Sports Weekly All-media reporter Huang Sijun
Why can Borussia Mönchengladbach continue to restrain Bayern? Swiss striker Embolo, who dominated the 5-0 victory in the second round of the German Cup last season, left last summer, and played Bayern habitually "open", especially Zimmer, who successfully saved the Bundesliga record with 19 successful saves in the first round of this season, and even thuram Jr. who can always bully Palmecano was plagued by a calf injury and did not have the conditions to start, plus Falk's team was beaten 4-1 by Hertha Berlin, who lost four consecutive games at the start of the new year in the last round. Before the race, there was really no reason why the "foal" hovering in the middle of the table could continue to deflatten Bayern.
Borussia Mönchen sent a farewell gift to Zormer, who moved to Bayern Munich in the winter window.
But just eight minutes into the game, a compelling reason suddenly fell from the sky – referee Welz showed a straight red card to Yu Palmecano! As a result, after almost the entire game was 10-11, Bayern once again defeated Prussian Park, ending a 2-3 winning streak and 20 consecutive official matches unbeaten, eating only the second defeat of the season. After the 1-1 match in the first round-robin angrily shouted referee Daniel Schrager that "every five-five penalty is good for Borussia Mönchen", the angry Nagelsmann once again lashed at the referee, even describing the referee team led by Welz as "a bunch of soft eggs". Such a gaffe shows that the boss is "under pressure", because Union Berlin, who only appeared on Sunday, is likely to take the top spot from Bayern before the battle of Tianwangshan arrives a week later.
Referee: Judgment is a "gray area"
There is no doubt that Yu Palmecano's red card set the tone for this game. It was Bayern's second-fastest red card in Bundesliga history, after Marcus Babel's four-minute match against Stuttgart in October 1997. The reason why Nagelsmann wanted to bombard the referee was naturally because of this penalty. Ben Sebaini countered with a long pass from the back, and Pleia quickly cut forward for offside, less than a position faster than his compatriot Yu Palmecano. Just as he was about to touch the ball, Pu Pa cleverly slowed down slightly and jammed Yupa's path, and Yupa was forced to make a dodge move, but inevitably touched Pu Ya, causing Pu Ya to lose his balance and stagger into the box.
Although Yu Palmecano avoided contact with Pleia as much as possible, he was unable to escape.
Since Hupa was the last defender and the two touched outside the box, it was normal for referee Welz to blow a foul and pull out a direct red card. The problem is that the slow motion from several angles can clearly see that Yu Palmecano and Pleia's physical contact is extremely slight, but the right hand patted (can even be said to touch) Pleia's right shoulder, and the torso and legs were not in contact, and it is controversial whether it was enough to cause Pleia to fall. The party Pleia said: "Yu Palmecano gently pulled my shoulder at high speed, which caused me to fall. Why should I fake a fall? If I don't fall, I'll be single-handed. ”
Speaking on a television show the day after the game, Welz explained in detail the basis for his decision: "The Borussia Mönchen player ran to the Bayern player at the front of the box, the two made contact and lost their balance, even though he wanted to keep running. The striker wants to score, he faces the goalkeeper single-handedly, why take the initiative to fall? Weltz noted that the contact between Huppa and Pleia's shoulder "was decisive."
Welz sent off to Palmecano with a straight red card in the eighth minute.
Indeed, in the state of high-speed running, even the slightest physical contact can easily affect the balance of the body. But on the other hand, football is a sport that allows physical contact and even fierce confrontation, is such a slight contact really enough to constitute a foul? Former international referee Kim Hearfeld noted: "I don't think it's a red card. VAR should have the referee look at the monitor. Through the replay, you can see that Yu Palmecano did not commit a foul. Football is a sport with physical contact, and not every contact is a foul. "Why didn't Weltz go to see the video at the time? "Of course I spoke to VAR, but he couldn't give me other images," he said. This is a verdict in a gray area that has nothing to do with video evidence. ”
Nagelsmann's gaffe was investigated
Seeing this penalty, Bayer Leverkusen captain Hradecki may be the first to swear words. Just two days ago, the Finnish international suffered a physical contact without fouling in the Europa League match against Monaco. At that time, he turned to the right to the right after receiving a return pass from his teammate in front of goal, but was hit by Embolo (yes, the same person who helped Borussia Mönchen Blast Bayern last season) from the side and back, stumbled and fell and unfortunately hit the ball into his own goal, and the Israeli referee on duty Greenfield did not blow a foul, and the goal was effective!
Embolo's impact on Hladetsky so strong did not constitute a foul.
