Bayern kicked off the second half of the Bundesliga campaign with a fully merited 2-0 win over Hoffenheim, prompting a lively debate in the Allianz Arena media centre. Was it truly more than 600 days since Germany’s most successful club last topped the table, or was it by another definition little more than a year? In the final match before Christmas last season, a 2-2 draw in Stuttgart briefly handed the men from Munich top spot, only for Hoffenheim to recover first place the following day with a home draw against Schalke.
The Bayern camp really didn’t care one way or another, especially as Leverkusen beat Mainz 4-2 on Saturday to restore their two-point lead over Munich in the standings. It had been nice to be top of the pile, even if only for one night, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge remarked. “But it’ll be more important if we can lift the championship shield on the Town Hall balcony in front of our fans after 34 matches.”
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