Berlin (AFP)
Bayern Munich, coached by interim coach Hansi Flick, made just one mouthful of Düsseldorf on Saturday (4-0) to get back to one point from Bundesliga leader Mönchengladbach, defeated (2-0) at the 12th day by the Union Berlin.
The "Rekordmeister" is temporarily only second but Leipzig (21 pts), who receives at 18:30 the penultimate Cologne, can return to its height in case of victory.
. Bayern shows its muscles
Two weeks after thrashing Dortmund on the same score of 4-0, the defending champion has clearly displayed his national ambitions, going to win away against a team of Düsseldorf exceeded.
Benjamin Pavard (11th), Corentin Tolisso (27th), Serge Gnabry (34th) and Philippe Coutinho (70th) scored for the Bavarians.
Off the field, the discussion about the arrival of a new coach has suddenly lost some of its acuity. "Hansi" Flick, former assistant coach Niko Kovac, sacked on 3 November, was extended by club boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge "at least until Christmas".
He put the team back on track and seems to make everyone happy. The leaders gave him the goal of taking the lead of the Bundesliga before the Christmas break.
The press continued this week to agitate the hypothesis of an arrival in January of Mauricio Pochettino, ousted Thursday by Tottenham. The option to finish the season with Flick is also on the table, which would allow Bayern to try his luck with his favorite candidates: Thomas Tuchel and Erik ten Hag, currently under contract with Paris SG and Ajax Amsterdam.
. Mönchengladbach shows its limits
The move into the "old forest house" (Die Alte Försterei), the small but volcanic stadium of Union Berlin, will become a nightmare for the big arms: after dropping Dortmund from his pedestal leader on the third day ( 3-1), the promoted crunched Mönchengladbach Saturday 2-0.
Borussia international striker Marcus Thuram, a revelation at the start of the Bundesliga season, has been as silent as his team-mates. The team retains first place, but no longer has a wild card against Bayern.
In Mönchengladbach, whose five league titles were won in the 1970s, fans sing in every match "Mönchengladbach champion!" and brandish "Schale", the trophy of the winner, cut out of cardboard.
"Of course our fans have the right to dream, but we can not sing with them, we must keep our feet on the ground," said Marco Rose, the 43-year-old coach from Red Bull Salzburg in the offseason.
Just like at Dortmund last season, no one among the leaders pronounced the taboo word "title". Rose's only mantra is: "We want to win our matches".
. Dortmund at the bottom of the hole
Friday night, Borussia Dortmund was a little deeper in the crisis, passing a few seconds of a humiliation at home against the last Paderborn ranking.
After a disastrous first half of Dortmund, Paderborn led 3-0 at the break. Borussia returned to 3-3 in overtime, but the German press Saturday speculated on a quick dismissal coach Lucien Favre.
The Swiss, until further notice, is still in control to prepare his group for a difficult trip to Barcelona on Wednesday in the Champions League.
© 2019 AFP