Through the peaks and troughs of Bayern Munich’s season, the sniping and the setbacks and the scintillating form of Bayer Leverkusen, one basic principle has remained largely unchallenged.
That once Thomas Tuchel’s side got a whiff of their 12th consecutive Bundesliga title, the old muscle memory would kick in. That they would eventually show their true selves when it mattered most, in games like this. And they did; just not remotely in the way anyone expected.
For this was not simply a defeat but a humbling, not just three crucial points in the title race but an attack on Bayern’s very identity. Bayern were outclassed by a quicker, hungrier, more creative Bayer Leverkusen side.
Meanwhile Tuchel was out-thought by Xabi Alonso, who cemented his status as the most promising young coach in the sport with a dizzyingly imaginative selection, cute tactical flourishes and smart use of the bench.
The gap at the top of the league is now five points, and yet for the coming days and weeks most of the talk in Germany will be of Bayern implosion, Bayern crisis, Bayern fume.
Real Madrid have revealed Jude Bellingham sprained his ankle during his side's 4-0 win against La Liga title rivals Girona on Saturday.
Los Blancos, who moved five points clear of Girona in the table, have allayed fears the England midfielder sustained a serious injury after scoring twice in his side's emphatic win.
A brief statement on the club's official website read: "Following tests carried out today on Jude Bellingham by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with a sprain in his left ankle. His recovery will be monitored."
Bellingham took his goals tally to 20 in 31 appearances in all competitions for Carlo Ancelotti's side this season before being forced off in the 57th minute having earlier turned his ankle. He received lengthy treatment following a collision with Pablo Torre and succumbed to his injury after initially trying to continue.
The former Birmingham and Borussia Dortmund midfielder's goals in the 35th and 54th minutes were sandwiched by efforts from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.
Bellingham is set to miss Tuesday night's last-16 Champions League tie in Leipzig but will hope to return to fitness in time for England's games against Brazil and Belgium next month. PA Media
“To be honest, I’m pissed off,” fumed Thomas Müller in a furious post-match television interview. “To quote Oliver Kahn: what’s missing is balls. It’s OK to feel pressure, but there needs to be energy and freedom. It’s not just about the coach. Sometimes we have to speak about the players.”
And if Bayer Leverkusen always believed, then perhaps this was the moment when the rest of us could too. Josip Stanisic opened the scoring, Álex Grimaldo scored the game-clincher early in the second half, Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka were sensational in midfield, and Jeremie Frimpong spectacularly sealed the points in injury time. But what distinguishes this Leverkusen team is how little they rely on moments of individual quality.
They defend and attack as a unit, interchangeable pieces running quirky angles with relentless pressing. Here Alonso went without a recognised striker. Amine Adli played as a false nine complemented by Nathan Tella on the right. Stanisic over Frimpong was another surprising call. Alonso talks a lot about flexibility, and this performance – artistic and elusive, rehearsed and resilient in all the right places – is why.
The result was a game with all the textural quality of a David Lynch movie: thick with intrigue and red herrings, strange motifs and hidden layers of meaning. Why were fans throwing sweets onto the pitch? Why was Stanisic the only player on his team not celebrating his goal? Why were Bayern’s full-backs playing on opposite sides? And why was there a home fan dressed as the pope?
Leaders Internazionale came from behind to win 4-2 at Roma in Serie A on Saturday, ending Daniele De Rossi's winning start at the capital club despite having trailed their hosts at half-time.
Inter extended their lead over second-placed Juventus to seven points before Massimiliano Allegri's side host Udinese on Monday. They still have a game in hand after their January trip to Saudi Arabia for the Italian Super Cup.
Roma, who had won each of their previous three games under De Rossi after he replaced José Mourinho in January, flew out of the traps and Stephan El Shaarawy was close to scoring inside the first minute but his close-range shot was tipped away by Inter keeper Yann Sommer.
Instead, Francesco Acerbi headed home to give Inter the lead in the 17th minute from a corner kick after Roma's Romelu Lukaku flicked the ball on, a goal which stood after a lengthy VAR review for an offside check.
Roma pushed back and Gianluca Mancini nodded home a free-kick before the half-hour mark before El Shaarawy put the home side in front by the interval, when his shot from a tight angle bounced in after hitting both posts.
However, Marcus Thuram levelled for the fired-up Inter with a low first-time shot four minutes into the second half and Roma's Angelino put the ball into his own net to restore the visitors' lead in the 56th minute.
Alessandro Bastoni then netted a lovely squared pass from substitute Marko Arnautovic in stoppage time to secure the points for the visitors.
Earlier on Saturday, Lazio moved up to sixth with a 3-1 win at relegation-threatened Cagliari.
Some of these questions were easier to answer than others. The sweets, which delayed kick-off by eight minutes, were part of a long-running protest by fans across Germany at a proposed deal selling off a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights to private investment. The fancy dress was for Karneval weekend. Stanisic is currently on loan from Bayern. And perhaps Tuchel’s decision to play Sacha Boey at left-back was an attempt to counter the pace of Frimpong, who ended up not starting.
And so Bayern were beaten not just in practice but in theory. Perhaps one of the reasons their defence looked so uncertain was that it was never entirely clear what they were trying to defend. Perhaps one of the reasons Harry Kane was so anonymous was that Bayern didn’t have the faintest idea how to get him into the game. The result was three goals of varying degrees of head-loss.
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The first for Stanisic came when Bayern completely went to sleep for the second phase of play after a Manuel Neuer save. The second for Grimaldo came from a simple give-and-go, Aleksandar Pavlovic failing to track the run. The third came deep into injury time, with Neuer still up for a corner (why?) and Frimpong brilliantly curling the ball in from about 30 yards.
Frankly the margin could have been even wider. Bayern barely produced a decent chance all night. And of course this is still only February, and Leverkusen have never won a title in their history, and nothing has been sealed yet. But if it is still too early to call time on the era of Bayern dominance, then it has never felt more precarious.
