Trips to Munich aren’t associated with many happy memories for SC fans, with this weekend’s visit also ending with the visitors returning home empty-handed. While the result may not have been what the team and coaching staff had hoped for, it wasn’t down to the team’s performance on the night. With a bit of luck on their side, they could have even managed to take something from the match.

In what was his first Bundesliga away game with SC, head coach Julian Schuster named the same starting line-up that triumphed 3-1 against last season’s runners-up VfB Stuttgart last weekend. His counterpart at Bayern, Vincent Kompany, was making his coaching debut at home for the record champions and made just one change to his team. Joshua Kimmich dropped into the right-back slot and replaced Sacha Boey, with Mathys Tel coming into the side in his place.

Strong start from SC

The opening minutes of the game proved that Freiburg hadn’t travelled to Munich intending to park the bus. Schuster’s side looked to press their opponents hard as they remained compact and well set up.

The first chance of the night also came SC’s way, as Junior Adamu did well to win possession in the Bayern half before attempting to catch goalkeeper Manuel Neuer off his line from 30 metres out (5’).

After 20 minutes or so, Bayern appeared to have gotten their footing in the match as they recorded their first attack. Serge Gantry got on the end of a pass through the SC backline and was able to cut the ball back to the six-yard box. Only a well-time slide-tackle from Lukas Kübler prevented the ball from finding its way to striker Harry Kane (18’). Two minutes later, Müller was able to punch away a shot from Michael Olise.

Freiburg were forced to focus on remaining compact at the back in the face of increasing pressure from the hosts, meaning they didn’t record many chances on goal themselves in the moments that followed. Instead, SC’s searching long balls were most often intercepted by the Bayern backline or caught by Neuer.

VAR awards Bayern penalty, Kane tucks it away

With 10 minutes left to play before half-time, referee Christian Dingert was alerted by the VAR to the possibility of a handball inside the Freiburg area. Kane had headed the ball onto Max Rosenfelder’s arm as the two contested an aerial duel. After reviewing the incident, the referee awarded the hosts a penalty, which Kane converted to give his side the lead (38’).

Neither side made any changes at the interval. SC continued to play well and enjoyed a couple of chances of their own in the opening minutes of the second half. A free kick from Vincenzo Grifo sailed towards the far post, where Kübler was able to test Neuer properly for the first time (57’). Shortly after, the Bayern backline got in the way of a shot from Patrick Osterhage (60’).

Müller nets a second for the hosts

Bayern were able to add to their lead in the final 10 minutes. Despite having been kept quiet for much of the second 45 minutes, the hosts were then able to score their second of the night with what was their first shot on goal! Substitute Thomas Müller received the ball and beat Maximilian Eggestein, before burying the ball in the back of the net on what was his record-setting 710th competitive game for Bayern (78’).

Despite the setback, SC continued to fight until the end. They were awarded a penalty following a handball in the dying minutes of the match, but substitute Lucas Höler sent his spot-kick over the bar. In the end, SC were left empty-handed after a 2-0 defeat in Munich.

After the full-time whistle had gone, the 4,000 SC fans that had made the trip to Bavaria made sure the team felt their support. Schuster commented afterwards, saying “The lads took up the challenge at hand. The performance was overall good, although there were several times where we won possession but failed to make the most of it. The second half was evenly-matched and we can build on this game, despite the defeat.”

SC’s next Bundesliga game against VfL Bochum will be in two weeks' time, as the league campaign pauses for the first international break of the season. Freiburg will play a friendly behind closed doors against FC Basel on Friday, 6th September (12:00 CEST) during this time.

Photo: Achim Keller