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BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich suffered its third straight defeat on Sunday as Bochum came from behind to beat the 11-time defending Bundesliga champion 3-2.
It left Thomas Tuchel’s side eight points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen with 12 rounds remaining and will increase doubts over the Bayern boss’ future after a midweek defeat to Lazio in the Champions League and defeat 3-0 last weekend in Leverkusen.
“It feels like a horror movie that just doesn’t end,” said Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka. “Everything is going against us right now.”
Not even the fan protests against an investor outside the Bundesliga, which continued on Sunday with drone models flying onto the pitch during Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-3 draw with Freiburg and tennis balls interrupting Bayern’s game, They will give Tuchel a break from the scrutiny that is sure to follow.
“Today was a little bit like Murphy’s Law. Everything that could have gone against us, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong,” said Tuchel, who must now prepare for the visit of Leipzig next weekend.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said Tuchel will “of course” be in charge of that match, but did not rule out making a change at a later stage.
Sunday’s games were just the latest to suffer delays and interruptions as fans They showed their opposition to the controversial plan of the German soccer league sell a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights revenue to an external investor.
They started after Jamal Musiala put Bayern ahead from the start.
Bochum fans threw tennis balls onto the field, forcing play to be stopped. As soon as they were cleared, Bayern fans threw more from their section, prompting referee Daniel Schlager to order both teams to return to their locker rooms. The fans also chanted against the German Football League (DFL) with an insult.
Bochum coach Thomas Letsch took advantage of the unplanned break and had serious conversations with his players, and the match resumed about 13 minutes later.
“Of course you can use it to make some corrections. That’s the positive,” Letsch said of the protests.
Takuma Asano equalized in the 38th after making a one-two with Anthony Losilla, and Keven Schlotterbeck put the hosts ahead with a header from a corner before the break.
More tennis balls followed in the second half and Bayern’s problems continued when the match resumed. Tuchel sent on Leroy Sané and new signing Bryan Zaragoza during the last half hour.
But while Letsch stayed on the sidelines to cheer on his team, Tuchel remained withdrawn on his bench.
Things got worse for Bayern when Dayot Upamecano was penalized for a raised arm against Schlotterbeck in the 76th. The French defender received his second yellow card and Kevin Stöger scored from the penalty spot.
Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann made a good save to deny Sané before fellow substitute Mathys Tel set up Harry Kane for Bayern’s consolation in the 87th.
FLYING IN FRANKFURT
The Frankfurt match had barely started when fans threw candy onto the field to force a stoppage.
There was another heist after half-time when at least two small planes flew onto the pitch and more sweets were thrown from behind one of the goals.
“No to investors in the DFL!” reads a huge banner behind the goal.
Frankfurt striker Saša Kalajdžić had to leave early due to an apparent knee injury he suffered without the ball after the first interruption. He later reappeared on crutches.
Egyptian striker Omar Marmoush scored a goal and then set up substitute Ansgar Knauff twice for Frankfurt, but Michael Gregoritsch scored Freiburg’s third goal in the 89th. Gregoritsch also had a shot off the line and both teams went for victory in a frenetic ending.
PROTESTS EXTEND
There were also protests in the second division earlier, with Nuremberg fans disrupting their team’s match against Kaiserslautern by entering the stadium’s inner area to display banners denouncing the proposed deal directly behind one of the goals. The match resumed after several minutes when they were convinced to return to their places.
Friday and Saturday’s games They were also plagued by protests, which followed disruptions to the previous weekend’s matches in the first and second divisions.
Remotely controlled vehicles carrying smoke bombs were used to disrupt a match on Saturday.
Many fans want the DFL’s proposed deal to be scrapped entirely because they are concerned about the influence any investor could have on the league. As a first step, many are calling for a repeat of the December vote that narrowly approved the deal, this time with a public vote by club executives.
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AP Football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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