Same again please
FC Bayern Headquarters, Munich - One might forgive FC Bayern München for dwelling on last Friday's 3-1 Bundesliga defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
A valuable three points dropped to a possible title contender, the ignominy of being doubled by Gladbach for the first time since 1996, and a serious injury to central defender Daniel van Buyten were just three bruises that a battered Bayern took back with them to Munich after the game.
But the mood at Säbener Strasse today was one of quiet optimism ahead of the visit of VfL Wolfsburg to the Allianz Arena this Saturday.
Inevitably, much of today's press conference centered on the team's reaction to their display in Mönchengladbach, but striker Mario Gomez and defender Holger Badstuber were both firmly focused on the coming clash with former Bayern coach Felix Magath's Wolves.
"We didn't do a lot wrong against Gladbach. Unfortunately for us, they capitalized on the few mistakes we did make," admitted Gomez. "But we've spoken about when and where we need to add some variation to our play."
The convenient way in which the Bundesliga fixture list is drawn up means Bayern now face the team against whom they began their remarkable run at the beginning of the season. After the opening day defeat to Gladbach, the Reds won eight and drew one of their next nine league games without conceding a single goal.
"It's hard to compare how the two teams are now to what they were then, but of course weâd love to put another run together like that one," said a smiling Badstuber.Were Bayern to play any team at home looking to kick-start a run of good results, it would be Wolfsburg. With just four points from their nine games in the road this season, VfL have the worst away record in the division.
Manuel Neuer for one will be hoping to make amends for his error last Friday. What will encourage him, however, is that he followed a similar mistake against Gladbach at the beginning of the season with 1,147 minutes' worth of clean sheets, a record even he might have trouble breaking. Even for the most cynical of Bayern supporters, the signs are encouraging.
Bernie Reeves is a sports reporter for The Munich Times. You can hear him on the latest German Soccer Podcast. Email TMT Sports at sports@themunicheye.com
