FC Bayern have lost their solitary friendly match in the 2015/16 winter break. Six days ahead of the Bundesliga restart trip to Hamburger SV, the record champions fell 2-1 to second division Karlsruher SC and ended the match with ten men after Jérôme Boateng’s 73rd-minute dismissal for a foul as last man. More worryingly, second-half sub Rafinha left the field on 66 minutes with an injury.
The 28,700 sell-out crowd at Karlsruhe’s Wildparkstadion saw Boubacar Barry hand the home side a 16th-minute lead, but Arturo Vidal levelled five minutes later for the dominant visitors. The flow of the match suffered in the second half as a result of a raft of substitutions, with Dimitrij Nazarov netting a 73rd-minute penalty to seal a not undeserved victory for the second-tier side.
Guardiola uses 21 men
Bayern boss Pep Guardiola chose to start with Manuel Neuer in goal, Philipp Lahm, Javi Martínez, Holger Badstuber and David Alaba in the back four, Xabi Alonso, Sebastian Rode and Vidal in midfield, and Kingsley Coman, Robert Lewandowski and Douglas Costa up front. Guardiola made a total of six substitutions in the second half with only Tom Starke not featuring in the game.
On a chilly afternoon in the south-west of Germany the teams produced an entertaining first half with FCB in the ascendancy. The side lying ninth in Bundesliga 2 defended deep but frequently sought to release their quick wide men on the break, and a counter attack yielded the first chance, only for Neuer to save from Dimitris Diamantakos. Lewandowski fired over the bar at the other end on 12 minutes, and the home side duly took a 16th-minute lead when Barry’s 18-yard effort took a slight deflection and evaded Neuer.
Vidal’s fine finish
That spurred Bayern into a response, and although Lahm failed to connect with Coman’s 20th-minute cross, Vidal made it 1-1 a minute later with a terrific curler from the edge of the box. Costa for FCB and Manuel Torres for KSC missed good openings in the spell leading up to the interval.
The teams both fielded a number of subs for the second half, with Coman unable to convert an excellent opening straight after the restart. Former Munich reserve Ylli Sallahi saw his 51st-minute effort saved by Neuer, before the Germany keeper breathed a sigh of relief on the hour when Torres tried a curler of his own but struck the inside of the post.
Rafinha injured, Boateng dismissed
Rafinha had come on as a second-half sub, but the Brazilian limped off with an injury 21 minutes later. Due to the high number of team changes both sides lacked precision at times now, but the game exploded back into life on 73 minutes when Boateng was adjudged to have fouled the fast-breaking Erwin Hoffer, referee Daniel Schlager opting for a penalty and a red card for the defender. Nazarov cleanly converted the spot-kick to put the home team 2-1 up, and Karlsruhe might even have added a third against the tiring Munich side, but Dominic Peitz headed wide with eight minutes remaining.
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