However, that did not stop a group of Bayern fans from making the trip to Moscow to watch their boys. A couple incredibly resourceful fan groups rented out an office in a neighboring skyscraper so that around 70 Bayern faithful could still enjoy a nice view of the match:
Now those are real fans!
Tobias Schweinsteiger, a Bayern Munich reserve player and older brother of Bastian also attended, tweeting “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
H/T Abendzeitung
Image provided by Getty
After taking on and beating newcomers SC Paderborn last Tuesday, Bayern now play the Bundesliga’s second promoted club in Saturday’s trip to face FC Köln. The Reds are looking to cement their place at the top of the table but the history of the fixture suggests there are no guarantees when the teams meet in the Rhineland. fcbayern.de presents the big match factfile.
Of the 41 times the clubs have met at FC Köln’s home ground, Bayern have won 18, the home side have won 14, and nine games have ended in draws. FCB are narrowly ahead on goals scored by 73 to 64.
FCB’s recent record in Cologne is very impressive, as Munich have won eight of their last 11 trips to the Rhineland metropolis, with two draws and only one defeat.
However, the Billy Goats have proved difficult opponents down the years: FCB’s average of 1.62 points per game against Köln is their second-lowest against any of the current Bundesliga clubs. In the all-time Bundesliga stats, Bayern have only lost more often to Bremen (26 times) than the men from Cologne (23).
The fixture comes with a near-guarantee of goals as the all-time average goals-per-game stands at 3.3 – and Bayern have scored at least once on their last ten visits to the RheinEnergieStadion. However, Köln currently boast the best defensive record in the top flight with only one goal against in five matches.
Bayern triumphed 4-1 at the RheinEnergieStadion on the 34th and last matchday in 2011/12 with goals from Thomas Müller (34, 85), Arjen Robben (54) and a Geromel own goal (52). FCB finished second in the standings, but the defeat meant Köln slipped to 17th and were relegated.
Knut Kircher will referee Saturday’s game, with the 45-year-old engineer taking charge of a match involving Munich for the 30th time. He most recently whistled FCB’s 4-0 win at Hannover in February this year. His assistants are Robert Kempter and Thorsten Schiffner, and Thorsten Schriever is the fourth official.
Former Manchester City player Jerome Boateng scored a stunning late volley to break City hearts at the Allianz Arena in their opening Champions League game.
The ball fell to Boateng after City had failed to clear a Bayern cross and he struck a wonderful volley to beat Joe Hart after he had pulled off a number of saves to keep the German Champions at bay.
Hart produced saves from Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and David Alaba in the first half as well as doing well to force Robert Lewandowski wide in a one-on-one situation in the first half in a stellar performance from the England number one.
City had chances of their own and had a good claim for a penalty turned down when David Silva went down in the box under a challenge from Mehdi Benatia.
The Premier League Champions could have fallen behind inside the first minute when Muller was played through and rounded Hart but he could only put the ball into the side netting.
Hart saved a deflected shot from Gotze midway through the half and not long later denied Alaba's stinging effort from outside the area. City rarely threatened but Edin Dzeko come close when he curled a shot just wide of Manuel Neuer's post.
City were resilient in the second half and managed to keep Bayern at an arms length for the majority of the half, as Hart once again pulled off a save to deny Boateng.
The fatal blow was struck a minute before the end of normal time as the ball dropped to Boateng on the edge of the box and he struck a volley that replays appeared to show took a big deflection off Mario Gotze that flew past Hart and sent Pep Guardiola into delirium.
City did have a chance to nick an equaliser in the final minute of stoppage time as substitute Sergio Aguero outpaced Dante to poke the ball at goal but it rolled agonisingly wide.
Bayern go into the 2014/15 Champions League campaign in midweek with their confidence high after a morale-boosting Bundesliga victory over VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, as the Reds made it an astonishing 12 straight wins in all competitions against their south German rivals.
The 71,137 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena saw Pep Guardiola’s reshuffled team ease into the driving seat after quarter of an hour and take a deserved 27th-minute lead through Mario Götze. FCB always had the match under control but found clear-cut chances hard to come by against Armin Veh’s well-organised visitors, and although both Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski hit the goal frame in the second half, 85 minutes had been played before sub Franck Ribery marked his first appearance of term with his side’s second.
With three games played, the champions are now joint top of the table with Leverkusen on seven points. The double winners return to action on Wednesday with the opening Champions League fixture of term at home to Manchester City, before the Bundesliga trip to Hamburg the following Saturday.
Guardiola’s starting line-up showed two changes compared to the 1-1 draw away to Schalke two weeks ago, with Dante and Juan Bernat replacing Sebastian Rode and Xherdan Shaqiri. Alonso recovered from a foot problem in time to start and Franck Ribery took a seat on the bench for the first time this season. The Frenchman was joined in the dugout by new signing Mehdi Benatia, but Arjen Robben was not in the matchday squad.
