The Bundesliga has seen a shocking result this weekend, with runaway league leaders Bayern Munich humbled in a home defeat at the hands of a very opportunistic Borussia Mönchengladbach side thanks to a brace from Brazilian forward Raffael.
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach 2015: Final score 0-2, Bayern shocked at home
Bayern Munich dominated the run of play, but a mistake by Manuel Neuer and an injury to Arjen Robben doomed them to defeat at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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No one really gave Gladbach a chance in this match, despite their strong performance in the league this season, fighting their way to third place over the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke. This was Bayern after all, the dominant juggernaut of the Bundesliga. As expected, they roared out to a powerful start, dominating possession and the run of play while leaving Gladbach chasing their tails in the early stretches of the match.
Bayern had their chances to score, but couldn’t take advantage thanks to Yann Sommer standing strong in goal and Gladbach’s defense giving Bayern as little room to work with in the final third as they could. Then Arjen Robben was forced to leave with an injury just 24 minutes in to the match, but Bayern fans stayed confident. After all, with Thomas Müller as Robben’s replacement, how many could things really be for them?
Turned out, they could be pretty bad.
Müller did no better at unlocking Gladbach’s resolute defense, and a sudden counter attack saw Patrick Herrmann send a ball over the top for Raffael, who fired Mönchengladbach’s first shot of the match at Manuel Neuer -- and the German international fumbled it through his hands, the normally reliable goalkeeper making a shocking mistake to see the visitors take a stunning early lead.
The goal only served to strengthen Gladbach’s will, with Favre’s side making a brave stand as Pep Guardiola’s side tried to find some way, any way, to break through. Gladbach managed to hold on until the halftime whistle, then kept on holding Bayern at bay despite barely holding any possession during the match.
After the hour mark passed, the tide seemed to shift just a little bit. Bayern seemed to start to wear down a little and got sloppier on the ball, allowed Gladbach more chances to get forward on the counter, chances that Raffael and company gladly took. Just a few minutes after being brought on, forward Max Kruse combined with Christoph Kramer to give Raffael another chance on front of goal, and this time he beat Neuer without relying on a mistake, and it was suddenly 2-0 with Bayern players looking absolutely stunned at the turn of events.
The hosts kept trying to find a way to salvage something from the match, but despite holding nearly 70% of possession and taking four times as many shots as Gladbach, Bayern simply couldn't find a way to score. Die Hohlen's defense and midfield put up a brick wall that Bayern just couldn't beat, and the match ended with more of a whimper from the Bavarians than their normal prideful roar. The only silver lining Bayern could take from the match was the return of Philipp Lahm from injury, and even that can't plaster over the shocking display at the Allianz Arena today.
It was a marvelous display from Borussia Mönchengladbach, handing Bayern Munich their first home loss of the season and securing their grip on third place in the Bundesliga. If Lucien Favre was looking for a statement of intent for his side to go on and win a place in next season’s Champions League, this was it, and it should give them some magnificent momentum to ride for the rest of the season.
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer; Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber, Juan Bernat; Bastian Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso (Sebastian Rode 61'), David Alaba; Arjen Robben (Thomas Müller 24'), Robert Lewandowski, Mario Götze (Philipp Lahm 70')
Goals: None.
Borussia Mönchengladbach: Yann Sommer; Tony Jantschke, Martin Stranzl, Alvaro Dominguez, Oscar Wendt; Patrick Herrmann (Harvard Nordtveit 89'), Christoph Kramer, Granit Xhaka, Fabian Johnson; Raffael (Thorgen Hazard 81'), Andre Hahn (Max Kruse 72')
Goals: Raffael (30’, 77’)
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