If Embolo's knocking down Hradecki so hard wasn't a foul, then why was Yupa's slight action a red card? It's no wonder Nagelsmann was thunderous," Yupa pulled Pleia very slightly, and Pleia's shoulders didn't even move a millimeter. That's not a red card. I want him [Weltz] to say to me after the game, 'Well, that's a tricky penalty. But he didn't admit it. Everyone can make mistakes, no problem, and I'll admit that I've made mistakes as a coach. That's why there are screens there that allow you to look back at it afterwards. So after walking out of the referee's lounge, the coach cursed in the mixed interview area: "This is a joke, he is playing with me?!" Oh my God, oh my God, a bunch of soft eggs! ”
But after calming down a little, Nagelsmann realized that he had gone too far. He soon apologized publicly on Twitter, saying, "Emotions are part of the movement. Because of this red card, I'm going to vent after the game. However, I apologize to Weltz and his team for my wording. Unfortunately, I went overboard. Weltz said he had not heard what the coach said after leaving the referee's lounge and had not disclosed what the two said when they faced each other, "He was emotional, but did not utter insults." What happens in the locker room is left in the locker room. Next time we will still meet as usual, shake hands and chat. Although Wellz did not make a small report on the manager, the German Football Association announced an investigation the day after the game, requiring the coach to make a written statement on his post-match words and actions.
Nagelsmann was yellow carded by Welds in the second half for complaining about the penalty.
As early as the first half of the season, especially during the four-game winless run due to the draw at home, Bayern had already suffered a lot in penalties. At that time, there were many complaints from all over the team, and it also caused heated discussions among the media and fans. When he touched Mönxing again, the penalty controversy rose again, and it was Bayern who suffered a big loss. Such a coincidence, it really makes people wonder if Borussia Mönchen really has some kind of mysterious power to restrain Bayern. Sports director Salihamidzic said: "This is not the first time we have suffered a loss [on the referee] in recent weeks, but today is the highest! "But let's not forget the fact that in last season's Bundesliga opener away to Borussia Mönchen, Yupa narrowly escaped penalties by bringing down Thuram Jr. in the box twice in the last 10 minutes, otherwise Bayern would not have been able to get a 1-1 draw. Anyway, since joining Bayern, Yupa will have problems every time he encounters Menxing, which is extremely evil.
Repeat the mistakes of the Great Rotation
Is the red card really all the reason Bayern have struggled to win one of the five times during Nagelsmann's tenure (2 draws, 3 defeats) and lose to Borussia Mönchen for the 28th time in Bundesliga history? Of course not. Sully said that even the 10-man team should play more committed and harder. Nagelsmann said: "I think we can actually decide the game in the first seven minutes, before the red card. Part of the responsibility belongs to us. ”
Déjà vu? After the 3-0 away win over Bochum in the last round, the boss also said: "In the first six minutes, we have to play 2-0 or 3-0, we have a good chance. Such statements are exaggerated, but they also clearly reveal the displeasure of the boss with the team's failure to get into form immediately from the start of the game. Yupa's red card was caused by being attacked by Borussia Mönchen because he was too slow to enter the game, and the same was true of Stindel's 13th minute free kick opportunity to open the scoring.
Stindel opened the scoring for Borussia Mönchen in the 13th minute.
What is the reason for the slow entry status? One of the reasons is probably that after a Champions League game in midweek, the boss admitted: "After the game against Paris, we lacked a little bit of energy. Coincidentally, Bayern's first defeat this season, a 1-0 defeat away at Augsburg in mid-September, followed a Champions League game – a 2-0 home win over Barcelona.
In addition to the fact that most of the players' form is not exciting enough after the climax of the Champions League, Nagelsmann's own rotation and on-field adjustments also have to be blamed. He rotated as many as five men in this match, with Matthijs de Ligt, Cancelo, Sane and Musiala taking turns and Comand, who scored in Paris, was sidelined with a minor calf injury and replaced by Blind, Alfonso Davies, Herafenbech, Gnabry and Thomas Müller. Such a large number of active rotations, which the coach has not done for a long time, seems to indicate that there are indeed a considerable number of main players who are in poor physical condition after the fierce battle in the middle of the week and urgently need to rest. But the problem is, there will be no competition for the next two weeks, there is plenty of time to rest, is it really not okay to grit your teeth and fight the "nemesis" first?
Davis equalised 1-1 in the 35th minute with an assist from Shupo Motting.
And Na Shuai seems to have forgotten that he had a big problem after the last time he took the initiative to rotate so largely. It was after a 2-0 away win over Inter Milan in early September last year, when he rotated six men at home against relegation side Stuttgart, and the result was a very difficult game, and he was tied 2-2 by penalties in the final moments, swallowing the bitter fruit of a third consecutive league draw. At that time, there were many voices criticizing the coach's excessive rotation, such as former Bayern captain Effenberg believed that it was enough to rotate one or two people, and that he could wait until 60 to 65 minutes before arranging for individual main players to rest, "I won't rotate six people like him, because results are more important than anything else." ”
Treating Mueller this way is like playing with fire
The effect of this large rotation is also unsatisfactory. Blind, who started for the first time since joining in the winter window, did not seize the opportunity to prove that he deserved to replace Pavard in the second leg against Paris. Faced with Borussia Mönchen, who focused on counter-attacking even if he played one more man, the Dutch veteran exposed a slow hard injury. The counter-attack in which Borussia Mönchen scored the third goal was due to a mistake in handling the ball near the centre circle. Hrafembech, who started for the first time in the Bundesliga, had little presence except for a shot blocked by Elvedi before the red card, failed to use his excellent ball handling to help the team make up for the numerical disadvantage, and was substituted at half-time.
