In an extraordinary turn of events in the Bundesliga on Saturday, previously undefeated Bayern Munich were beaten 3-1 away at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach.
Goals from Oscar Wendt, Lars Stindl and Fabian Johnson saw the hosts cruise home in the second half, while Franck Ribery netted for the visitors on his return from injury off the bench.
The win saw the hosts move up to third on the table, an incredible feat after their five straight defeats earlier in the season, while Bayern’s gap to second-place is only five points following Dortmund’s last-gasp win over Wolfsburg.
Borussia Monchengladbach
Yann Sommer – 8: The Swiss are supposedly neutral but Sommer was in full battle mode for Die Fohlen, keeping them in the game in the first half.
Julian Korb – 7: Tackled well, along with plenty of industrious running up the right, and his pass set up Fabian Johnson for the sealer.
Andreas Christensen – 8: Four tackles, eight aerials won, and hardly noticed. All good points for a brilliant central defensive performance.
Nico Elvedi – 6.5: Struggled initially and throughout to deal with Kingsley Coman, but held his own when the winger cut inside and got himself an assist.
Harvard Nordtveit – 7: A very composed, standard performance. Didn’t make any errors, and performed his role without been spectacular.
Oscar Wendt – 8: Another superb performance from the fullback, opening the scoring with a wonderful finish, while keeping Muller contained all night as well.
Fabian Johnson – 7: Yet another goal in an otherwise unspectacular performance out wide; the American can’t stop scoring right now.
Mahmoud Dahoud – 6.5: Another solid performance from the youngster without standing out, combined well in attack and helped shut down Bayern’s midfield.
Granit Xhaka – 7: Not his usual crisp passing display, but Xhaka fought hard, making a couple of brilliantly timed tackles, and led by example, refusing to let his temper get the better of him.
Raffael – 7: No goals for the Brazilian here, but a tidy layoff for Oscar Wendt to open the scoring only added to yet another strong performance here.
Lars Stindl – 7: Subdued for much of the first half before coming alive with a goal in the second, another composed performance from the German.
Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer – 5.5: Far from the custodian’s best game, and he won’t remember this one fondly. Did pull off one brilliant save from Korb to keep his side in the game at 1-0 however.
Philip Lahm – 6: A quiet game for the German at fullback, failing to make a tackle, and generally struggling to impose himself on the contest.
Jerome Boateng – 6: Despite some good passing early, Boateng never really got going, and it is hard to praise any centre-backs who concede three goals really.
Medhi Benatia – 6 – Much the same as Boateng, however Benatia tackled well on occasion, but still suffered from the same point as his defensive partner.
Rafinha – 6 – Not a bad game from the left-back, but was left exposed often in the second half, and was booked for lashing out after a poor tackle.
Xabi Alonso – 6.5 – Not quite his usual self in midfield, as he struggled to really impact the game before been substituted.
Javi Martinez – 6.5 – Similar to Alonso; struggled to maintain his usual passing rate, and despite making a few good tackles, couldn’t break open the game.
Arturo Vidal – 7.5 – A fine effort on a losing team. Was the beating heart of Bayern’s midfield, passing and tackling well and assisting Ribery’s goal.
Kingsley Coman – 7 – Was dangerous down the left in the first half, but struggled to make his final ball stick; hit the post in the first half when he arguably should’ve scored.
Thomas Muller – 6 – The German resumed his normal workmanlike role, but found himself steadfastly refused entry by Yann Sommer and the Gladbach defence on occasion.
Robert Lewandowski – 6.5 – Was unlucky to find Sommer in the form he was; he saw a couple of shots saved that would go in on every other day.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
