiol own goal, unfortunately flicked in when trying to block a Serge Gnabry cross, sealed the deal. This was a sign of hope, rather than a gauntlet laid – “think positive, stay realistic,” as Leipziger Volkszeitung’s Norbert Wehtstedt wrote – but set intentions.
Bayern’s hunger is different, a combination of their potential to become something even greater under Nagelsmann and the possible upheaval to come, with a line of thorny contractual issues to sort out. The most immediate of those are Gnabry and Corentin Tolisso, who continued his run of fine form and was involved in the first two goals. Yet with Niklas Süle on the way out (which Manuel Neuer said had left the team “annoyed”), it is clear that some tough decisions will have to be made, and not everyone will get what they want.
📽️ A true tug of war this evening where @FCBayernEN ultimately came out on top, but not without having to put in a serious shift. 🪢#FCBRBL pic.twitter.com/47JmIYtB34
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) February 5, 2022
In the short-term Neuer’s meniscus operation, which will keep him out of the Champions League ties with Salzburg, gives the coach something extra to deal with. Even with that concern Nagelsmann would be forgiven a wry smile on Saturday night over what Tedesco is already doing with his old team – and, for the Bundesliga’s sake, over what might develop into a satisfying rivalry in the coming weeks, months and years.
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Bochum, Bayern Munich 3-2 Leipzig, Stuttgart 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz 2-0 Hoffenheim, Augsburg 2-0 Union Berlin, Cologne 1-0 Freiburg, Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Mönchengladbach, Wolfsburg 4-1 Greuther Furth, Borussia Dortmund 2-5 Bayer Leverkusen
Talking points
• Dortmund’s “disastrous day” (as per Marco Reus) followed as they slumped to a 5-2 home defeat against Leverkusen – with relatively little material consequence as nobody is expecting them to catch Bayern and they are still five points clear of Gerardo Seoane’s team in third – but spoke loudly of their inertia. This match, and performance, was a near-twin of the home defeat by Stuttgart, less than 14 months ago, which brought the end of the Lucien Favre reign. Every time Marco Rose’s team lost the ball, they looked like conceding, making one wonder what exactly they had done in the mini-hiatus. As Rose led his players to the Südtribune to applaud the fans, loud booing echoed around from the 10,000 fans present, and he was confronted by a supporter behind the dugout (“when children have to hear that stuff, it’s difficult”). The absence of the injured Erling Haaland was the last thing on minds, with BVB having plenty to ponder.
• Borussia Mönchengladbach began the post-Max Eberl era with a strong indication of how much work they have ahead of them in a 1-1 draw at Arminia Bielefeld, salvaged by Alassane Pléa’s first goal since November. “What is encouraging,” wrote Bild’s Dirk Krümpelmann, “is that the team finally seem to have understood they are in a relegation battle,” and maybe the emotional shock of the popular Eberl’s is the impetus Gladbach required. “It was a step forward,” said Yann Sommer. “We wanted to play with courage despite our situation.” They now move on to to a crucial game with fellow strugglers (and current play-off place occupants) Augsburg, who are now just a point behind Gladbach after beating Union 2-0, with Michael Gregoritsch gifted an opener before André Hahn drove in a magnificent second from range.
• Wolfsburg got the win they – and coach Florian Kohfeldt – desperately needed, beating Greuther Fürth 4-1. It wasn’t overwhelmingly impressive but a first win in two months was fired by a double from teenager Aster Vranckx, who showed signs of clicking with the newly returned Max Kruse. The sort of fun that might come with Kruse was flagged when his wife Dilara revealed the fee that Die Wölfe paid to bring him back from Union (€5m, since you ask) on an Instagram live Q&A.
• With Köln coach Steffen Baumgart quarantining after a positive Covid test, his assistant André Pawlak took charge for the game with Freiburg (“I won’t wear a flat cap,” Pawlak had deadpanned before the game). He didn’t need to, with Baumgart doing his usual furious pacing in front of the television at home, giving WhatsApp voicenote instructions to the team analyst, all as shown on his daughter Emilia’s TikTok account, complete with the trademark cap on and his dog resting on his shoulders like an attentive member of backroom staff. Anthony Modeste’s stylish winner eventually ensured a happy afternoon at home for the Baumgarts. “My attitude on game day doesn’t change just because I’m at home,” he later admitted to Bild. “My wife knew what to expect.”
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 21 | 47 | 52 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 21 | 18 | 43 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 21 | 20 | 38 |
| 4 | Union Berlin | 21 | 2 | 34 |
| 5 | Freiburg | 21 | 9 | 33 |
| 6 | Cologne | 21 | -1 | 32 |
| 7 | RB Leipzig | 21 | 14 | 31 |
| 8 | Hoffenheim | 21 | 7 | 31 |
| 9 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 21 | 1 | 31 |
| 10 | Mainz | 21 | 7 | 30 |
| 11 | VfL Bochum | 21 | -10 | 25 |
| 12 | Wolfsburg | 21 | -12 | 24 |
| 13 | Borussia M'gladbach | 21 | -11 | 23 |
| 14 | Hertha Berlin | 21 | -20 | 23 |
| 15 | Arminia Bielefeld | 21 | -6 | 22 |
| 16 | Augsburg | 21 | -13 | 22 |
| 17 | Stuttgart | 21 | -14 | 18 |
| 18 | Greuther Furth | 21 | -38 | 10 |
