The old Bundesliga reflex: Bayern slip up, yet still come out on top | OneFootball

For the first time this season, FC Bayern has dropped points – yet they still emerge as the winners of the matchday. The 2-2 draw at Union Berlin ends their streak of 16 consecutive victories, but while Bayern is pleased with a "good point," their rivals falter once again at the crucial moment.

Vincent Kompany's team dropped two points against 11th-placed Union Berlin, with Harry Kane saving the draw in the last minute – and moments later, Borussia Dortmund squandered their victory in Hamburg, while RB Leipzig lost in Hoffenheim.

Bayern slips up but still extends their lead. Six points ahead of Leipzig, seven ahead of Dortmund – and this despite not winning for the first time. The pattern is well-known: whenever the record champions falter, their rivals get cold feet.

The league just doesn't learn

"We extended our lead," Manuel Neuer dryly noted after the game – hitting the nail on the head. The 39-year-old called the 2-2 a "moral victory" – and he wasn't far off.

Because, as so often in recent years, the chasers fail to seize their opportunity. Leipzig deservedly loses, Dortmund squanders the reward of a decent away game in injury time. It's this well-known Bundesliga paradox: Bayern makes mistakes, but only the others pay the price.

Even in 2023, when FCB wavered under Thomas Tuchel and Borussia Dortmund practically had the championship handed to them on the last matchday, it wasn't enough. Since 2013, this pattern has repeated – with changing names, but always the same result.

Bayern remains Bayern's biggest opponent

Even when Munich doesn't shine, they are there when it counts. The record champions don't have to play perfectly to end up on top – it's enough that their rivals once again don't believe in their own potential.

The conclusion of this 10th matchday is thus sobering: Bayern slips, the league slips with them.

And so everything seems the same – the record champions march ahead, while Dortmund and Leipzig once again prove why they are dangerous but not a real threat.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.