Matchday 21 of the Bundesliga was eventful for the wrong reasons at Bayern Munich. The Bavarian club suffered their second defeat of the season at Borussia Park. Borussia Monchengladbach continues to remain Die Roten’s bogey team as they clinched a 3-2 win on Saturday.
Monchengladbach’s chances to win the game against Bayern were significantly boosted when Dayot Upamecano was dismissed in the eighth minute of the game when he brought down Alassane Plea outside the box. Since it was a clear goalscoring opportunity, Upamecano was given a straight red card.
Die Roten had appealed Upamecano’s red card, but DFB has rejected it, and the French defender will serve a one game suspension for his mistake. Upamecano will miss the big game against Union Berlin on Sunday. It could have been worse for the French defender since a straight red card also leads to three game ban.
Nagelsmann was annoyed with Upamecano’s red card, eventually leading to a war of words with the referee. The German coach was fined by the German Football Federation for his outburst against referees during the game. He also issued a public apology for his poor conduct during the game against Monchengladbach.
The DFB sports court has rejected Dayot Upamecano's appeal against his one-match ban following his red card against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Frenchman will therefore definitely miss Sunday's game against Union Berlin pic.twitter.com/4Xha1xToUc
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) February 23, 2023
The French defender’s suspension is a big blow for Die Roten since he has been in fine form this season. In the absence of Upamecano, Nagelsmann can field a center-back pairing of Benjamin Pavard and Matthijs de Ligt against Union Berlin. If the German coach ends up using a back three, Daley Blind can play as the third center-back in this system.
Meanwhile, Rekordmeister received another injury boost on Thursday as Noussair Mazraoui resumed first-team training. The Moroccan defender has been on the sidelines since the end of the World Cup due to an infection after suffering from coronavirus. It remains to be seen if the Moroccan defender will be part of the squad on Sunday. Earlier this week, Sadio Mane and Kingsley Coman also returned to first-team training.
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After a good couple of weeks, the defeat against Monchengladbach was a big setback for Bayern. The Bavarian club has done well in the cup competitions, but performances have been inconsistent in the Bundesliga. They need a win against Union Berlin to remain at the top of the points table. Die Roten, Borussia Dortmund, and Union Berlin are currently level on 43 points in the Bundesliga. Bayern’s superior goal difference has kept them at the points table, so winning the game on Sunday is crucial.