For Bayern Munich, experience suggests that their fixture with St. Pauli should have been a fairly routine affair-simple enough to shake off the rust after the international break.
For an 18th-place team with problems scoring goals, St. Pauli seems to be the perfect opponent for Die Roten to return to their rhythm. As any football fan knows, however, simple on paper rarely plays out that way on the pitch.
A Stubborn St. Pauli Side
St. Pauli has the third-best defense in the Bundesliga, behind only Mainz and Bayern Munich, despite their low league standing. In keeping with their defensive ethos, the Kiezkicker was difficult to defeat.
While individual errors ultimately cost them the game, they made life difficult for Bayern for much of the match.
With Bayer Leverkusen breathing down their necks, Bayern cannot afford to let up. The title race is tighter than ever, and every game, however easy it seems, requires total commitment.
A slip could hand the advantage to their rivals, making each of these games a must-win.
The Injury Gods Strike Again
This injury list stretches even further before the match against St. Pauli: Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano, Manuel Neuer, Aleksandar Pavlović, Kingsley Coman, and the eternally injured Tarek Buchmann.
The latest to join them would be a reiteration that there seems to be no indication that these injury woes shall draw to a close anytime soon for Bayern Munich.
And just when it seemed that things could hardly get worse, Hiroki Ito was forced off the pitch after suffering a foot injury following his 58th-minute substitution for Raphaël Guerreiro.
Having previously struggled with metatarsal injury since preseason, raising fears about the seriousness of this latest setback, it is yet to be ascertained how serious the injury will be.
It remains yet another blow for an already-too-thinly stretched squad, perceived in fitness concerns around it.
Meanwhile, Bayern have also been hit with further defensive setbacks. Alphonso Davies will be sidelined until the conclusion of the current season due to a cruciate ligament injury he sustained while playing for Canada against the United States.
Dayot Upamecano, a center-back, is also out due to a knee injury sustained while playing for France in their victory against Croatia in the Nations League semifinals.
Leroy Sané Finds His Shooting Boots… Finally
Throughout the course of the entire season thus far, Bayern’s left-wing trio of Leroy Sané, Kingsley Coman, and Serge Gnabry has been constantly criticized for failure to show consistency in their roles, and not one of the three has taken sole possession to stake an indubitable starting position.
However, Sané proved all doubters wrong during the game with St. Pauli, as he netted two goals in an impressive performance.
While not the best season for him in the Bayern shirt (missed some huge opportunities), his two goals add to an impressive total of nine goals in the Bundesliga for the season and mark his highest scoring total for league campaigns at Bayern thus far.
Sané’s first came after exquisite skill from Michael Olise to loft the ball over the top. The German controlled it wonderfully before putting it past St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
His second was the kind of tidy finish produced by an unselfish Harry Kane assist, adding further icing on Bayern’s all-important cake.
Sané has, after this performance, cemented his left wing berth for the rest of the season, with restored confidence and sharpening finishing. His detractors may not have much room to maneuver should this kind of showing continue.
Harry Kane Ends Bundesliga Goal Drought
From when he opened the scoring for his country against Albania and Latvia in their World Cup Qualifier games, Kane carried on with that rhythm back to club football.
Yet he was made to wait until he met St. Pauli to register his name on the scoreboard; in between, the dangerous striker had gone an unusual five Bundesliga matches without a goal.
The 22nd Bundesliga strike of the season came when Kane finished from close range after receiving a cross from Olise, but typical of Kane; it was certainly a goal that constituted a reminder that he remains Bayern’s lone mode of reliance.
After having St. Pauli raised alarms in stoppage time, while most of the time Bayern were commanding, Lars Ritzka was lucky not to have scored from distance-level with a shot that went across low and fast to the bottom corner.
That, however, was nothing but consolation, as Bayern went on to victory.
This leaves Bayern with six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, with a record-extending 34th German title still in sight. With Bayer Leverkusen in hot pursuit, the pressure is on, but Bayern-time and again-has shown the mettle in their title bid.
Read More About: A Fiery Finish to UEFA Nations League 2025 Quarterfinals: More Interesting Matches, Final Four Teams Revealed.
