Three minutes plus stoppage time seemed to be all that was needed this Friday evening in Freiburg to secure another important win, following on from the home victory against Leipzig last week, courtesy of a last-minute winner. However, Lucas Höler's late equaliser in the 87th minute to make the final score 2-2 meant that the Bayern players left the pitch with their heads down. They will have to lift them back up quickly ahead of Tuesday's crucial Champions League round of 16 second leg against Lazio to overturn the 1-0 deficit from the game in Rome. And despite dropping points in Freiburg, there were many moments of encouragement.
Improved second-half performance
"We didn't play well in the first half an hour, we completely lacked structure, we were far too undisciplined and deservedly fell behind," said head coach Thomas Tuchel after the final whistle, annoyed at his team's sluggish start. Despite a spectacular world-class save from Manuel Neuer in the build-up to the home team’s opener, FCB had to accept going 1-0 behind early on (12th minute). However, Aleksandar Pavlović & Co. fought their way back into the game and turned the it around. "We responded well. We completely dominated Freiburg in the second half and created many clear-cut scoring opportunities," said Tuchel.
The willingness, tempo and creativity in attack in the second half was more like that of a Bayern team that fans of the record champions want to see. This made Höler's equaliser shortly before the final whistle all the more agonising. Nevertheless, the team must take the courage they showed today with them into the Champions League, where they will have to break down Lazio’s resilient defensive unit on Tuesday night. On Friday evening, it was two youngsters who demonstrated how this could be achieved.
Tel and Musiala with wonder goals
"We have to stay positive and keep fighting through this period," said Jamal Musiala. "We have to play as well as we can up until the end if we want to maybe get something out of it." The wizard provided one of the highlights of the evening with his brilliant solo run and finish to make it 2-1 (75), his magic once again enchanting the world of football and Bayern fans both in the stadium and watching at home. Even before this stroke of genius, much of the attack was focused through the 21-year-old, who has now been involved in one goal in each of the last three Bundesliga matches (two goals, one assist).
Attacker Mathys Tel also showed off his quality in front of goal, making his full Bundesliga debut this season and scoring an important equaliser ten minutes before the break in what was a difficult phase for Bayern - and how! The 18-year-old curled the ball beautifully into the far corner and now has four goals in total this season. "We had plenty of chances, but only scored two goals. Now it's time to look ahead," said the Frenchman, who is already focusing on the Champions League: "We really have to prepare ourselves well for the game against Lazio."
Season-defining knockout tie
The Freiburg clash was Bayern’s 2,000th Bundesliga game. The Reds are the first club ever to reach this mark, but the intention now is to quickly draw a line under this milestone, recover, analyse and then approach the second leg against Lazio fully focused. "Tuesday is a very important game, so we have to be on top of our game from the very first minute. We have 90 minutes to turn it around. I'm convinced we'll progress on Tuesday," said sporting director Christoph Freund.
Reaction to the draw in Freiburg:
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