The Terminator was beaming from ear to ear after what he described as “the highlight of my trip to Europe”. Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger was a first-time member of the 75,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena on Saturday for Bayern’s Bundesliga encounter with FC Köln. The Austrian actor and former politician thoroughly enjoyed his afternoon out. “I’m 69 years old now and that was my first football match in Munich. And what an exciting match too, it was really outstanding,” the VIP visitor declared.
The FCB camp was less happy with the 1-1 draw against the Rhineland outfit. “We’ve dropped two points today. We’re obviously disappointed, but we’re top of the league. We’re still right on track,” commented captain Philipp Lahm. The men from Munich failed to win for the first time in six league fixtures but retain their three-point lead at the top, now over new second-placed club Hertha BSC.
“We were unlucky,” said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The home team controlled 68 percent of the possession, won the shot count 27-5 and hit the goal frame on three occasions, “so a win would have been deserved,” the Bayern chairman stated. However, following a one-sided first half the Reds went in at the break only a single goal up, scored by Joshua Kimmich five minutes before the interval. Stubbornly defensive Köln came out fighting for the second period and Anthony Modeste levelled on 63 minutes.
No problem, no crisis
“At the end of the day you take the point and move on,” concluded Rummenigge. “We’ve taken 16 of a possible 18 points. We have no grounds for complaint. We’re a long way off having a problem.” Centre-back Mats Hummels took a similar view: “We’re a bit frustrated with the draw, but we have 16 points from six games and we’re definitely top. If that’s a crisis, we can live with it.”
FCB fell to a first defeat of the campaign away to Atlético Madrid three days earlier, but head coach Carlo Ancelotti said there was “no need to be concerned. We’re disappointed but let’s not forget we’ve made a good start to the season. We won eight games in a row but the last two weren’t good.” Keeper and captain for the day Manuel Neuer was less sanguine: “This week, we’ve lost to Atlético and only taken a point against Köln. It’ll definitely take a night before my mood improves.”
Fortunately, Sunday’s schedule includes the traditional team visit to the Oktoberfest, a chance for the players, coaching staff and officials to enjoy a pleasant afternoon with their families in Käfer’s Wiesn-Schänke. Herr Schwarzenegger made his trip to the festival last Tuesday, but whether it pleased him as much as his visit to the Allianz Arena is not known.
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