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Bayern Munich: Five pivotal games of the season

By Kiran Thakare

German first division Bundesliga football club Bayern Munich's players take part in a training session at the club's training area in Munich, southern Germany, on February 24, 2020, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League last 16, first leg match against FC Chelsea. (Photo by GUENTER SCHIFFMANN / AFP) (Photo by GUENTER SCHIFFMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
German first division Bundesliga football club Bayern Munich's players take part in a training session at the club's training area in Munich, southern Germany, on February 24, 2020, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League last 16, first leg match against FC Chelsea. (Photo by GUENTER SCHIFFMANN / AFP) (Photo by GUENTER SCHIFFMANN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY – DECEMBER 18: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Joshua Zirkzee of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and FC Bayern Muenchen at Schwarzwald-Stadion on December 18, 2019, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY – DECEMBER 18: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Joshua Zirkzee of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and FC Bayern Muenchen at Schwarzwald-Stadion on December 18, 2019, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

Freiburg 1-3 Bayern Munich

Bayern also went through a lull under Flick. They suffered two consecutive league defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach. The club responded well to these two defeats by clinching an emphatic 6-1 win against Werder Bremen at Allianz Arena in December.

The win against Bremen was important, but the next game away at Freiburg could be one of the most important victories under Flick. Die Roten took an early lead through Lewandowski. The hosts fought back well and were finally rewarded by an equalizer in the second half.

Die Roten were staring at another disappointing performance and looked certain to drop points. Flick went all-out attack by introducing Joshua Zirkzee in the final ten minutes. This move turned out to be a masterstroke as Zirkzee scored the important second goal. Serge Gnabry eventually doubled the lead in injury time.

A team’s character is a cliché term in football, but this victory did show that Die Roten were ready to grind out wins under Flick. Results were important at that stage as Die Roten couldn’t afford to lose any more ground in the title race. Along with late win over Wolfsburg in the next game, the victory away at Freiburg helped Bayern to be well placed in the league before the winter break.