BOCHUM: Champions Bayern Munich crashed to a 3-2 loss at VfL Bochum on Sunday for a third straight defeat in all competitions, dropping eight points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The Bavarians, who had Dayot Upamecano sent off for the second consecutive match after his dismissal in Wednesday’s Champions League loss to Lazio, showed no real game plan with coach Thomas Tuchel now facing mounting pressure.

His team had lost last week’s big league match against Leverkusen and suffered a 1-0 defeat to Italy’s Lazio in their round-of-16 first leg.

“Now (the title) does not look very realistic,” Tuchel said. “But last season we believed until the end and we were rewarded. So we will keep working at it.” Referring to the pressure on him following his team’s third loss, he added: “That happens after every defeat.

“The ‘how’ we played is key. The ‘how’ was good today and that’s why today’s 90 minutes are very different from the second half at Lazio or the game at Leverkusen.”

Bayern were desperate to bounce back and did get a 13th-minute lead when Jamal Musiala drilled in from a tight angle as early pressure paid off.

Bundesliga top scorer Harry Kane should have made it 2-0 but he missed a sitter in front of goal in the 19th, firing wildly over the bar.

Bochum upped the ante after that as Takuma Asano completed a quick break to stun Bayern with a 38th-minute equaliser.

They completed their comeback before the break when Keven Schlo­tterbeck headed in a corner in the 44th.

Kevin Stoeger’s 78th-minute penalty put the game to bed after Upame­cano was sent off for elbowing Stoeger in the box, with a second booking.

Kane tapped in his 25th league goal in the 87th but it did little more than inject some late drama, with Bochum holding on to the three points.

There was also drama after the final whistle with Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich leaving for the changing rooms after a heated verbal chat with Bayern assistant coach Zsolt Loew.

Bayern, chasing a record-extending 12th straight league title, are in second place on 50 points, eight behind Leverkusen, while Bochum moved up to 11th on 25.

“I think all of Bochum is proud of the performance we delivered.” Stoeger said. Bochum coach Thomas Letsch added: “To win against Bayern is especially nice, given they’re a team stacked with talent.”

Earlier on Sunday, Freiburg forward Michael Gregoritsch scored in the last minute to snatch his side a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Two goals from Ansgar Knauff, both set up by the impressive Omar Marmoush, who also got on the scoresheet, had Frankfurt on course for three points.

The visitors however failed to clear a corner and the 1.93-metre-tall Gregoritsch headed past Kevin Trapp to level the scores for Freiburg for the third and final time.

Frankfurt’s Marmoush scored first, but Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan hit back just three minutes later on the half-hour mark.

Marmoush’s superb pass allowed Knauff to score on the counter but the match was level again by half-time thanks to a penalty from Italy midfielder Vincenzo Grifo.

Knauff again put Frankfurt in front after 72 minutes before Gregoritsch came to the rescue.

Knauff then saved Frankfurt in the ninth minute of added time when he cleared a bouncing ball off the line.

The point moves Frankfurt four clear of Werder Bremen in sixth-place, the last European spot.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2024