Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played out a thrilling match at the Allianz Arena on Friday night in the opening match of the Bundesliga’s fourth season, ending in a 2-2 draw. It was Harry Kane who broke the deadlock in the seventh minute with a poaching header from close range, and Alejandro Grimaldo equalized for the visitors with a stunning free kick in the 24th minute.
Bayern and their fans must have thought they had won when Leon Goretzka struck from close range with less than five minutes of 90 left, but they were in for a late surprise when Leverkusen were awarded a penalty two minutes from stoppage time. , and Exequiel Palacios made no mistake from the penalty spot.
A game
To say that the competition was exciting is by no means an exaggeration. It was an action-packed spectacle with moments flashing at each end of the field.
Bayern, as expected, started the game on the front foot and Kane’s first goal gave them some confidence from the start. But somewhere in the middle of the first half, Leverkusen began to seriously fight and came to life after Grimaldo’s goal, which equalized the score.
Victor Boniface was the man who threatened Sven Ulreich the most in the Bayern goal, often causing trouble for the Bavarian defenders and getting the better of them. But he just couldn’t score; Chances came and went as he missed the target on several occasions and Ullreich also made some excellent saves. On one occasion he actually sent the ball into the net, but the line judge’s flag correctly ruled that he was offside.
However, Bayern clearly didn’t just sit back and let the visitors do as they pleased. Kane, Goretzki, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry all had chances that came to nothing, while Leverkusen goalkeeper Lucas Hradecky also put in a fine performance.
The third goal of the game was just around the corner and the stadium erupted with joy as Goretzka made it 2-1 in the 86th minute. The win could have been taken away and would not have been undeserved from Bayern’s point of view, but losing this game would certainly have been a tough test for Leverkusen.
And in the end, a slightly clumsy move from Alphonso Davies resulted in a last-gasp equalizer. The Bayern left-back attempted to clear the ball from Jonas Hoffmann about a yard outside the penalty area on his flank, but ended up hitting the Leverkusen man’s ankle from behind. Referee Daniel Schlager did not see the violation at first, and when his assistant on the other side pointed to the corner flag, it seemed that nothing would come of it.
But Schlager eventually got a call from the VAR room and went to check the situation on the pitchside screen. On the way back he looked very determined, blew his whistle and pointed to the place. Some media covering the game described the punishment as “lenient”, but there can be no doubt that there was illegal, although probably unintentional, contact between Davis and Hoffman. This was a clear violation on the part of the Canadian national team player.
Kane is back in goal
Some were surprised when Bayern agreed to pay €100 million for Kane, aged 30 and in the final year of his Tottenham Hotspur contract.
However, the England captain has certainly done well to justify the money spent on his services, with four goals and one assist in four Bundesliga appearances so far. The Bavarians clearly lacked the powerful presence of a proven goalscorer to lead their line last season as they failed to sign a worthy replacement for Robert Lewandowski, but they now clearly have one in Kane.
Having scored numerous goals year after year in the Premier League, winning three Golden Boot awards in England’s top flight to date, Kane is now easily handling Bundesliga defenders and looks set to top the scoring charts in Germany as well. . It remains to be seen whether he will break the curse of his first major trophy, but with him in their ranks, Bayern are well positioned to help him finally achieve silverware.
Kane’s goal in this game may have been an easy goal that few would have conceded, but his movement to get past the crowd inside the box and complete his attempted clearance to slot home was the mark of a true football marksman.
It would probably be wrong to call Kane the best in his position in the game, especially with a man like Erling Haaland, but he is not far behind and can certainly be placed in a world class bracket.
Alonso left for Leverkusen
Giving Bayern such a good performance in Munich and showing the mental strength to not give up until the final whistle is something not every team can do. There has certainly been something special about Bayer Leverkusen since Xabi Alonso took charge of the team last October in his first stint as head coach of a senior team.
In a very interesting 2022/23 season, with Union Berlin securing their place in the Champions League and Freiburg finishing fifth, not to mention Borussia Dortmund, who were fighting Bayern for the title until the last game and finished level on points, Leverkusen managed to get ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt. on goal difference and secured second place in the Europa League. What we have seen in the Bundesliga this season suggests that Alonso’s side could soon be among the clubs vying for a trophy in UEFA’s second division.
This game was probably the perfect opportunity for Bayern to surge to the top of the German top-flight table, playing at home against a team that is keeping the race as tight as possible, but it didn’t happen – Leverkusen were simply too good and too determined not to let that happen.
Leverkusen still top the table. Both teams have 10 points from four matches each, with the Bavarians trailing on goal difference. They begin their European campaigns in a couple of days, with Bayern facing Manchester United at home in the Champions League and Leverkusen taking on Swedish side Haken at the BayArena in the Europa League. Alonso’s side will then have to hit the ground running to beat newly promoted Heidenheim at home, while Bayern welcome Bochum with the same idea.