Bundesliga referees did their best to get Bayern Munich to drop points against a pesky Hertha Berlin side that did not behave like a team that is part of the league’s Keller Boys™. The Bavarians managed to hold on for a 3-2 win against the lesser-known team from Berlin and go top of the table for now. Goals from Jamal Musiala and the legendary Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (x2) were just enough to cancel out the efforts of Dodi Lukebakio and Davie Selke from the spot. What are the standouts of today’s game?
That’s gota herta!
As I said before, for a team in the bottom half of the Bundesliga, Hertha were unusually attacking minded and gave Bayern all sorts of problems, Dodi Lukebakio among them. Man, this guy really has something against us and no one knows why. Anyway, Hertha mainly attacked down the wings and got themselves good opportunities to score from and got two right before half time, both times they caught Bayern napping. The fact that they couldn’t capitalize on Bayern’s chances was Bayern’s saving grace, as everyone looked drained of energy, and it’s only November. I wonder why this is so.
FIFA is indirectly pushing players to their limits
Holding a major international football tournament in the middle of the season has always been a bad idea, but now everyone can see the toll it takes on national team players at club level. Teams are forced to play games in a shorter period of time resulting in a gap of as little as three days between games. Increased workload means a higher chance of picking up an injury, and it seems Alphonso Davies and Leon Goretzka may have done just that.
Everyone is starting to voice their disapproval of the World Cup, which will start in about two weeks. This was evident at the game where a large banner with the “Boycott Qatar 2022” banner was displayed. FIFA really needs to rethink their approach to these tournaments as its prestige could take a hit with the situation.
Bayern are the architects of their own downfall
I’d say we’ve gone through the refs and VAR that fell for Hertha’s players tripping over as if they were playing with laces from each shoe tied to the other, but this time I’ll take a different approach. Bayern simply need to put the game to bed before the other team has any chance to make a comeback. Bayern will not always get away with their inability to kill games, with the resumption of the Champions League next year. This is a phenomenon that needs to be addressed seriously because it could be the thing that kills us instead of us the game.
Interested in more analysis of the game? Why not check out our postgame podcast? We talk about the Davies injury, Mazraoui, Choupo-Moting for the Ballon d’Or, the World Cup and more! Listen to it below or on Spotify.
As always, we appreciate all the support!
