Aggressive, robust and ruthless BATE Borisov extended their own unbeaten run to 17 matches and ended Bayern’s perfect start to the season with a not undeserved Champions League victory in Minsk on Tuesday night, although Munich were unlucky to hit the goal frame not once but twice during an eventful Group F encounter.
The 24,636 crowd at the Dinamo stadium saw the Belarus champions start brightly, but the Bundesliga leaders soon took control and Toni Kroos hit the post with a gilt-edged chance after 13 minutes. Matters took a turn for the worse midway through the first half when Aleksandr Pavlov opened the scoring on the break, the home side parking the bus to preserve the lead through to the interval.
BATE showed much more adventure after the restart and Pavlov skied a superb chance to double the lead on 66 minutes, but former Freiburg srtiker Vitali Rodionov made up for the miss with the second goal 12 minutes later. FCB never gave up but Franck Ribery’s shot came back off the bar, and although the France star pulled one back in stoppage time, sub Renan Bressan netted with the last kick of the match to seal the outcome.
The first defeat of the season, coupled with Valencia’s 2-0 victory over OSC Lille, means Bayern slip to third in the section on three points, level with the Spanish and three points behind BATE. The Reds’ next European opponents are Lille, who visit Munich on 23 October looking to get off the mark in the group. The Bavarians’ next match, and the last before the international break, is at home to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
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