Mueller played 16 minutes before falling victim to tactical adjustments.
Even more unfortunate was Mueller. After coming off the bench in Paris until 75 minutes, Bayern fell victim to a red card, playing only 16 minutes before being replaced by Cancelo due to tactical adjustments. This is the 159th time Müller has been replaced midway in the Bundesliga, setting a new tournament record. For a respected player like him, being replaced so early is tantamount to humiliation and puzzling to the outside world. In that situation, wouldn't it be better to replace Gnabry, who played right-wing-back in the opening three-centre-back formation, or Herafenberg, the junior and least useful? The coach explained: "It was a bad decision. I'm sorry for Thomas too. We have to make decisions extremely quickly. We decided we needed the fastest speed, but we also needed Shubo Motin in set-pieces. There are a lot of factors here, but not for Thomas. ”
No amount of reasonable explanation for Nagelsmann can obscure the growing fact that Mueller is dispensable in his tactical system. Under Nico Kovacs, Mueller also fell out of favor for a time, and he complained publicly about it. Not reusing and not using Mill became a major crime during Kovacs's tenure, especially after Mueller was reborn under Flick. So, how is Mueller's relationship with the coach now? After sitting on the bench in Paris, Müller seemed to be in good mood, after all, the team won a crucial victory. After the Prussian Park was replaced early, he did not show obvious displeasure, and took the initiative to high-five the coach when he came off.
Thuram Jr., who came off the bench, scored the third goal that sealed the win.
The relationship between Nagelsmann and captain Neuer was on the verge of breaking down due to the dismissal of goalkeeper coach Tapalovich, and we cannot immediately answer how well the so-called dialogue and reconciliation between the two worked. Against this backdrop, the coach should have used Mueller's power to re-consolidate his prestige in the dressing room and among the fans, at least not to open up a new "battlefield". And now his approach, in addition to tactical reasons, will undoubtedly give people the feeling of rushing to draw a line with the previous dynasty. Both Kahn and Sully trusted and supported him, but Nagelsmann's approach was somewhat like playing with fire.
Is it really necessary to "live" like this?
In addition to the fact that replacing Mueller early is incomprehensible, Nagelsmann's subsequent further adjustments are also debatable. When Yupa was sent off, Bayern were forced to change to a back four, and Cancelo was also replaced for this consideration. Davis used his speed advantage to assist Shupo Morting to equalize 1-1 after surging along the left flank, which made this disastrous first half a desirable result.
Considering 10-on-11 and the unsatisfactory conditions (less physical fitness and slippery field), Bayern had every reason to settle for a draw, further consolidate the defense and wait for the opportunity to counterattack, and as a result, the boss instead wanted to eat his opponent after the break, replacing Herafenberg and Gnabry with Sane and Musiala, and turning the back four back into three central defenders. Cancelo and Davis are both very close to the position, there are actually only 3 defenders left, and they also let Kimmich step back to play the role of a free man, which is quite deadly. If Kimmich had taken the opportunity to open the second half and scored from distance, it might have been a genius move, but later scenes proved too risky and the last two goals conceded were directly related to the lack of defensive manpower.
Nagelsmann's series of decisions to line up is full of slots.
After playing for an hour, the boss replaced Matthijs de Ligt and Terr to bring Kimmich back in midfield. Even if there is an objective factor of playing one less person for a long time, is it really necessary for Nashuai to "work through" like this? In fact, repeatedly changing formations and adjusting a player's position on the field many times in a game has always been an important label for coaches. He was famous for this when he was in charge of Hoffenheim, but his boss Kramaric has publicly complained: "We change formations too often in the game. We were simply not prepared. We are not robots, we are humans. In a lot of games, I sometimes don't know exactly where I'm playing. Kramaric's complaint back then may also be the words of individual Bayern players today.
This is only Bayern's second defeat of the season, but to put it another way, Bayern have only won two of the six league games after the winter break, and have already conceded as many as nine points, after the crisis of three consecutive draws has revived. In a week's time, Union Berlin will come to the door to challenge, and the pressure on Bayern and the coach can be imagined. Zormer, who returned to Prussian Park to say goodbye to the Borussia Mönchen fans, said: "It was a blow, but we have to digest it and move forward. This game is going to go against us and now we're going to go back and look forward quickly. ”