Bayern Munich slump to first defeat of the season against Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim stun Bayern Munich as the record champions slump to their first defeat of the campaign in matchday seven of the Bundesliga.

Bayern Munich could not live up to the expectations they had set after the seven-two hammering of Spurs in the midweek Champions League clash.

Die Roten remained in full control of the game against Hoffenheim but failed to convert the chances they had. Bayern enjoyed 64% possession and took 20 shots with just 4 on target, taking their shot accuracy to 20%. (Stats courtesy: One Football)

Bayern lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Club captain, Manuel Neuer started between the posts. As expected, Joshua Kimmich moved to the right-back position following the absence of Lucas Hernandez and David Alaba. Benjamin Pavard moved to the left side of the defense line. Niklas Sule and Jerome Boateng continued to operate in the center-back roles.

Thiago Alcantara and Corentin Tolisso controlled the game through the center of the park as they sat behind Kingsley Coman, Philippe Coutinho, and Serge Gnabry. Robert Lewandowski led the attack up front.

Bayern looked sharp from the kick-off as the champions pressed well and maintained a high line, hardly allowing Hoffenheim the space to breathe in their half. The men in red moved the ball with astute control and were constantly trying to open up space and create a goal-scoring opportunity. However, they did not take a single shot during the first 15 minutes of the game.

On the other hand, Hoffenheim depended on the counter-attack as their prime avenue to score. They came close to scoring first goal through Sargis Adamyan in the fourth minute following a counter that was defended by Boateng. This was a wake-up call for Bayern as the champions then upped the tempo of their game in the attacking third.

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Bayern started to use the right flank more often, using Coman to exploit the space behind Robert Skov. Bayern almost got a goal in the 24th minute when Serge Gnabry put the ball in the net only to be disallowed as Kimmich’s early run in the buildup was offside. A minute later, Oliver Baumann made two crucial saves denying Gnabry and Thiago.

Hoffenheim knocked on Bayern’s door again in the closing stages of the first half. It was an error from Gnabry this time, who was careless to lose possession that allowed Stefan Posch to hit a curling effort at Neuer, from the right half-space outside the box. The first half, however, ended with a goalless draw as Hoffenheim remained resilient in defense.

While counter-attack was the only choice of weapon for Hoffenheim in the first half, Die Kraichgauer started the second half aggressively. They forced a save from Neuer with Skov taking the shot from outside the box in the 46th minute. Hoffenheim started to press vigorously. They eventually got a goal through Adamyan in the 55th minute. Tolisso was dispossessed right outside the box, and Dennis Geiger was quick to pass the ball to Adamyan.

Kovac chose to go all out on attack as he replaced Coman and Tolisso for Thomas Muller and Ivan Perisic at the hour mark. The Rekordmeister did what they had already tried in the first half, but Hoffenheim kept a solid back-line to keep Bayern at bay.

Bayern finally managed to get the equalizer as Lewandowski became the first player in the Bundesliga to get eleven goals in the first seven matches. The Polish striker headed home after Muller delivered a brilliant cross with his weaker foot in the 73rd minute.

With ten minutes remaining to play, Adamyan completed his brace as he scored the second goal for the visitors. He mirrored the finish from his previous strike when he pulled the trigger from the center of the box, through the legs of Boateng restoring the visitor’s lead.

Although Bayern did everything right in terms of their gameplay and movement, they could not manage to keep a solid structure in the center of the park. The pairing of Tolisso, and Thiago never really looked promising as they carelessly gave away the ball on numerous occasions. The defending champions kept losing the ball in the second half as they appeared sloppy on numerous occasions in the middle of the park.

It was a monumental victory for Alfred Schreuder who came with a plan and made it work as Bayern gifted the two goals through a poor display in the center of the park. Die Roten slipped to third place in the Bundesliga, two points behind Borussia Monchengladbach, the league leaders. The Bavarians will have to wait two weeks for their next game as they travel to Augsburg after the international break.