L ast Thursday FC Bayern celebrated years of existence. Despite the sense of ceremony, which will continue with a series of commemorative events in the weeks to come, and the plethora of connections they share with Stuttgart , Bayern could not have expected quite the number of presents that came their way from the hosts. It was their best performance in weeks and yet it counted for nothing as they took a pistol to their collective foot in the second half. Less than a month ago, Sebastian Hoeness โ just to remind, nephew of Uli and son of Dieter โ and his side were just a solitary point from fourth place and six ahead of Borussia Dortmund after winning at Signal Iduna Park.
Hoeness junior must be tearing his hair out. He sent his side out as he always does no matter the opposition, to dictate and to dominate. They took a deserved lead from an artful finish by ex-Bayern Angelo Stiller, earlier this week linked with a return to his hometown club to replace ex-Stuttgart youth teamer Joshua Kimmich, after Bayern withdrew their latest contract renewal offer to the latter.
This summer will mark five years since the year-old signed for Bayern. It has been a case study in kicking the can down the road. Ostensibly he has ticked off all the suitable stops on the road there since; as a starter for a title-chasing team in Ligue 1, becoming first-choice for a Bundesliga team, competing in the Champions League and even making his full Germany debut last autumn. He has come back well since but he will be 39 at the end of the month.
And Friday night suggested why. It was ultimately costly for Stuttgart, who have every chance of making the Champions League despite a vastly increased workload and some key personnel losses. Yet Eintracht remain third because those behind them continue to slip and slide.
.png/1200px-Taylor_Swift_at_the_2023_MTV_Video_Music_Awards_(3).png "Sluts in Gelsenkirchen")
Leipzig took the lead after 58 seconds against Mainz via Xavi Simons but the visitors now sit in the final Champions League spot after a quite exceptional second half in which Nadiem Amiri and Jonathan Burkhardt both scored to turn the game around.
