MY ACCOUNT
Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann says it was a “nice feeling” to lift the Meisterschale after the Bundesliga champions were held to a 2-2 draw by Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Goals from Tiago Tomas and Sasa Kalajdzic either side of strikes from Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller secured a point for the visitors, while both teams missed other gilt-edged chances to seal a win in Sunday’s exciting contest.
Bayern winger Kingsley Coman was sent off in stoppage time at the end of the game for reacting to a challenge from Konstantinos Mavropanos, but it made no difference to the outcome.
The draw means that Stuttgart can still save themselves from 16th place and a relegation play-off spot in the final round of Bundesliga matches next week.
If Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men can beat Cologne at Mercedes-Benz Arena, they will leapfrog Hertha Berlin should Felix Magath’s side lose at Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern were presented with the Meisterschale on Sunday after winning the title at Dortmund two weeks ago, and Nagelsmann savoured celebrating winning the title for the first time.
“From a head coach’s point of view, the game against Dortmund was obviously more important, but when you then hold the trophy in your hands, it’s a nice feeling,” Nagelsmann told reporters after the presentation.
“For the fans it was a good game, both teams wanted to win. It was entertaining, with many chances. We did many things well with the ball. Overall, we didn’t defend well in phases after losing the ball. We gave away too many chances.”
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer says it was special to be lift the trophy in front of fans after being unable to do so last season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are happy that we can now hold the trophy in our hands, show it to our fans and celebrate with them,” Neuer said. “The last times fans weren’t here, so it was very important that the fans were there again. Today, unfortunately not everything worked. The result is not what we wanted.”
The 3-1 defeat at Mainz last week coupled with this result meant Bayern have claimed just one point since winning the league, and have conceded five goals in those two games, the same as they shipped in the nine games prior to that.
Matarazzo was pleased with his team’s performance, noting in particular their bravery as Stuttgart created 15 chances.
“There was a lot of heart in it. I am very happy with the point,” he said. “We were in the game from the first minute. It was good to take the lead, then we dropped a bit too deep and too far away from the opponents.
“Against Bayern, you simply have to survive their chances sometimes. In the first half, we had chances to calm the game down. We didn’t take advantage of that. We wanted to be brave and we were.”
