Bayern maintain perfect start with Gladbach victory

Bayern maintained their perfect start to the 2023/24 Bundesliga season after coming from behind to win 2-1 away at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Ko Itakura had put the hosts ahead in the first half, but Leroy Sane and substitute Mathys Tel struck after the break to earn the champions a deserved victory.

Thomas Tuchel started with Sven Ulreich in goal. Noussair Mazraoui, Dayot Upamecano, Minjae Kim and Alphonso Davies formed the back four. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka anchored in midfield, with the trio of Sane, Thomas Müller and Kingsley Coman behind striker Harry Kane. Müller in for Serge Gnabry was the only change from the 3-1 win over Augsburg the previous weekend.

Dominant but hit at a set piece

The defending champions were dominant from the start, needing just three minutes to test goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas as Goretzka met a corner with his head. Maximilan Wöber flashed a low effort wide at the other end before Bayern upped the tempo and pressure. Müller had a diving header saved from a quick free-kick as the visitors found no way through.

The hosts enjoyed their best spell approaching the half-hour mark as Marvin Friedrich headed over a free-kick. Borussia then went ahead from another set piece as Wöber flicked on a corner from the right and Itakura nodded it back across a helpless Ulreich. Bayern went back onto the front foot and came agonisingly close to levelling things as Sane saw a powerful effort across goal diverted onto the crossbar by the fingertips of Nicolas.

Persistence till the end pays off

Tuchel sent on Konrad Laimer for Mazraoui at the break as Bayern restarted the action determined to wipe out that deficit. The pressure eventually told just before the hour when Kimmich produced a sumptuous chip over the Gladbach defence, which Sane chested down on the run and knocked past goalkeeper Nicolas to level proceedings at Borussia-Park.

That was how the pattern of play continued, with substitute Serge Gnabry coming agonisingly close to putting the Munich side in the head when meeting a cross at the far post, but Nicolas somehow managed to repel it with a shoulder from point blank. Bayern continued to push and pepper the Borussia box. In the end it was a corner that did the job for the visitors as well with Tel, only on the pitch for a matter of minutes, meeting Kimmich’s delivery to finally put Bayern in front.

It's a win that maintains the champions’ 100 percent start to this Bundesliga campaign, trailing only Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference at the top of the table ahead of Sunday’s fixtures. Players will now go off to join their national teams during the break. Bayern are back in action when they in fact host Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena on Friday, 15 September.