A victory thanks to morale: How FC Bayern broke down St. Pauli's defence

For many Bayern fans, it was only a question of how big the home victory would be three days after the 3-1 Champions League defeat to Arsenal. St. Pauli, 16^th in the table, came to the Allianz Arena with little confidence after eight Bundesliga defeats in a row. How many goals would Bayern score to shake off the setback on the European stage? For 90 minutes, it looked as if the the frustration would be compounded by a 1-1 draw, but in added time, the table-toppers finally found the key and went on to win 3-1.

The key didn’t fit

For a long time, the key they tried hadn’t fit the lock of the away side. St. Pauli sat deep, defended and fought with all they had, especially after they had exploited Bayern’s travel fatigue: Munich lost the ball twice and their positional play wasn’t ideal, with Andreas Hountondji putting the underdogs in front after five minutes.

‘Fight for every ball’

The lead suited St. Pauli’s match plan perfectly. “Our plan was clear from the start,” revealed Lars Ritzka after the match: “Fight for every ball and support one another.” They fought with even more passion for every centimetre after the opener. “We gave it everything today, we really lived and celebrated it, we tackled and defended in the box,” said St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin.

FC Bayern, trailing for the third time in a row in the Bundesliga, worked their way closer to their opponents’ box, but Pauli closed down the space and lined up behind the ball.

Over 82 percent possession

Bayern had enjoyed more than 82 percent of the ball after a quarter-hour but lacked luck: the agile Lennart Karl unleashed a fine curler that crashed off the post (24’). 11 minutes later, Tom Bischof let fly from distance, but his deflected drive hit the woodwork again (35’). It was only when Luis Díaz went down in the box and flicked the ball into Raphaël Guerreiro’s path that they deservedly levelled the scores. It was Lucho’s fifth Bundesliga assist – the new signing has already surpassed his best from 2023/24 and 2024/25 for Liverpool in the Premier League. Guerreiro was involved in a goal for the fourth game in a row.

But with the score 1-1 at half-time, Bayern were far from the results their fans had euphorically bet on in their fan clubs. Only the stats spoke for themselves: Bayern had ten shots to St. Pauli’s three, 19 touches in their opponents’ box to three – and almost 40 percent of the game had happened around Pauli’s box.

A balloon filled to bursting point

FC Bayern upped the ante even more after the restart, trying to blow even more air into a balloon filled to bursting point. But the loud bang of relief refused to come. Head coach Vincent Kompany had subbed on wizard Michael Olise in an effort to force a moment of brilliance. FC Bayern enjoyed 90 percent of the ball at times, but St. Pauli just didn’t concede a goal. “They played well and aggressively, especially with their back five,” Manuel Neuer said in praise of the opposition: “We did find space, but luck wasn’t necessarily on our side considering how often we hit the woodwork.”

Bayern’s dominance was overwhelming. Nine minutes after the restart, they had already surpassed their Bundesliga average for crosses, and after 80 minutes, the number of passes. St. Pauli didn’t help them: a failed clearance went just wide and Harry Kane saw efforts blocked or fired just over, as did sub Serge Gnabry. Kane threw his hands up in disbelief when he hit the post.

Shots 18 and 19

So it came to shots 18 and 19. Joshua Kimmich’s cross invited Luis Díaz to put Bayern ahead with his shoulder, ear and collarbone alike (90’+3). Lady Luck, who had seemed to be smiling in the visitors’ direction for long spells, returned when Serge Gnabry won the ball and sub Nicolas Jackson coolly scored his third Bundesliga goal to round off the final scoreline. The flag originally went up for offside, but the goal stood on review after the ball came off a St. Pauli player (90’+3). “It wasn’t easy today. We’ve extended our lead by two points. Such victories are part of a season, it was crucial today,” said Vincent Kompany.

12 goals in the final 15 minutes

12 goals in the final quarter-hour – no team has scored more often than FC Bayern in this period. “We always believe we can score until the last minute”, said Manuel Neuer: “You saw that in the closing stages.” President Herbert Hainer commented: “We had to fight for a long time, but that shows the team’s morale and that they believe in themselves and can turn things around in the end.”

The stats refute that Bayern’s victory was lucky: 996 passes, the most in a game this season, 28-4 crosses, 10-2 corners, 28-4 dribbles – FC Bayern were industrious and patient and went on to extend their lead in the table to eight points after Leipzig had been held to a goalless draw against Mönchengladbach. “At the end of the day it was a superb victory we sealed in added time, it gives us a whole lot of energy and shows the team’s character,” said sporting director Christoph Freund.

Character will be key again in four days: “Berlin, Berlin, we’re going to Berlin,” chanted the fans after the final whistle. But before the final in the capital, Bayern take on Union at Berlin’s Alte Försterei in the DFB Cup round of 16 on Wednesday.

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