It should have felt at least as uncomfortable on the lawn as in Augsburg. Minus one degree Celsius was measured in Kiev on Tuesday evening, and instead of the cold, wet fog that had been in the air at Bayern’s 1: 2 last Friday, this time snow fell, which men in red vests tried in vain to shovel away before kick-off when the players were already running into the Champions League anthem.
There was of course a big difference in Bayern’s 2-1 (2-0) at Dynamo Kiev in the Olimpijskyi Stadium: They defeated the deeply defending underdog this time. Robert Lewandowski scored with a wonderful overhead kick, he has now scored in nine Champions League games in a row, the next arguments for the world footballer choice. Kingsley Coman scored the second goal. But the next parallel to the game in Augsburg four days earlier was that what was happening on the lawn was only one topic of the evening.
The first reported in the middle of the first half KickerWhat corresponds to SZ information: Of the five unvaccinated players who were absent from Kiev due to quarantine measures, two have now been vaccinated for the first time: Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry. At least some of the others, Joshua Kimmich, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance, should gain the insight that they should do the same as their colleagues. And for the club, two days before the annual general meeting, that was probably more important news than the fifth victory in the fifth Champions League game, which, after reaching the last 16, also meant an early group victory.
“Given the circumstances, we took a good bite, it was an important win,” said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann after the game at Dazn. And captain Manuel Neuer assured that they “only focused on the game and left the trivialities to the side”.
Seven players were absent in Kiev due to quarantine measures, in addition to the unvaccinated also Niklas Süle and Josip Stanisic, who had been tested again in the meantime, who had both been infected with the virus despite being vaccinated. The issue not only prompted the Bayern board to cut the unvaccinated person’s salary for the time they were in quarantine; Logically, it also concerns the team, as Nagelsmann, who has been talking more about Corona than about football for days, had confirmed the day before: “Controversial” discussions will take place in the dressing room. But he said: “We mustn’t make the mistake of projecting the surrounding issues onto the sporting side.”
However, this projection was again difficult to avoid in Kiev. There were only four field players on the bench. Instead of Kimmich, this time Corentin Tolisso played in the central midfield. Marcel Sabitzer, who was disappointing in Augsburg, had traveled with them, but was not in the squad due to a calf injury. And because the yellow-banned Dayot Upamecano was also missing in defense, Tanguy Nianzou got a chance.
Fans fight with the security staff, the police have to move
At the beginning of the game, there were a few positional errors in Munich’s backward movement, which reminded of the pattern of goals conceded in Augsburg. Kiev attacked Bavaria’s right side, Lucas Hernández clarified in a not so safe situation. In the stadium, however, just like Lewandowski’s dream goal, this almost went under after 14 minutes, because not very vivid scenes were taking place at the same time.
First a fan, apparently temperature resistant with a bare upper body, ran onto the square and could only be stopped by a straddling folder. Then a couple of supporters came towards him from the stands, who fought with the security guards until the police arrived. And shortly afterwards there was excitement in the guest fan block, where the Bayern supporters were apparently attacked; the police had to intervene here too, so that the excitement in the stands subsided.
The game remained an uncomfortable one for Bayern until the end, and the Munich team were always vulnerable on the defensive. In the first half it was mostly due to the conditions, Manuel Neuer stepped over the ball after a back pass in his slippery six-yard space, only the post prevented a strange goal. On the offensive, the Munich team scored the next nice goal shortly before the break, this time mainly in the development: Tolisso passed, Thomas Müller let the ball roll through his legs, Coman had a lot of time when he graduated.
Injured in a duel: Bayern defender Tanguy Nianzou (center).
(Photo: Sebastian Widmann / Getty Images)
But even after the break, when the snow was cleared on the tartan track, the Munich team had problems against the Ukrainians, who were still harmless at 5-0 in the first leg. After Neuer reacted strongly twice, he was beaten after 70 minutes. The way he scolded afterwards, he was visibly annoyed at how single goalscorer Denys Garmash had run towards him. One must “become more stable overall,” said Nagelsmann. Kiev now pushed for the equalizer, often came into Munich’s penalty area, sometimes with very simple means. Shortly before the end, only a tackle from Leon Goretzka prevented the chance to equalize after a long sprint back.
When the victory was certain, the Munich squad was briefly reduced by another player. Tanguy Nianzou was substituted off. Bayern had a few fewer problems on Tuesday evening, but by no means solved all of them.