Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann yesterday said his side lacked their usual energy after being held to a second straight week draw at Union Berlin and losing top spot in the Bundesliga.
Union battled to a well-deserved 1-1 draw at home to Bayern, allowing other top Freiburg players to fight their way to top spot after beating Bayer Leverkusen in five goals.
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“At the end of the day, it was a fair result. The energy that I’ve been bragging about over the last few weeks wasn’t really there today,” Nagelsmann said, adding that his team would need to wake up when of their Champions League opener against Inter next Wednesday.
“Union showed today what makes them so strong. In the end, it was a top-of-the-table clash in which both teams deserved to draw,” added Bayern striker Thomas Mueller.
After their impressive start to the season, Union had started the day on Bayern’s heels with just one goal difference separating the two teams.
They showed why early in the first half, taking the lead through Sheraldo Becker with a brilliantly worked free kick to stun the champions and send the home crowd into ecstasy.
Their celebrations were cut short minutes later when Bayern immediately turned the screws and Kimmich leveled the scores with a sparkling first finish from the edge of the box.
Bayern were repeatedly thwarted by Danish goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow as both teams had chances to win the match in a thrilling battle after the break.
Their second slip in as many weeks means the champions are now third, behind Borussia Dortmund and surprise leaders Freiburg, who beat Leverkusen 3-2.
Leverkusen took the lead in the 16th minute, Kerem Demirbay pushing the ball after a pinball in the penalty box.
Yet Freiburg hit back with two quick goals after half-time, Matthias Ginter scoring the equalizer from an early corner before Michael Gregoritsch took advantage of a defensive error to turn the game around.
Chelsea loanee Callum Hudson-Odoi then set up Patrick Schick with a fine cross just minutes after coming off the bench on his debut, but Ritsu Doan restored Freiburg’s lead minutes later.
Elsewhere, former Bayern manager Niko Kovac’s rocky start to Wolfsburg continued with a 4-2 loss to Cologne.
Wolfsburg took the lead through Lukas Nmecha after just two minutes but were booed in the tunnel at half-time after Cologne stormed from behind to take control of the game.
Dejan Ljubicic leveled the scores with a fine finish at the end of a delightful passing move, before an own goal from Paulo Otavio and a penalty from Florian Kainz gave the visitors a deserved 3-1 lead at the break.
Nmecha gave the hosts late hope with a second-half goal, before Sargis Adamyan restored Cologne’s two-goal lead.
Two goals from Niclas Fuellkrug propelled Werder Bremen to a 2-0 victory over Bochum, while Schalke are still in search of their first victory of the season after a 1-1 draw at Stuttgart.
Chris Fuehrich put Stuttgart ahead but Simon Terodde salvaged a point for Schalke with his first goal of the season.
Last update: September 03, 2022 11:58 p.m.
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