The champions began with Neuer in goal and Jerome Boateng, Dante and Holger Badstuber in a nominal back three. Alonso anchored the midfield with Philipp Lahm, David Alaba, Bernat, Götze and Thomas Müller frequently swapping places ahead of him, and Robert Lewandowski at centre-forward.
After referee Thorsten Kinhöfer whistled play underway the home team withstood the visitors’ brief opening flurry and soon began to make chances. Müller was unable to get any power behind a header from a Boateng cross and VfB keeper Sven Ulreich raced from goal to deny Lewandowski, before the Stuttgart goalie pulled off two fine saves in a minute against Götze and Müller.
Antonio Rüdiger headed VfB’s first chance wide from a corner but it was otherwise all FCB and the breakthrough duly arrived on 27 minutes, Götze skilfully controlling the loose ball after Alonso’s arcing free-kick and spearing a shot across Ulreich into the corner of the net.
Guardiola’s men kept up the pressure and there were half-chances for Lewandowski and Müller, with Kinhöfer waving aside the Germany man’s shout for handball in the box by Gotoku Sakai, but FCB suffered a setback on 41 minutes when Badstuber hobbled off clutching his thigh and was replaced by young Gianluca Gaudino. Lahm switched to right-back as the half drifted to a close with Munich a goal to the good.
The pace remained moderate for a spell after the restart before Alaba lofted a 59th-minute drive over the bar following a lovely dribble by Gaudino. Bernat and Götze both elected to pass when a shot might have been the better option and Alaba scuffed his 18-yard effort, before goalscorer Götze gave way to Ribery after 68 minutes.
Bayern had the game under control but a half-chance on the break for VfB’s Timo Werner reminded the home team that a second would make it safe. The Reds were unlucky twice in the 72nd minute when Alonso’s deflected shot looped off the angle off post and bar, with Lewandowski turning the rebound onto the upright.
Stuttgart launched a late offensive and Neuer showed all his footballing skills to clear a couple of floated passes towards his box, but the home side finally had some space now and Ribery wrapped up the points five minutes from time with a cross-shot from the tireless Lewandowski’s angled pass. Rüdiger hacked Ribery’s last-minute lob off the line as Guardiola’s men completed an ultimately routine victory.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
| FC Bayern | Neuer - Boateng, Dante, Badstuber (Gaudino 44) - Xabi Alonso – Alaba, Lahm, Juan Bernat, Götze (Ribery 68) – Müller, Lewandowski (Pizarro 87) |
| Substitute | Starke, Benatia, Rode, Shaqiri |
| VfB Stuttgart | Ulreich - Klein, Schwaab, Rüdiger, Sakai - Oriol Romeu, Gentner (Gruezo 69) - Harnik, Leitner (Maxim 81), Werner – Ibisevic (Kostic 46) |
| Substitute | Kirschbaum, Haggui, Niedermeier, Rausch |
| Referee | Thorsten Kinhöfer (Herne) |
| Viewers | 71,000 (capacity) |
| Goals | 1-0 Götze (27), 2-0 Ribery (85) |
| Yellow card | Alonso / Romeu, Kostic |
Bundesliga coaches are normally irritated by international breaks, but for once the latest interruption comes at just the right time for Bayern. The aftermath of the World Cup and a long injury roster means it provides a good opportunity for deficits to be remedied in training and injuries given time to heal. “The international break is a chance for us,” Philipp Lahm told FCB.tv.
The FCB captain, who was given what he described as “a superb send-off” this week after retiring from international football, acknowledged that training at the club with a decimated squad was a new experience for him. “I’m not used to it,” agreed the 30-year-old, who is currently working hard on his general fitness. He spent Friday lunchtime performing conditioning exercise supervised by specialist Dr. Holger Broich.
Earlier in the day, Lahm was one of just six first-team players to report for squad training. The remainder are either representing their countries or having treatment from the medical unit, which has devised special programmes for each player depending on the stage of his recovery. On Friday that meant:
Holger Badstuber and Pepe Reina (pelvic strain) trained in the performance centre.Xabi Alonso, who came away from his debut at Schalke with a sore foot, received treatment. Arjen Robben (ankle) started jogging, while new signing Medhi Benatia(sprain) continued his sports rehab with running and ball-based exercise. All five should be fit to resume team training next week.
Mitchell Weiser (knee ligaments), who started running last week and worked out in the performance centre on Friday, could also be back with the team next week. There was progress for Rafinha (ankle ligaments) and Thiago (ruptured knee ligaments) as both have begun running drills this week.Bastian Schweinsteiger (kneecap) is currently at work on the Ergometer and in the weights room.
Individual training has been the focus this week, but once the internationals return in the course of next week, Pep Guardiola can restart tactical drills. “We need to be in a position to play 90 minutes’ worth of the football we played for the first 20 or 30 at Schalke,” said Lahm.
However, the players now have the weekend off as Guardiola next wants his men back at the Säbener Strasse on Monday afternoon. “It’s a new situation for me,” said Lahm, “we don’t often have the weekend off, so we’ll enjoy it.” The FCB captain intends to take a short break with his family “and catch a few rays”. Lahm has obviously quickly learned to love international breaks.
