Bayern Munich were humbled 2-1 by promoted minnows Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while the Bavarians’ rivals Bayer Leverkusen routed Freiburg 5-0 to lead the table.
Bayern Munich’s new coach Louis van Gaal is still waiting for his first Bundesliga win since taking charge last month as his side were outplayed by Mainz.
Van Gaal left unfit midfielder Franck Ribery out of his squad, but the Frenchman is expected to be given game time in next Saturday’s clash with champions Wolfsburg, with Bayern badly needing their playmaker back.
PHOTO: AFP
“I think everyone saw we started very badly,” Bayern’s Dutch coach van Gaal said. “Our work-rate was disappointing from the beginning, which is why I made two changes early on.”
Bayern got off to a dreadful start, finding themselves 2-0 down after just 37 minutes.
Austrian midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz struck the first blow on 25 minutes when he collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and curled his shot inside the near post, out of the reach of Bayern goalkeeper Michael Rensing.
Burkino Faso striker Aristide Bance added the second on 37 minutes when he finished the move he started by winning an aerial battle with Bayern’s Belgium defender Daniel van Buyten and his header was pin-point accurate.
Bance had further chances to increase Mainz’s lead, while Bayern striker Mario Gomez went closest when forward Ivica Olic threaded a pass through the defense, but the Germany star fired wide just before halftime.
The expected response from Bayern came after just two minutes of the second half.
Bayern’s teenage striker Thomas Mueller, who had replaced midfielder Hamit Altintop during the first half, fired home, his shot deflecting off Mainz defender Nikolce Noveski.
Bayern could not force the equalizer, however, and the defeat leaves them with two points from three games.
Bayer Leverkusen went top of the table after three games when they hammered Freiburg.
Germany squad member Stefan Kiessling and Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta scored early on for Bayer, but the floodgates opened with 20 minutes left.
First Leverkusen’s Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok smashed his free-kick at Freiburg goalkeeper Manuel Salz, who parried the shot, but it still flew into the back of the net to make it 3-0.
Barnetta scored his second of the game with 15 minutes left, while Derdiyok also grabbed his second to complete the rout on 80 minutes.
Hannover striker Jiri Stajner scored twice and missed a penalty in his side’s 2-0 win over Nuremberg, while Cologne were held 0-0 by Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart drew 1-1 at Borussia Dortmund.
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