Perhaps Bayer Leverkusen always believed so. But this was a moment the rest of us could too. For Bayern Munich, it was a kind of televised humiliation, a blow not only to their title hopes but also to their sense of identity. Throughout the peaks and troughs of this season, we have been told that Thomas Tuchel’s side will finally show their true colors when it really matters. And they did. However, it wasn’t as good as everyone expected.
In the end, Bayern simply lost. Tuchel lost to Xabi Alonso and Bayern lost not only in practice but also on paper. For the most part anyway, Bayern’s trophy-laden players had no answer to Leverkusen’s strange angles and relentless off-the-ball running, defensive solidity and ability to move as one. It wasn’t. And Tuchel had no answer for Alonso’s tactical genius, surprising choices and use of the bench.
From the first minutes, it felt like Bayern were chasing the game, second-guessing themselves and each other. Alex Grimaldo scored the game-clinching goal, but he was primarily used as a disruptor on the left flank. Florian Wirtz, nominally an offensive playmaker, was pretty much doing what he wanted.
The result is a game that has all the textures of a David Lynch movie. Conspiracy and red herrings, strange motifs, and layers of hidden meaning abounded. Why did the fans throw sweets on the pitch? Why was Stanisic the only member of the team not to celebrate a goal? Why was Bayern’s full-back playing on the opposite flank? Where was Leverkusen’s striker? And why was there a home fan dressed as the Pope?
Some of these questions were easier to answer than others. The confection, which delayed kick-off by eight minutes, was part of a long-running protest by fans across Germany against a proposal to sell a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights to private investment. The costume was for Carnival weekend. Stanic is currently on loan from Bayern. And perhaps Tuchel’s decision to use Sacha Boii at left-back was an attempt to counter the pace of Jeremy Frimpong, who did not end up starting.
In fact, this was just one of the ways Alonso appeared to have had Tuchel’s number from the start. The decision to leave out highly-rated striker Patrik Schick and go with a false nine in Amine Adli was another. One of the reasons Bayern’s defense looked so uncertain was because it wasn’t entirely clear what they were trying to protect. Bayern saw a lot of the ball, but after a modest introduction it was Leverkusen who took control of the game.
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And this has been one of the underrated qualities of Alonso’s Leverkusen all season. It’s the ability to switch gears in the same match and use different tactics to achieve the same strategy. It took 18 minutes for Bayern to secure their first victory. Wirtz’s wonderful pass freed Adri, but he was tackled by Kim Min-jae. Bayern were still asleep when the next play started, with Robert Andrich whipping in a cross that Stanisic smashed in at the far post.
Harry Kane, on the other hand, played the role of Harry Kane with great solemnity. He’s a sort of Super Bowl tribute where he was quarterback, tight end and cheerleader all at once. Despite all this, Bayern had no idea how to introduce him into the game against the best defense in the league. They were still asleep when Nathan Tella volleyed home from close range, and they were still asleep when Adli was cleared by Granit Xhaka’s brilliant pass.
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Then, five minutes into the second half, they were asleep when Grimaldo bounced the ball back from Tella, then ran untracked into the area and scored at the near post.
That was Tuchel’s signal to go back to Plan A. The idea was to revert to a back four, return the full-backs to their regular flanks, and bring in Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller. Still, it was the home team who finished the game stronger. Frimpong, who finally came on as a substitute, added a sensational third goal in stoppage time. Manuel Neuer was not seen standing up for the corner kick yet. As a metaphor for a title fight, that felt more powerful than anything else.
