Bayern Munich rally for 3-3 draw with Arminia Bielefeld

BA ERN Munich had to come from behind to secure a 3-3 draw with a strong Arminia Bielefeld in a thrilling Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena on Monday.

Following their FIFA Club World Cup title in warm Qatar, Bayern found a very different weather as a snowfall blanketed the pitch in Munich.

Coach Hansi Flick side missed key players Leon Goretzka and Thomas Mueller, and also Serge Gnabry, Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez and Douglas Costa, while Joshua Kimmich started on the bench.

“After the long trip and all the games I see things in a positive way. Today we must be happy with the point, but we must defend better,” Flick told broadcaster DA N after the game.

Promoted Bielefeld got the early lead on nine minutes after Michel Vlap had plenty of space on the edge of the box to control the ball and shoot it past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Thanks to another defensive attention lapse from Bayern, Amos Pieper headed in Bielefeld second goal before the break as play had to be interrupted twice in the first-half to clear snow off the pitch and switch balls from white to orange ones.

Bayern showed a fast reaction in the second-half with a volley goal from Robert Lewandowski in the 48th minute but celebrations didn’t last long as Christian Gebauer scored Arminia’s third ust one minute later. But a goal from Corentin Tolisso and a strong strike from outside of the box from Alphonso Davies saved a point for the home team.

Bielefeld managed to hit the net again but Sergio Cordova’s goal was ruled offside, while Fabia Klos clearance over the line in the 88th minute saved the visitors from defeat.

“Generally a difficult game. But we fought back. We had the flight (from Qatar to Germany) so the 3-3 is ok,” Mueller stand-in Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting said.

“(We’re) not happy but we’ve showed good mentality. We fought back and had chances until the end,” he added.

Klos said Bielefeld lost steam after the break but that he was “incredibly proud of the team,” and Pieper added “Bayern have showed who Bayern Munich are.”

“Once the snow was not there anymore it became difficult for us. If we can play like that here, we can definitely play like that against other opponents,” Klos said already thinking about the tough challenge against fourth-placed Wolfsburg on Friday.

Bayern lead now dropped from seven to five points over RB Leipzig, who beat Augsburg 2-1 on Friday. Bielefeld remained 16th in the relegation play-off spot. The Bavarians will have a week off as their Champions League clash at Lazio is next week. On Saturday they resume Bundesliga action at inform Eintracht Frankfurt.