FC Bayern will wrap up the first half of the season on Wednesday evening with a visit to FC Augsburg. It'll bring back memories of the last encounter with the Swabians on 8 March 2020. And those memories will awaken mixed feelings among the men from Munich, although the 2-0 home win at the Allianz Arena actually gave them plenty of reason to celebrate.
120th birthday celebration
For FCB, it was the first home match following the club's 120th anniversary and the record champions were decked out accordingly. The Bavarians wore a shirt specially designed for the game, reminiscent of the historic kit worn by the Reds in their early years. The players were welcomed by 75,000 fans in the sold-out arena, who put on an impressive fan choreography, which saw the stands completely draped in the club's colours.
Home win heralded forced break
The game also went according to plan. Thanks to incredible goals from Thomas Müller and Leon Goretzka, Bayern ran out 2-0 winners and defended the top spot in the table. It was a perfect day of celebration, so to speak. But no-one could have guessed it would be the last one for a long time, as the coronavirus pandemic forced not just the Bundesliga into a break for several months. The derby was therefore a historic turning point.
Check out how the game went in our gallery:
Even though live football has since been resumed, there have still been no matches in front of spectators at the Allianz Arena. In the meantime, Manuel Neuer & Co. have become accustomed to it - even if they do long for the fans' return - and have been able to win 20 of the 25 games in the league since then (two defeats, three draws). In Augsburg, the Reds aim to further expand that ratio, and the memory of the last game in front of fans could provide some additional impetus.
We've put together five interesting facts and figures for the derby against FC Augsburg:
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