VfL Wolfsburg breathed life into the Bundesliga’s title race on Friday with a shock 4-1 hammering of leaders Bayern Munich, who suffered their heaviest German league defeat in six years.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern also lost their first league game of the season, as second-placed Wolfsburg trimmed their lead to eight points.
Bayern leaked as many goals in Wolfsburg as in the entire first half of the season, as the home side ruthlessly exploited Bayern’s numerous errors.
Photo: EPA
“We put in a huge performance,” beamed Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking.
“When you want to beat Bayern, you need a day like that,” Hecking said.
“The team did everything we talked about and it went 100 percent according to plan,” he added.
Photo: Reuters
Netherlands striker Bas Dost gave the hosts a deserved 2-0 lead at the break as his thunderbolt volley crashed in off the post just before the half-time whistle following an earlier goal.
Belgium international Kevin de Bruyne made sure of the three points with two second half goals, while defender Juan Bernat scored Bayern’s consolation goal.
“We made a lot of mistakes and let them hit us on the counterattack,” admitted Bayern’s stand-in captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, with Philipp Lahm injured.
“We lost our shape and we lost too many balls, it wasn’t our day,” Schweinsteiger said.
“We have to analyze the performance and do better,” he added.
For the first time in three years, Bayern found themselves 2-0 down at half-time on their way to their heaviest league defeat since losing 5-1 at Wolfsburg in April 2009 — when Wolves won the Bundesliga title.
“They were better in the key moments. After losing too many balls, we couldn’t control Wolfsburg’s counterattacks,” Guardiola said.
There were emotional scenes before kick-off at the Volkswagen Arena, with a minute’s applause for Belgium under-21 international Junior Malanda, who was killed in a car crash earlier this month.
The hosts went ahead on their first venture into the Bayern half.
Daniel Caligiuri’s long-range cross from the sidelines was squared by De Bruyne and Dost drove his shot past the diving Manuel Neuer with four minutes on the clock.
Wolfsburg’s Maximillion Arnold tried to knock Xabi Alonso off the ball from a free-kick on 43 minutes and both players were booked.
The hosts doubled their lead when Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski headed a Wolfsburg free-kick into space. Dost latched onto the loose ball and volleyed home in spectacular fashion from the edge of the area.
Wolves went 3-0 up just after the break when Arnold’s pass put De Bruyne in behind the Bayern defense and he rifled his shot home.
Bernat gave Bayern some hope when he stabbed his shot past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio with 35 minutes left.
The Swiss shot-stopper protected Wolfsburg’s lead when he palmed Arjen Robben’s shot over the bar with 70 minutes gone as the hosts held on for a deserved victory over Bayern, who are bidding for a third straight league title.
LA LIGA
A late penalty by Celso Borges gave RC Deportivo de La Coruna a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano de Madrid in the Spanish league on Friday.
The match began with a minute’s silence for former Rayo and Nigeria goalkeeper Wilfred Agbonavbare, who died of cancer aged 48.
Deportivo goalkeeper Fabricio Ramirez made an athletic save by getting a hand to Leo Baptistao’s powerful shot in the third minute.
Costa Rica midfielder Borges opened the scoring on his Deportivo debut from a rebound after goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez parried a shot in the 10th.
“We got our teeth into the match and the squad showed great character,” Borges said. “It’s great to add points and I’m proud of our team who battled to the very end.”
Alberto Bueno leveled in the 22nd with his seventh league goal from Baptistao’s failed clearance.
Rodriguez made two saves in a row in the 45th.
“We need to concentrate more and make fewer mistakes,” said Rodriguez. “We’ve got a lot to do to improve and I hope that we can change for our next match.”
Deportivo won the penalty when defender Abdoulaye Ba held Sidnei in the area and Borges converted in the 72nd.
Deportivo rises to 13th place in the standings after 21 games, while Rayo is 10th on 23. Real Madrid leads on 48, with a game in hand.
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