Mario Gotze toils as Bayern Munich denied Bundesliga title for now
Bayern Munich's title celebrations are on hold after a tepid 1-1 home draw against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
A fourth Bundesliga title in succession looked plain sailing when Thomas Muller headed Bayern into the lead in the sixth minute, but an experimental XI failed to press home their early advantage.
Below-par Bayern "B" seemed content to go through the motions with one eye on Tuesday's Champions League semifinal second leg against Atletico Madrid in Munich. Consequently, it was hardly a surprise when Andre Hahn equalised for the Foals after 72 minutes.
Here are the ratings as Bayern hold a five-point lead over nearest challengers Borussia Dortmund with just two games remaining ...
Player ratings (1-10; 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):
GK Manuel Neuer, 7 -- Bayern's ever-present goalkeeper produced a fine save to keep out Hahn's header after 16 minutes. Skipper for the day in Philipp Lahm's absence, he could do nothing to prevent Hahn's deserved equaliser. His biggest problem of the day, however, were the invading pigeons in his penalty box.
DF Serdar Tasci, 6 -- Only his third game since moving from Spartak Moscow on loan and a huge improvement on his previous home appearance, back in February. Tasci almost got on the end of Muller's header for his first Bayern goal, but picked up a yellow card for a clumsy foul on Ibrahima Traore.
DF Jerome Boateng, 7 -- Calm and composed on his return after over three months out with a groin injury. Bayern's rock at the back has missed 20 games, but provided there's no reaction to his shift here, he'll start against Atletico.
DF Medhi Benatia, 5 -- The injury-prone Moroccan never looked totally comfortable alongside Tasci and Boateng in a three-man backline. Benatia was caught badly out of position for the equaliser, and we won't be seeing this trio again in the Champions League in midweek.
MF Juan Bernat, 6 -- Toiled industriously on the left hand side but very little goal threat emanates from the Spaniard, who's only managed one goal in two seasons.
MF Joshua Kimmich, 7 -- Restored to the midfield engine room after helping out impressively in central defence in recent months. Solid, yet unspectacular, but the versatile 21-year-old has a huge future ahead of him.
MF Sebastian Rode, 6 -- A fresh face in midfield, grabbing only his third league start of the season. Rode beavered away in the middle.
MF Rafinha, 6 -- The twice-capped Brazilian put in another perfectly steady shift on the right side of midfield, but hardly something to get the juices flowing. There wasn't even one of his regular yellow cards to get worked up about.
MF Mario Gotze, 5 -- Largely anonymous before being put out his misery just after the hour mark. After stretching his miserable scoring run to a single goal in 25 Bundesliga games, he'll be back on bench-warming duties for Tuesday's crunch Champions League semifinal second leg against Atletico. Where did it all go wrong, Mario?
MF Kingsley Coman, 6 -- Shone brightly on occasion but very little end product, compared to his brilliance from earlier in the season.
FW Thomas Muller, 6 -- Restored to the starting lineup on his 350th appearance for the club, Muller nodded Bayern into the lead for his 20th Bundesliga goal, seven more than his previous best season. Here's a surprise stat: Bayern failed to win for the first time in 52 games when Muller scored but have the consolation of remaining unbeaten in 71.
Substitutes:
MF Thiago, 6 -- Replaced Gotze just after the hour but was almost as ineffective as the German.
DF David Alaba, 6 -- The Austrian replaced Boateng and Bayern allowed the equaliser a few minutes later.
MF Douglas Costa, N/R -- Shone brightly for the last 13 minutes as Bayern chased a title-clinching goal to no avail.
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