COPENHAGEN: On a night to forget for England skipper Harry Kane the matchwinner for Bayern Munich came in the unlikely shape of keeper Sven Ulreich. Yes, the deciding goal was scored by shooting star Mathys Tel, but Ulreich pulled off “Save of the Month” so deep into injury-time as was nearly possible.
Thus Bayern notched up their 15th consecutive win in a group stage match on a clammy night in Copenhagen where the home side took much pride from a performance which nearly brought the German champions to their knees.
Missing out on the Champions League with Spurs was surely one reason for Kane to leave for Bayern, but he missed out on most of this match as his fellow players never managed to set up their top scorer.
While Kane often participated in the build up with Spurs there is an abundance of talent in midfield at Bayern to serve him. When said players fail to find spaces, as was the case tonight, Kane becomes an passive by-stander. Completing a dismal four passes in the first half, the fewest of any player on the pitch, says all one needs to know about what a much more difficult task this proved to be for Kane and co.
Two months shy of making it 10 years unbeaten at home in the group stage of the Champions League, Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup set up his team extremely well. Having obviously identified the right side of the Bayern defence as the possibly weakest link, FC Copenhagen kept darting forward pushing Sven Ulreich to pull off more saves than Wolfsburg-bound Kamil Grabara in the Copenhagen goal in a first half where Kane didn’t touch the ball until 15 minutes in.
On a night where the Copenhagen weather showed its unpleasant side one had to tip the hat to the capo who kept urging on the most enthusiastic of the home supporters, based in section 12 behind the goal, wearing nothing but shorts and shoes. No wonder he kept banging his chest as the rain drizzled down on an already poor pitch.
The German supporters delayed the second half a few minutes by lighting up red flares which of course is not allowed. Neither is coordinated bouncing on the aforementioned section 12 as there’s a risk of the stand falling to pieces. Said foundations were tested to the max when Lukas Lerager took advantage of a huge blunder from Konrad Laimer in midfield which left Bayerns defensive lines open enough for the home side to grab a deserved lead.
Bayern still couldn’t find a way through until Jamal Musiala took matters into his own hands with a crisp equaliser reminiscent of his goal which won Bayern the German title last season.
The game took an even more decisive turn when the brilliant Kevin Diks had to leave the pitch injured while Thomas Tuchel brought on Thomas Müller. The veteran brought fresh energy, serving as a disrupter which lead to him setting up Tel to score the winner with a brilliant strike following the only blunder in the FC Copenhagen defence in over entire match.
The last team to beat FC Copenhagen in Parken in a group stage match was Real Madrid who ended up winning the tournament that season. Bayern didn’t play like champions Tuesday night, but it’s the mark of a champion to win even when playing poorly. Bayern certainly proved capable that.
