An outstanding Gladbach goalkeeper and anger about missing penalties – the opening game of the Bundesliga offered a lot of spectacle and provided a clear insight: Julian Nagelsmann still has a lot of work to do at Bayern.
When there were real ghost games without spectators, it was one of the most interesting discoveries how football professionals treat each other on the pitch. What was normally not to be heard, every TV viewer was now able to hear through the stadium microphones. What you could only guess before, now became clearly audible: In the Bundesliga, things are the same as in the district league. There are commands, there is pooing and bullying and everything is loud. Typical soccer field.
In the opening game of FC Bayern against Borussia Mönchengladbach, however, it was almost the same as before. 22,995 fans were in the stadium and made a lot of noise. It was of course great for the atmosphere. “Finally another really awesome, successful evening at Borussia-Park. It felt like there were 50,000 in the stadium”, enthused Lars Stindl from Gladbach after the game.
Nagelsmann’s loud voice could still be heard
Despite the volume level, one could hear a high, almost screeching voice again and again during the game. You couldn’t understand it, but you could assign it. It was the calls of the new FC Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann, who tried with all his might to influence the game of his team from the outside.
But that only partially succeeded. On the offensive, his team and the opponent delivered an impressive performance. There were chances to score on both sides, it was a great football game in which Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer shone with many parades. But defensively, the record champions offered a rather worrying performance. Nagelsmann screamed his heart out in vain. The exact wording would certainly have been interesting. It was only thanks to the lack of final weakness of the Gladbach attackers that Bayern did not concede another goal.
The realization of the evening for Bayern is: There is a lot of work waiting for Nagelsmann. “We’ll get a little better structure in there,” said Nagelsmann, who, like his colleague Adi Hütter as Borussia’s new coach, is plagued by the same problem: Several European Championship participants came back at different times in different states in the summer and made for a challenging one Preparation. “You could see that both teams still have room for improvement. We were aware beforehand that we still have a few steps to take,” said Nagelsmann.
Bayern defense seems partially disoriented
The newly formed Bayern defense seemed partially disoriented and anything but title-ready. The Upamecano, brought by Nagelsmann from Leipzig for over 40 million euros, acted at least clumsily not only in the controversial scenes with Thuram. Since the French world champions Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez are still injured, Josip Stanisic, who is only 21 years old, came from Bayern’s regional league squad for his second Bundesliga appearance.
“This will be a top Bundesliga player,” said Nagelsmann about the talent, which of course still needs some time – just like Bayern’s entire game, in which the new coach’s automatisms are still lacking. “It is absolutely clear that we want to improve defensively,” admitted Nagelsmann, for whom his players were still too wildly “criss-cross”: “After that, it will be difficult to close the rooms.”
And then there was the video assistant thing. While the previous European championship showed that a noiseless and quick application is possible, the opening game of the Bundesliga delivered a different picture. The Gladbachers were refused to use the Var twice in the final phase because referee Marco Fritz and the assistants in the Cologne basement waived it.
Fritz could have decided the controversial scenes on a penalty kick, yes should. In both cases it was a duel between the new Bayern defender Upamecano and the Gladbach attacker Thuram. The first duel in particular was definitely a penalty, but Fritz refused to look at the scene and let the game continue. “When there is so much discussion about it, it is usually a sign that it can be given,” said Nagelsmann. The 34-year-old coach and his team benefited from something that hadn’t existed for a long time: the Bayern dud. So it can be an interesting season if you take this game as a benchmark.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
