Summer debut offers little glamour
FC Bayern is shaking a lot at the Bundesliga restart
01/20/2023 10:27 p.m
FC Bayern starts the Bundesliga restart with a post hit, an offside goal and the lead. But after that, host RB Leipzig also gets going – and has the leaders of the table on the verge of defeat. The debut for new replacement Yann Sommer ends without a big point.
Cold start despite summer debut: record-breaking soccer champions Bayern Munich missed a big point in the championship race when their new goalkeeper Yann Sommer made his debut in a flash. At the DFB Cup winner and fellow competitor RB Leipzig, less than brilliant Bayern only managed a 1: 1 (1: 0) at the Bundesliga restart. Due to the draw, the leader of the table, who has 35 points, remains six points ahead of the third-placed Saxons.
After a World Cup break of more than two months, striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (37th) gave Bayern the lead at the start of matchday 16, Marcel Halstenberg (52nd) equalized. Both teams continued their series from the previous year and are now unbeaten in 14 competitive games.
“It doesn’t feel okay to me, we wanted to win,” said Leipzig’s Xaver Schlager on DAZN. “We played well in the second half. Going out 1-1 is okay, but certainly not satisfying.”
“No Witchcraft”
In front of 47,069 spectators in the sold-out Red Bull Arena, however, all eyes were initially on a Swiss. At 7:48 p.m. Sommer came in to warm up to whistles from Leipzig, and shortly afterwards it was clear: the 34-year-old, whose chewing gum transfer from Borussia Mönchengladbach had only been announced as perfect on Thursday afternoon, will play immediately.
After all, Nagelsmann had previously noted that a new keeper might need “15 minutes” to coordinate with a new defense: “It’s not rocket science that you have to study for six months.” The goalkeeper, who has signed a contract until 2025, should help achieve the ambitious goals of the season in the league and Champions League by replacing the long-term injured Neuer (broken leg).
“Yann has to replace him now, also in terms of conducting,” said Nagelsmann on Sat.1. The coach didn’t really want to think about a competition before the new season: “Manu is our captain, our number one. Everything else will be present again in the summer.”
Sommer didn’t have much to do apart from a few back passes at the beginning, on the contrary. Without the veteran Thomas Müller, who initially sat on the bench, the Munich team tried to gain possession of the ball and almost caught Leipzig by surprise. After a pass from Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry (8th) made a strong move in the left half and hit the right post. An intense game followed, in which Leipzig constantly attacked and Sommer tested for the first time with a long-range shot from Emil Forsberg (22nd).
RB benefits from Bayern’s mistakes
But the Bavarians, who by no means succeeded in everything, radiated more danger. Referee Daniel Siebert and the video assistant had initially denied a header goal from Leon Goretzka (30th) because of a previous offside position by Matthijs de Ligt, seven minutes later Choupo-Moting poked a Gnabry cross over the line at the second post – this time the goal counted.
After the break, the game had more of the “classic exchange of blows” that RB coach Marco Rose had been keen to prevent, with Leipzig becoming more imperative and benefiting from Bayern’s mistakes. After an unnecessary bad pass from Joshua Kimmich, ball conqueror Halstenberg initiated the counterattack himself. Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t really get a cross from Andre Silva on goal, but Halstenberg was right and dusted off to equalize. Summer wasn’t to blame. Later, Leipzig national striker Timo Werner, who came on as a substitute in the 67th minute, made his comeback after the syndesmosis ruptured and missed the World Cup.