"Perhaps we were too timid in the first half but we did better in the second," declared Sven Bender after the game. "Who knows. If Kevin had made made it 2-2 we might have turned the game round. Bayern were clinical and deserved to win because of that." Kevin Volland said: "We started really well and put Bayern under pressure. Even when we were 2-0 down we kept going but we ended up losing in the end. It's annoying." And the captain Lars Bender said: "We have to keep on believing in ourselves but you can see there's room for improvement."
There was huge media interest in the first Bundesliga match of the year. The game between the Werkself and the German record champions was broadcast live in 190 countries. And it was no surprise there were plenty of VIPs amongst the capacity crowd at the BayArena. The visitor list included Thomas Schneider and Marcus Sorg, the two assistants to Germany coach Joachim Löw, the former Leverkusen player Franco Foda (now the Austria coach), the two Bayer 04 honorary captains Bernd Schneider and Ulf Kirsten plus the former Werkself pros Marko Babic, Falko Götz and Patrick Helmes.
Bayer 04 head coach Heiko Herrlich played a 3-4-3 formation. The back three were Jonathan Tah, Sven Bender and Wendell. Lars Bender and Dominik Kohr played in the holding midfield role with Karim Bellarabi and Leon Bailey on the wings. Kai Havertz, Kevin Volland and Julian Brandt played up front. The line-up was definitely full of offensive potential. The Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation with Thomas Müller as the central striker. New signing Sandro Wagner started on the bench. Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels were ruled out due to injuries.
"We want to get into them and cause them problems," said Jonathan Tah ahead of the match. And the Werkself pressed from the kick-off, defending high up the pitch and were quick to close Bayern down. However, the first chance of the match fell to the visitors on four minutes through Franck Ribery but Bellarabi was able to block his effort on goal. The first promising counter from the Werkself, playing in all red, came a minute later with a move involving Brandt and Bailey. The Jamaican was halted by the Bayern defence in the opposition box. Bayern pressed forward again with Arturo Vidal having a double chance to score. First, Leno saved his shot from a tight angle and then he held onto header from the Chilean on 16 minutes. The best chance for the hosts followed soon after on 17 minutes: Kohr rose highest to meet a cross from Brandt but his header from seven yards out went just wide of the left upright.
The Werkself succeeded in disrupting Bayern in transition in the opening thirty minutes so the visitors were forced to play long balls. Bayern needed a set piece to make the breakthrough. A corner from Arjen Robben ended up at the feet of Javier Martinez following a header by Vidal and an attempted clearance from Sven Bender - and the Spaniard fired the ball into the back of the net to give the record champions the lead just after the half-hour mark. The strike proved effective. Bayer 04 were now unable to press as well as in the opening 30 minutes. Bayern continued to pose a threat from set pieces and there were further chances for Martinez (38') and Süle (40'). The Werkself went into half-time 1-0 down although they were the better side for much of the first half.
There were no changes at the break and the Werkself were the first out of the blocks again. Sven Bender just missed converting a deflected free kick from Brandt on 54 minutes and then Bailey beat Niklas Süle before hitting the bar with his shot on 55 minutes. That could have been the leveler. But it was Bayern who scored next. Thomas Müller put a shot just wide of Bernd Lerno's goal on 57 minutes and then Ribery broke through into the box on the left to slot the ball into the net at the near post to double the lead for FC Bayern on 59 minutes.That goal hurt but Bayer 04 refused to give up . And they were soon rewarded with a goal from Volland, who beat three Bayern players on the edge of penalty area before unleashing a shot that deflected off Süle into net leaving Sven Ulreich stranded and the score at 2-1 on 71 minutes.
Volland's tenth goal of the season put the Werkself back in the game. And there was plenty of pressure. Volland could have equalised following a fine pass from Kai Havertz but Jerome Boateng was able to make a last-ditch tackle on 76 minutes. A minute later, the substitute Lucas Alario put a shot just wide of the target. Bayer 04 were close to making it 2-2 but added time saw Bayern settle the result: James curled a free kick into the top corner of the net to make it 3-1 for the visitors on 90 plus 1.
The team that played today will have a recovery session on Saturday while the rest of the squad have a friendly against third division Sportfreunde Lotte at 11.00 CET. Entrance to the match at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium is free – and the game will be broadcast live on bayer04.de and Facebook.
The next Bundesliga fixture for the Werkself is away to TSG Hoffenheim at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena on Saturday 20 January with a 15.30 CET kick-off.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Leno - Tah, S. Bender, Wendell - Bellarabi (Henrichs 61', L. Bender, Kohr (Alario 64'), Bailey - Havertz, Volland, Brandt (Mehmedi 77')
FC Bayern Munich: Ulreich - Rafinha, J. Boateng, Süle, Alaba - Javier Martinez - Robben (Coman 64'), Vidal, James, F. Ribery (Wagner 78') - Müller
Goals: 0-1 Javier Martinez (32'), 0-2 Ribery (59'), 1-2 Volland (71'), 1-3 James (90+1')
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)
Booked: Volland, Bellarabi - Müller, Rafinha
Attendance: 30,210 (sell out)
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