Bitter European evening

Bayern frustration: “Clear foul play” led to debacle

Excitement at Bayern after the disputed 1-2, but the VAR does not intervene.

(Bild: AFP/APA/Josep LAGO)

After the 4:1 defeat against FC Barcelona in the Champions League, Bayern have identified a central scene that heralded their downfall: shortly before the second Barca goal by ex-Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski 

Lewandowski of all people! The Pole, who has immortalized himself in the FC Bayern history books several times, broke his former club's back with his 2:1 in the 36th minute. The Germans were unable to recover from falling behind again and ultimately left the pitch with a 4-1 defeat on Wednesday evening.

Lewandowski himself cheered cautiously out of respect for Bayern - but there was a lot of excitement behind him. Because the goal was preceded by a controversial scene. After a long ball from youngster Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez beat Minja Kim in an aerial duel. However, he also gave the South Korean a slight push in the back, which knocked him off balance. Kim missed the ball and made the decisive play possible.

"It was a very unfortunate goal to concede. You can see that the arm is there. The problem is, when you jump, you don't have that much tension and then a little push is enough for you not to catch the ball very well. If he whistles that in the game, then he definitely doesn't take it back. For me, it's more of a foul," Joshua Kimmich told DAZN after the game. 

Experts also see foul play
After the incident, a crowd of Bayern players formed around referee Slavko Vincic. However, the VAR did not intervene and the Slovenian awarded the goal. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was furious and talked tirelessly to the fourth official - to no avail, of course. 

There was no more success for his team either. In the end, they left the pitch broken - and with the feeling that they had been disadvantaged. There was also support for this from some experts. "It's open to interpretation. For me, it's more of a foul. The player's intention is clearly not to go after the ball, but to disrupt him so that he can't get to the ball," said former Bayern player Michael Ballack on DAZN.

And former Bayern coach Felix Magath also spoke to Bild of a "clear foul": "The opponent has no chance at all. If he's in the air and gets a push from behind, he can't do anything. If I'm standing on the ground with both feet, I can defend myself. I can't defend myself when I've jumped up." That doesn't change the bitter defeat and Munich now have to find a sporting response.