Bayern banking on fresh energy of February

Every single HSV supporter had been looking forward to this encounter for weeks or even months. On Saturday evening, the German record champions played a Bundesliga game at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg for the first time in eight years, three months and ten days. In the meantime, the home team had experienced dark times including a lengthy spell in Germany's second division. Now, this proud club is back on track to re-establish itself in the top flight and rediscover their place. And on Saturday, the Hamburg players had the opportunity to provide their supporters with a true highlight against Bayern.

‘Games where fine margins make the difference’

“These are the games in which very fine margins make the difference,” said captain Manuel Neuer and added: “ Today was about fighting. And we certainly put up a great fight today, so we can’t fault ourselves there.” And indeed, the Bayern players showed true passion and fighting spirit, as became apparent when the first players began to suffer from cramps after one hour already. On the other hand, the Hamburg team enjoyed fantastic crowd support and an ounce or two of luck not to concede more goals and suffer the defeat most German football fans and experts had predicted. After Hamburg had experienced a 5-0 defeat in Munich earlier this season, the home team celebrated the 2-2 draw as if it was the 20th win in the 107th meeting between these two powerhouses of German football. In reality, the last time Hamburg managed to beat Bayern was in 2009.

A draw that feels like a defeat

“Obviously, this draw feels more like a defeat to us,” commented Neuer. “However, I think it's a good sign that nobody is satisfied. We had other plans for today. Looking into the faces of my teammates, I see positive signs we'll be back on the attack next week.”

The reason why Bayern failed to celebrate the 67th win was because of the fight the home team showed, but also due to the woodwork. Joshua Kimmich hit the crossbar with a powerful shot in the first half in his 311th competitive appearance for Bayern, one more than club icon Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. In the second half, Jonathan Tah hit the bar again, this time with a header. On top of that, HSV were fortunate with one or two refereeing decisions, a blocked shot by Kimmich being one of them. Since video evidence failed to provide proof of a handball, Hamburg were spared a penalty decision in that moment.

First penalty conceded this season

At the other end, the home team were rewarded a penalty of their own, which Fábio Vieira converted to make it 1-0 (34'). It was the first penalty goal Bayern had conceded all season and meant more than just the lead for the home team from Hamburg. The goal against the favourites from the south of Germany added to the already impressive atmosphere and increased the volume even further. The power of the crowd support now became tangible and gave the home team more courage and conviction.

Harry Kane's equaliser failed to change much about the way the game evolved. Josip Stanišić, who was thrown straight back into the side after his injury, played a beautiful ball to Serge Gnabry beforehand. Compared to the Champions League game against PSV during the week, only Dayot Upamecano, Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlović and Lennart Karl remained in the starting line-up.

72 percent game control

Bayern had 72 percent possession, but Hamburg showed dangerous counter-attacking football and good transitional play which allowed them to remain unpredictable and dangerous at all times. 9-8 shots on goal in the first half showed that Hamburg didn't focus only on preventing Bayern chances, but quickly transitioned from defence to offence. “I'm very happy we were able to use the magic of our home stadium for our performance,” commented HSV head coach Merlin Polzin after the final whistle. “We repeated at half-time that we would prefer our players to risk making mistakes rather than play with fear. We were able time and again to create good opportunities. On top of that, you need a bit of luck not to concede too many goals and we had that today.”

However, Bayern managed to take the lead against the promoted team just after the break when Luis Díaz scored following a pass by Michael Olise. Earlier, Díaz had been honoured with the Sportschau award for Goal of the Year 2025, but the atmosphere in Hamburg was only dampened for a short time. While the travelling Bayern fans were hoping the Bayern goal at the perfect time would deflate Hamburg's hopes and aspirations, 19-year-old Luka Vuskovic found the right answer and equalised with a header which sent the Hamburg stadium into a frenzy.

Like the waves of the river Elbe

Just like the waves of the river Elbe, the crowd now pushed the hosts forward and celebrated every duel and every battle against the Bayern team, even if they now noticeably began to tire. What remained, however, was Hamburg's courageous style of play. After every Bayern corner, Hamburg's fastest players would wait at the halfway line for long balls forward and the chance to counter against Bayern. In one of these situations, an already beaten Neuer was lucky Alphonso Davies was able to scrape the ball off the line. “I'm proud of the team for the fight. We have to keep going. It’s been a really busy month with a lot of games, but we can't cry about it,” commented Kane following the 2-2 draw. 

Bayern attacked, Bayern combined and Bayern had a few decent chances to score but failed to create really good opportunities. In the end, Kompany's team were forced to settle with the draw. “We only collected one point but we wanted to win. That is frustrating,” said board member for sport Max Eberl. Extremely busy weeks and a gruelling schedule lay behind the Bayern team, and Neuer witnessed the effects. “We will benefit from a few days off now. That will help. It's good for us to have fewer busy weeks ahead.“

Seven games in 20 days

Vincent Kompany added: “It wasn't a good performance of ours, but it was a good Bundesliga game because both teams showed great intensity. My lads fought well today and I won't let anyone take that away from us. We've now played seven games within 20 days. In the end, this was a draw and not a defeat. Now, we're going to do what we always do. We will react on the pitch.”

Unbeaten in 19 away games

Wit this 2-2 draw in Hamburg, Bayern extend their unbeaten away run to 19 games (W14, D5). Only twice in club history, from 1985-1987 (26 games) and from 2012-2014 (33 games), have Bayern remained unbeaten away from home for even longer. The Bavarians’ hopes now lie in the immediate future, according to Kane: “February is far more relaxed in terms of the schedule. We'll enjoy full weeks of preparation for our upcoming games now. I hope we can use this advantage.” On Sunday, preparations will already commence for Bayern's next game against Hoffenheim next Sunday. While Bayern intend to celebrate the beginning of the next winning streak then, the city of Hamburg can celebrate this unexpected draw for a few days now.