Have Leipzig become Bayern’s greatest Bundesliga irritant? | Bundesliga

There has, for some time, been a deal of irritation in parts of Germany’s football-following community over the international marketing of Bayern Munich’s clashes with Borussia Dortmund as Der Klassiker. The epithet can’t truly pretend to be equivalent to its Spanish – or even French – counterpart, being more a way of framing Bayern versus current next best than reference to some historical struggle.

That Dortmund have grown into their role in the would-be rivalry is a post-2013 Champions League construct, a natural fit with BVB’s own global appeal and their consistent pitching up just shy of throwing distance from Bayern’s windows. What repercussions would it have, though, if they were no longer Bayern’s greatest irritant?

If it was going to be anyone else, it was always going to be Leipzig. A club that Dortmund see themselves as a diametric opposite to – and accordingly, one might argue, the confrontations between Leipzig and BVB are laced with considerably more spice that anything involving Bayern – have had their gaze fixed firmly skyward ever since promotion in 2016, and even the haters have long since been forced to accept it’s a residency, rather than just a stop for lunch, at the top table. Even some of those not instinctively predisposed to tolerating the Leipzig model must admit that they are moving gently towards making inroads into the current hegemony. Bayern had failed to score in only two of their previous 70 matches going into this latest meeting. The opponents on those two occasions? Leipzig.

Saturday’s 3-3 Allianz Arena draw between the pair was perhaps not, then, the expected recipe of stopping the Rekordmeister but was more than a thrilling match in itself. It was a suggestion that the Bundesliga might contain some jeopardy going forward into winter and spring, a prospect that has felt less likely given the stumbles of Lucien Favre’s side in recent weeks. We are more than aware of Bayern’s intensive programme – even though they had only five days’ more involvement in August’s final stages of the Champions League than Leipzig – and their complicated personnel situation, with a number of injuries even if Hansi Flick, to his credit, has attempted to avoid fully engaging with this theme publicly.

This was by no means the ideal occasion for Julian Nagelsmann and company to hollow a pothole in Bayern’s lawn either, though. They had made the long journey back from Istanbul in the wee hours of Thursday after just about preserving their hopes of progression in this season’s Champions League at Basaksehir, a match they won once, let slip and then were forced to go and win all over again. Flick’s players, in contrast, were tucked up in bed long before having played Atlético Madrid in a virtual dead rubber the night before; dead enough for Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski and Leon Goretzka to stay home while their teammates were on duty in the Spanish capital.

By Saturday night, the bedsocks seemed like they were still on as Leipzig started with greater purpose. Neuer was caught short of his normal decisiveness for the opening goal, rushing out to intercept Emil Forsberg’s through ball by finding Christopher Nkunku to be a sliver quicker as he slalomed around the goalkeeper and slid the ball into the empty net. It was a historic moment for while Leipzig have caused Bayern difficulty in the recent past, they had never actually scored at the Allianz before.

The home side roused themselves from their slumber, with 17-year-old Jamal Musiala – who had shone in Madrid – rifling in a super equaliser before the sort of Bayern team-crafted goal that is simultaneously streamlined and ostentatious was finished by Thomas Müller. Müller, perhaps, deserved an assist for audibly urging Musiala “shoot!” before the English midfielder hit the leveller.

That normally signals the deluge, but Leipzig were level almost instantly via Justin Kluivert, and Forsberg even put the visitors in the lead again in the second half after a sweeping move of Leipzig’s own before Müller (“one of the people who organises the resistance,” as Flick put it to Süddeutsche Zeitung recently) levelled again. Depleted as Bayern may be Leipzig’s ability to lift themselves was impressive, particularly with their Champions League destiny on the horizon for Tuesday.

Nagelsmann had spoken before the game about his team’s need to tread a tightrope between ambition and foolhardiness, particularly given their schedule. “My boys want to win the game and will give it their all,” he had said, “[but] we also need to keep in mind that we have a must-win game in the Champions League against Manchester United next Tuesday, and we must make logical and smart decisions.” For all the artistic merit of their game’s high points and the wild oscillation of the scoring, Leipzig were able to play economically and, in the wake of Müller’s second-half equaliser, tidily.

The hope is that Nagelsmann’s senior men will continue to set the tone as they face United. Whilst it was natural to wonder before the season if Leipzig’s youth-first policy had reached its zenith in the Lisbon semi-final, experience has crept up on them almost more by circumstance than design. Forsberg, at 29 and after a few fallow-ish seasons, has re-emerged as a force and Kevin Kampl (30) continues to be hugely influential after returning from injury. Their importance is manifest – “both of them know what a beer tastes like,” in the words of Leipziger Volkszeitung’s Guido Schäfer.

The visit of United might have the greatest importance in the immediate context but this match – a pretty inconvenience in the calendar – will live in the memory. Even more so if it proves to be a semi-template for the future of the Bundesliga, rather than a curio of the times.

Talking points

• Elsewhere in what we hope is the title race, Dortmund extended their winless run in the Bundesliga to three – perhaps unsurprisingly given they haven’t won at Eintracht Frankfurt since 2013 and they are facing a pile of injuries (including Erling Haaland). Gio Reyna’s magnificent equaliser saved a point in a strong second-half display and Dan-Axel Zagadou made a welcome comeback.

• Finally, a home victory for Hertha – and not just any old win, but in the Berlin derby after going a goal down in the first half to Liverpool loanee Taiwo Awoniyi’s strike for Union. Unfortunately for the visitors the rather too-psyched-up Robert Andrich saw red minutes later for a wild challenge and Hertha ground it out, with Krzysztof Piatek hitting a quickfire brace late on to seal it. Another blow for Union was that Max Kruse will be out for eight weeks after tearing a thigh muscle late on.

• If this column has one bit of YouTube-based advice, it’s to look up Silas Wamangituka’s winner for Stuttgart at Werder Bremen, painstakingly toed over the line in a way that absolutely enraged the home side’s Davie Selke.

• 26. That’s where we’re at with Schalke’s winless run after a demoralising 3-0 home loss to unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen. As teenage defender Malick Diaw, who headed an own goal opener, said: “It sucks for all of us, young or old.”