Soccer; Bayern Munich beaten by Bo Henriksen’s Mainz

By conceding its first defeat of the season in the Bundesliga on the lawn of Mainz (2-1), Bayern opened a door into which Leverkusen, reigning champion, rushed by winning at Augsburg (0-2) SATURDAY. Bayern’s nine-point lead over Bayer 04 on the evening of the 11th day (29 against 20) was reduced to four points (33 against 29) in the space of two weeks, with Munich slowed down far from their base (1-1 in Dortmund and 2-1 defeat in Mainz) when the “Werkself” won three times. Sunday (7:30 p.m.), Eintracht Frankfurt (3rd, 27 points) travels to RB Leipzig (4th, 24 points) and can come within three units of Bayern.

The assertion, in an excess of confidence after a good series in Munich in the fall, by the honorary president of Bayern Uli Hoeness, who had assured in mid-November that the title was already in the pocket of the Munich residents, was probably premature. For Vincent Kompany, this is his first defeat in the Bundesliga, after ten victories and three draws.

Injuries have multiplied recently for the Munich players and the Belgian technician has once again had to do without the services of Harry Kane, in the recovery phase after his muscle tear two weeks ago in Dortmund. Manuel Neuer (rib), Kingsley Coman (hamstring) and Serge Gnabry (hamstring) were absent and Dayot Upamecano was on the bench, making way alongside South Korean Kim Min-jae in central defense.

The first goal of Mainz – coached by the Dane Bo Henriksen, passed by FC Zurich between October 2022 and February 2024, and where the Aargau full-back Silvan Widmer plays, left on the bench on Saturday – came on an error from Kim’s head , who poorly cleared a ball which Armindo Sieb took advantage of to serve Lee Jae-sung at the end of the first period. And on the hour mark, it was Anthony Caci who played Kim to serve Sieb, Lee then exploiting the cross to score Mainz’s second goal. The reduction of the score at the end of the match by Leroy Sané only reignited the suspense, in vain for the Munich residents.

“Mainz deserved to win. We’re not looking for excuses. We made too many mistakes today (editor’s note, Saturday). We came here to win the match,” admitted Bayern sporting director Max Eberl to broadcaster Sky.

Bayern has stalled a bit in the last two weeks, notably with an elimination in the round of 16 of the German Cup by Bayer Leverkusen (0-1).

For the last match of 2024, Leipzig travels to Munich on Friday (8:30 p.m.). “We have to get back up and take points on Friday against Leipzig. For one match, it should still be fine,” said Eberl, while Bayern played their seventh match in three weeks on Saturday.

At Augsburg’s Ruben Vargas (entered the game in the 76th minute), Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka did not miss the opportunity by winning quite logically 0-2. Frenchman Martin Terrier opened the scoring (14th) then Florian Wirtz sheltered his team (40th).

After a big slump between the end of September and the beginning of November, Xabi Alonso’s men scored a seventh consecutive success in all competitions.

Among the other matches of the afternoon, Borussia Mönchengladbach coached by Gerardo Seoane, with Nico Elvedi and without Jonas Omlin (substitute) largely won at home against poorly ranked Holstein Kiel (4-1). Elvedi became a decisive passer at 2-0 by delivering a precise opening towards Robin Hack (26th).

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