Bayern stand together in Freiburg after difficult week

The Bayern fans who had travelled to the Europa-Park Stadion stood arm in arm in the away section and celebrated the team after the final whistle. The players looked up at them, almost in amazement, and clapped back. Dayot Upamecano, who was not only the defensive linchpin but also a goalscorer in Freiburg, accepted the congratulations from his teammates.

These were images that spoke volumes. About a team that refused to be knocked off their stride despite all the adversity. And about Bayern’s 3-1 away win – the significance of which went far beyond the result itself.

Message from Kompany

Meanwhile, Aaron Danks, who was standing in for head coach Vincent Kompany on the touchline, glanced at his mobile. “I saw a WhatsApp message from Vince there, in which he’d written ‘well done’. He was pleased, so I simply replied: ‘Brilliant. Now get some rest.’ And I sent him a kiss emoji,” the assistant said.

Kompany will be given all the time he needs to recover. This was once again made clear by board member for sport Max Eberl, who had nothing but praise for the team: “I don’t think we really understand what we’ve achieved this week with all the hurdles we’ve had to overcome. It’s extraordinary.” And then came a sentence that perhaps best summed up the significance of this success: “The win means three points, but it was a bigger win than just three points.”

Indeed, the week had taken its toll on Bayern. The circumstances going into a tough away match could have been better. Yet the Munich side put in a remarkable performance.

Of course, one of the challenges of a long season is that a team has to find its feet time and again without losing its identity. Bayern managed this quite impressively in Freiburg. The untested midfield pairing of Tom Bischof and Konrad Laimer worked well because both carried out their duties with great discipline and covered for one another. With the ball, Bayern played with composure. Without it, they pressed with great intensity. The coordination was on point, as was their willingness to run. You could sense that everyone was prepared to go the extra mile for one another.

Yet Freiburg were certainly no pushovers. The hosts tried to find ways to create chances but were repeatedly put under pressure by the determined champions and forced into mistakes. Even dangerous attacking players such as Derry Scherhant found it difficult to make the most of their qualities for long stretches of the match.

Quality and clinical

The figures show just how effective this approach was. Both teams recorded 17 shots on goal each. However, whilst Freiburg created just one clear-cut chance, the Bavarians had six. The difference was even more pronounced in terms of expected goals, at 2.99 to 1.05 from Bayern’s perspective. With 55.9 percent possession and 131 passes in the final third, FCB also underlined that the team stuck to their style of play.

In fact, it was a centre-back who epitomised that belief and extraordinary commitment. Before scoring, Upamecano won the ball on the edge of his own box, launched the counter-attack with a powerful run and finished like a striker to put his side ahead. “We showed him the footage of his chance against Arsenal beforehand, where he made a similar run. He finished it off well – almost as if he wanted to deceive the goalkeeper a little – looking one way and shooting the other. So yes, that was fantastic and really good for him,” praised Danks.

Special goal for Gnabry

Serge Gnabry’s goal to make it 2-0, which was also his 100th Bundesliga goal, just before half-time was a further demonstration of the determination with which Bayern capitalised on their chances.

And yet this performance was not entirely flawless. After Freiburg pulled one back to 2-1, things got dicey in the final 10 minutes. “We had to show resilience and character there. I think we defended well during that spell,” Danks summed up. Bayern held their ground and sealed the victory with Michael Olise’s goal in added time. They had proved that they stand by one another even in difficult times.

“The team played an almost perfect away game for over 80 minutes. The way we fought to avoid an equaliser at the end and then made it 3-1. It was a really big win today,” Eberl summarised.

With 17 points on the board from seven matches, Bayern remain top of the table, level with Borussia Dortmund. The Munich side have now gone 22 Bundesliga matches without defeat. It is their longest such run since last winter, when they went 27 league outings without losing.

However, perhaps the most important insight from Freiburg cannot be expressed in figures. This team possesses an inner stability that really comes into its own in challenging moments.

That is encouraging news ahead of the upcoming fixtures. The first comes on Wednesday when they host Magdeburg of Bundesliga 2 in the DFB Cup, before a top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash against Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. A few days later comes the tough away fixture at Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. Three competitions with three very different challenges and hardly any time to catch our breath. The workload will remain high, as will the pressure.

No one knows what obstacles still lie ahead in these intense weeks. Yet the match in Freiburg has shown that Bayern do not rely solely on the quality of individuals.

“The coaching and backroom staff have done an excellent job. And I’d like to thank everyone on behalf of the team. We stand together and will just keep doing our thing,” Laimer stated defiantly.

As the players stood in front of their fans after the final whistle, this extraordinary week was forgotten for a moment. In the stands, people were hugging one another. On the pitch, their team had just shown just how much can be achieved when everyone sticks up for one another.

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