On matchday eight of the ongoing 2025/26 Bundesliga season, league leaders Bayern Munich travelled to Borussia-Park for a clash against last-placed Monchengladbach.
In the battle of first versus last, Monchengladbach did a remarkable job of keeping Bayern scoreless for the entirety of the first half despite playing with only ten men from the 18th minute. Right-back Jens Castrop was given his marching orders, following VAR intervention, for a high tackle on Luis Diaz.
Bayern were a more determined team in the second half and secured the win, courtesy of strikes from Joshua Kimmich, Raphael Guerreiro, and another spectacular long-range strike from 17-year-old Lennart Karl. Let’s take a look at some interesting takeaways from last Saturday's 3-0 victory over Monchengladbach.
Another reminder that hectic schedule and current lack of depth is reason for concern
With Bayern playing their third match in the space of eight days, Vincent Kompany understandably fielded a heavily rotated squad by making six changes to the XI that started in the 4-0 victory over Club Brugge just three days earlier.
The game was truly a tale of two halves as the attack failed to click during the first half despite having a man advantage. During the opening 45-minute period, Bayern enjoyed 81% ball possession and fired off eight shots, but managed only two on target. Monchengladbach defended resolutely, and Bayern had no answer for the home team’s compact formation.
Simply put, Die Roten’s attack looked flat after Luis Diaz failed to give his team the lead inside five minutes from roughly ten yards from the goal. It was a laborious first-half display from Die Roten. Looking at the dull second-half performance from a week ago against Dortmund in conjunction with the first half against Monchengladbach suggests that fatigue is setting in the players, and that the remedy for it, if indeed that is the case, may not be available from the squad players.