Bundesliga
Hertha Berlin Shock Bayern Munich For Famous Win
Two first half goals helped Hertha Berlin defeat Bayern Munich for the first time in the Bundesliga in nine years.
A penalty from striker Vedad Ibisevic after 22 minutes gave Hertha the lead against the run of play.
On the stroke of half time Slovakian midfielder Ondrej Duda doubled Hertha’s advantage by smashing his shot into the net from close range.
It was an off night for Bayern who struggled to create any clear cut chances.
The defending champions had started well and were passing the ball sharply.
They could have taken the lead after just 14 minutes. A great corner in by James Rodriguez found Jerome Boateng in the penalty area.
But his free header looped just wide when he really should of hit the target.
However, it was Hertha Berlin who took the lead from their first meaningful attack.
A cross into the box by Duda found Vedad Ibisevic. The Bosnian’s header forced a fine save by Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal.
The loose ball fell to Salomon Kalou who was fouled inside the penalty area by Jerome Boateng.
Up stepped Ibisevic who send Neuer the wrong way to give Hertha the lead.
Bayern’s best chance of the first half fell to Arjen Robben.
A brilliant whipped cross by David Alaba found the Dutchman, but he couldn’t keep his first time shot down and it was fired well over the crossbar.
On the stroke of half time Hertha doubled their lead. Kalou laid the ball off to Lazaro who picked out Duda in the penalty area.
The Slovakian then smashed the ball high into the roof of the net from close range, to send the sell out home crowd into raptures.
No Response From Bayern
You would have expected an onslaught from Bayern in the second half as they tried to get back into the game.
However, that didn’t happen. Incredibly it took Bayern until the 64th minute to have an attempt on target.
Their best chance fell to Boateng. A great corner whipped in by Joshua Kimmich picked out Boateng.
His header was saved by Niklas Stark in the Hertha goal and fell to Bayern substitute Serge Gnabry but he couldn’t force the rebound into the net.
Overall it was a poor performance from Bayern and Hertha Berlin were able to hold on with ease.
A famous win for the Berlin side and a night their supporters will never forget.
Hertha Maintain Impressive Start
It has been a fantastic start to the season for Hertha manager Pal Dardai. 13 points out of 18 and currently second in the Bundesliga.
Dardai got his tactics spot on. They were hard to break down and were incredibly well organized defensively.
Not only that they looked threatening on the break and caused Bayern’s defense all sorts of problems.
They also have a goal threat with midfielder Ondrej Duda who’s goal made him the current top scorer in the Bundesliga with five goals.
Add it the goals and experience of Vedad Ibisevic, Hertha are a real threat going forward.
One of the standout performances was from attacking midfielder Valentino Lazaro.
The Austrian was everywhere. Making crucial interceptions to providing the assist for Hertha’s crucial second goal before half time.
At just 22 years of age his performance will have caught the eye of teams like Bayern.
Defensively they restricted Bayern so much that they didn’t have a single shot on target until midway through the second half.
This result kept up their impressive recent run against Bayern. Now drawing three and winning one of their last four meetings against the Bavarians.
If they can maintain this form a place in Europe next season could well be in their reach.
Worrying Week For Kovac
It has been a worrying week for new Bayern boss Niko Kovac.
A disappointing draw against Augsburg and defeat to Hertha, means that Bayern have dropped five points in just four days.
The performance will be the most concerning for Kovac. Probably more than the result itself.
They created very few clear cut chances and looked to run out of ideas in the second half.
You wouldn’t expect Bayern to go through nearly two thirds of any game in the Bundesliga without having an attempt on target.
Bayern’s passing was too slow and too predictable and it allowed Hertha to stay in their defensive shape with ease.
Kovac will be hoping that this was just an off night and will know that there is no reason to panic.
After all even if Dortmund defeat Leverkussen on Saturday, they will be just one point behind after six games.
But he will know there is much work and improvement to be made in the next couple of weeks.
Next up Bayern face Ajax at home in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hertha take on Mainz next Saturday in the Bundesliga.
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Photo credit to @HerthaBSC via Twitter
