Bayern’s target of finishing second in the Bundesliga this season is in serious jeopardy after the champions lost 3-1 away to high-flying Hannover on an afternoon when it all went wrong for Louis van Gaal and his men.
The 49,000 full house at the AWD Arena saw Mohammed Abdellaoue hand Hannover an early lead, as Munich dominated first half possession but made little headway against the compact and sprightly home team. Konstantin Rausch doubled the advantage six minutes after the restart, but Arjen Robben immediately pulled one back, only for calamity to strike on the hour when Sergio Pinto netted a soft third for the home side.
FCB were reduced to ten men with quarter of an hour to play when Breno was sent off for retaliation, and although the visitors kept up the fight until the bitter end, they were destined to leave empty-handed against what is now the best home team in the league.
The demoralising result means the champions remain fourth in the standings on 42 points from 25 games, now five behind Hannover in third and fully seven off second-placed Leverkusen, 3-0 winners over Wolfsburg in the evening match. The Bavarians are next in Bundesliga action at home to Hamburg a week from now, before Inter visit the Allianz Arena in the Champions League the following Tuesday.
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