Bayern held again in 1st game since firing coach Ancelotti

Bayern Munich’s crisis deepened Sunday as it was held to a 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin in its first Bundesliga game since firing Carlo Ancelotti as coach.

Bayern, which was mauled 3-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday, let slip a two-goal lead for the second successive German league game and now finds itself five points behind leader Borussia Dortmund after just seven rounds.

“It’s a bit annoying for us,” interim coach Willy Sagnol said. “We have to play with more concentration and discipline. We paid dearly for not doing so. Without concentration, we’re not the strongest team in Germany.”

Sagnol restored Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels to Bayern’s starting lineup following the side’s humiliation in Paris, and it was Hummels who opened the scoring in the 10th minute after a nervy start from the hosts.

Hummels was left totally free to head Boateng’s cross inside the left post.

Hertha played with more courage afterward with Vladimir Darida and Salomon Kalou both finding chances but Robert Lewandowski went closest at the other end before the break.

The Poland striker scored just after it, holding off Niklas Stark’s challenge to claim his eighth goal of the season.

But Ondrej Duda replied straight away, stabbing the ball home from close range after Japan’s Genki Haraguchi eluded challenges from Boateng, Joshua Kimmich and Hummels to set him up.

Bayern’s defensive frailties Yesterday SC Freiburg-Hoffenheim .................. 3-2 Hertha Berlin-Bayern Munich .......... 2-2 FC Koln-RB Leipzig ............................ 1-2

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Dortmund 7 6 1 0 21 2 19 Bayern Munich 7 4 2 1 16 7 14 Hoffenheim 7 4 2 1 13 8 14 RB Leipzig 7 4 1 2 12 8 13 Hannover 7 3 3 1 7 4 12 FC Augsburg 7 3 2 2 9 6 11 B. M’gladbach 7 3 2 2 10 12 11 E. Frankfurt 7 3 1 3 6 6 10 Schalke 7 3 1 3 8 9 10 Hertha Berlin 7 2 3 2 8 8 9 B. Leverkusen 7 2 2 3 13 11 8 Wolfsburg 7 1 4 2 6 9 7 FSV Mainz 05 7 2 1 4 7 11 7 VfB Stuttgart 7 2 1 4 4 9 7 SC Freiburg 7 1 4 2 5 11 7 Hamburger SV 7 2 1 4 4 11 7 Werder Bremen7 0 4 3 3 7 4 FC Koln 7 0 1 6 2 15 1 were exposed again five minutes later when Kalou equalized to send the home fans wild.

It got worse for the visitors when Ribery had to be carried off after stepping on the ball. The French winger looked in pain as