Also because of a hard red card against Bayern central defender Dayot Upamecano after eight minutes, the leaders of the table had to surrender 2: 3 (1: 1) to the Gladbachers on Saturday. For coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team it was only their second defeat in the 21st round.
The two ÖFB legionnaires Hannes Wolf and Stefan Lainer were in the starting XI for the Gladbachers. An early dismissal against Upamecano, who was the last man to fall Gladbach striker Alassane Plea in a running duel with a slight contact on the shoulder, caused a stir. Shortly thereafter, Lars Stindl gave the hosts the lead (13′). Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting managed to equalize (35′) after Alphonso Davies sprinted past Lainer on the left wing.
Jonas Hofmann (55th) and Marcus Thuram (84th) scored the deserved victory for Gladbach and defeated their ex-goalie Yann Sommer, who had moved to Munich in the winter and was said goodbye before the game. Mathys Tel only managed the second guest goal. Borussia celebrated three wins in the last five competitive games against Munich, twice there was a 1-1 draw. Bayern’s pursuers Union Berlin have the opportunity to take the lead in the table with a win against bottom side Schalke 04 on Sunday.
SC Freiburg, with a 2-0 win at newly promoted VfL Bochum, and RB Leipzig, with a 3-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg, also returned to the top of the table. Bayern are currently leading by 43 points ahead of Union Berlin (42) and Borussia Dortmund (40), challenged against Hertha BSC on Sunday. Freiburg (40) and Leipzig (39) are just behind.
For Leipzig, ÖFB team player Konrad Laimer scored in the 85th minute shortly after being substituted on with a shot into the far corner to make it 2-0. Emil Forsberg had previously given the Saxons the lead (14th). Ex-Salzburger Dominik Szoboszlai scored the final score in added time (92nd) after assisting Xaver Schlager, who played through. ÖFB team striker Michael Gregoritsch put Freiburg on the road to victory with his eighth goal of the season in the league shortly before the break (39th), Philipp Lienhart played through in central defense. 1. FC Köln suffered a clear 0:3 defeat at VfB Stuttgart.
