The letter combination WWW may stand for the “World Wide Web” elsewhere, in Rheinhessen it is used to describe “Weck, Worscht and Woi”. When a larger group of Mainz fans, who made their way home after the 1: 3 defeat against Bayern, extensively sang about the culinary trinity, a discussion about the upcoming German soccer champion arose after a reporter question. But it was over a few seconds later: “Leipzig? Dortmund? Gladbach? You saw how Bayern played here today.”
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They had played pretty well. How could it be different if an away team has 65 percent possession and a pass rate of 89 percent? Above all, however, the basics were right for Bayern, as in the previous weeks – from the position game to the exploitation of opportunities to body language.
Just like David Alaba, who in the final phase loudly demanded more consistent vertical shifting and kept the teammates under tension. Or with Thomas Müller, who asked for the balls as enthusiastically as in his best times and otherwise simply fought for himself in his own half. It was only logical that Müller (14th minute) and the very agile Robert Lewandowski (8th) were among the goalscorers. It was also logical that with Müller and Thiago, who was fantastic in Mainz, the big winners of the coaching change from Niko Kovac to Hansi Flick were the decisive figures on the pitch.
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Thiago also scores in the third second round game
The man of the day was quickly identified: Thiago, who at the beginning of the season still seemed to be affected by puzzling shape fluctuations and a persistent phlegm, played well and was the starting point for almost all Bayern attacks. And of course he also met (26.) – after a remarkable solo in the Mainz penalty area.
“I am extremely pleased that Thiago has now entered the top scorer list for the third time in a row”, Flick praised his “stabilizer before the defense”. But the newly achieved accuracy is not the main reason why colleagues like Alaba are so happy about the resurrection of the Spaniard: “Today he showed what a great player he is. Especially on the ball, of course, but also on the defensive “said the Austrian.
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There were also things to criticize from a Bayern perspective: Before the Mainz 1: 3 by Jerry St. Juste (45th), the Bayern defense defended sleepily. How in the second half the brave 05ers, who were never concerned with damage limitation in front of their own audience, were granted a little too many opportunities for development. Mainz didn’t show a bad game, but it also didn’t have a millennium day, as coach Achim Beierlorzer believes it currently needs to take away points from Munich: “In the constitution in which Bayern is currently playing, it’s very, very difficult to take points at all. “
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This was similar to colleague Flick, who called the lead back in the table for the first time since the sixth matchday a “pleasant side effect”. There is “hardly any other team that has this quality”. But it will only prevail “if you concentrate on the games from the start. We did that”.
The first English week is coming
In fact, both the team performance and the way the forces were budgeted were remarkable. Because that’s how Flick contrite himself about the subtle drop in voltage after half an hour – everything else would have been simply uneconomical. Firstly, because Mainz was 0: 3 at that point.
On the other hand, because the DFB Cup game against Hoffenheim is coming up next Wednesday, before it can be a lot in the home game against Leipzig on Sunday. RB gave up points for the second time in a row and if Bayern should also win the fourth game of the second half of the season, a four-point deficit would have turned into a four-point advantage.
The forecast made by the Bayern fans for the end of the remote duels with Dortmund, Leipzig and Gladbach then completely coincided with that of the Mainz WWW Group. “Only the FCB will be German champions.” That the team had broadcast exactly this conviction in the 90 minutes before should be even more pleasing from Munich’s point of view than the optimism of their supporters.
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