Bayern Munich’s hopes of retaining their Bundesliga title suffered a major blow as they lost 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. The defeat left them five points behind the leaders and put their confidence in doubt ahead of their Champions League last-16 first-leg match against Lazio on Wednesday.
Leverkusen stun Bayern with clinical display
Leverkusen, who had lost their previous two league games, produced a stunning performance to end Bayern’s 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions. They took the lead in the 18th minute when Florian Wirtz curled a superb shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. Patrik Schick doubled their advantage just before half-time, heading in a cross from Moussa Diaby. Karim Bellarabi sealed the victory in the 77th minute, finishing off a swift counter-attack after a mistake by David Alaba.
Bayern, who had scored 16 goals in their previous four league games, were frustrated by Leverkusen’s disciplined defence and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who made several fine saves. Harry Kane, the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 24 goals, had a quiet game and barely tested Hradecky. Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane also missed good chances for the visitors, who failed to score in a league game for the first time since October.
Bayern face uphill battle to retain title
The result was a huge setback for Bayern, who are aiming to win their 10th consecutive Bundesliga title. They remain in second place, but are now five points behind Leverkusen, who have a game in hand. Bayern have also played one more game than third-placed Borussia Dortmund, who are four points behind them.
Bayern’s coach Thomas Tuchel admitted that his team did not play well and praised Leverkusen’s performance. He said: “We didn’t play in a clever way. Our positioning wasn’t how we’d planned. Leverkusen were very strong, very aggressive, very compact. They deserved to win.”
Tuchel also said that his team needed to recover quickly and focus on the Champions League, where they are the defending champions. He said: “The good thing is we’ve got a game straight after. We want to get to the next round. We want to make up for things that we didn’t do well in Leverkusen.”
Lazio hope to exploit Bayern’s vulnerability
Lazio, who will host Bayern on Wednesday, will hope to take advantage of Bayern’s vulnerability and cause an upset in the Champions League. The Italian side are eighth in Serie A, but have won four of their last five league games. They have also reached the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, where they will face Inter Milan.
Lazio’s coach Simone Inzaghi said that his team were looking forward to the challenge of facing Bayern, who he described as “one of the best teams in the world”. He said: “We have a lot of respect for Bayern, but we also have a lot of confidence in ourselves. We have worked hard to get to this stage of the competition and we want to enjoy it and give our best.”
Lazio’s main threat will come from their captain Ciro Immobile, who is the top scorer in Serie A with 19 goals. The striker, who won the European Golden Shoe last season, said that he was motivated by the prospect of facing Kane, who he called “a phenomenon”. He said: “Numbers are important for a striker, but being able to compare myself with top-level players like Harry Kane is a big motivation for me. It allows me to understand the level I have reached in my career. But this is not a direct match with Kane that matters but the match between Lazio and Bayern.”