Fans return in numbers as Bayern Munich are held by Gladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Bayern Munich
(Plea 10' – Lewandowski 42')
Borussia Park, Mönchengladbach

The opening ten minutes of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season were unusual. You couldn't hear the players calling to each other, you couldn't hear the coaches bellowing instructions, and you couldn't hear the metronomic thumps of boot on ball.

Instead, it was loud at Borussia Park. Deafeningly loud. It was loud when Patrick Herrmann fired just wide, and it got even louder when he went through one-on-one with Manuel Neuer but inexplicably opted to pass. Then, when Alassane Plea finally gave Borussia Mönchengladbach the lead they so richly deserved against Bayern Munich, the stadium exploded.

It wasn't just the series of missed chances which led to the cacophony; it felt like the culmination of almost 18 months of restrictions, lockdowns, infections and social distancing – not to mention the illness and fatalities.

But now, for the first time since their home game against Borussia Dortmund on March 7, 2020, Gladbach were playing in front of a significant number of supporters: 22,925 to be precise, 50% of available capacity, in accordance with current regulations. But they made enough noise for twice as many.

Technically, there were no away supporters. But, with tickets not selling as quickly as Gladbach would have hoped, some were snapped up by Bayern Munich fans. And when Robert Lewandowski – who else? – drew the reigning champions level from a corner just before half-time, they made themselves heard, too.

'That Bundesliga feeling again!'

"It's unusual to see so many people in one place again, but it's so much better," said one of them, Phil. "Just watching games on television with no atmosphere took some getting used to, but I couldn't watch any more football without fans. Finally, that Bundesliga feeling again!"

Gladbach supporter Christian agreed. "Watching on TV just isn't the same," he said. "You can't follow the tactics as well and you don't feel the emotions."

With the vaccination rate in Germany at 56.6% percent, fans were admitted according to the "3G" principle: "Geimpfte, Genesene, Getestete" – vaccinated, recovered or tested. Elsewhere, namely in Cologne and Dortmund, it will be "2G," with negative tests no longer accepted.

"Personally, I think that's a good thing," said Christian, echoing the thoughts of most. "It gives people an incentive to get vaccinated and makes the whole situation safer."

Bayern fan Phil was less sure. "I can understand it, but what about me?" he said. "I'm not vaccinated so I couldn't come anymore. Maybe tests would be better. But only vaccinated people? What about people who don't want to get vaccinated?"

Emotions return on a Sommer's night

Whether vaccinated, recovered or tested, those inside the stadium on Friday experienced a much tenser second half, as Bayern Munich increased the pressure. If it wasn't for a string of superb saves from Gladbach's Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, Lewandowski would have had a hat-trick.

But the Foals, under new head coach Adi Hütter, were relentless in their pressing and tackling, and continued to threaten on the break.

When captain Lars Stindl attempted to launch one such counterattack on the hour-mark, Herrmann was screaming and gesticulating wildly for a ball into space on the right-hand side. Perhaps, in the empty stadiums of the pandemic era, Stindl would have heard him? Amid the din here tonight, he certainly didn't, and the chance was wasted.

There were groans of despair when substitute Marcus Thuram failed to connect in the box, and fervent appeals when he appeared to be brought down by Bayern debutant Dayot Upamecano in the box. When the video assistant referee didn't even check the replay, the fans were up on the fences, arms flailing wildly.

Even coach Hütter was booked for remonstrating over-enthusiastically with the referee, while Bayern's Joshua Kimmich at one point refused to accept an apology from Stindl for a professional foul. They made up, although Stindl may not have been so understanding had Kimmich put away a late chance to win it for Bayern.

It finished all-square, but the emotions were well and truly back, and so was that Bundesliga feeling.

Relive the action as it happened on the next page.

90' FULL TIME! 

85' Two penalty claims in two minutes

Marcus Thuram and Lars Stindl were very close to scoring Gladbach's second, but both attackers failed to reach the ball from very close range. Gladbach's French winger argued he had been fouled in the box, and it seemed like this was indeed a foul by Dayot Upamecano, but no penalty was given. Two minutes later, and Thuram faced Upamecano yet again, resulting in the Frenchmal falling in the box. Again, the referee decided against awarding Gladbach a penalty. Two borderline decisions by referee Marco Fritz and his VAR team.

Marcus Thuram has been Gladbach's most dangerous player since coming on, and Bayern Munich's defense has found it difficult dealing with his speed and dribbling so far. What a game!

69' "Neuer is Neuer"

While Yann Sommer did his part to deny Bayern from scoring, the Germany goalkeeper had his part in keeping the score level, too. First, he saved a Marcus Thuram shot capping a beautiful Gladbach move. Then, Neuer easily took a Hannes Wolf shot from outside the box. Two outstanding goalkeeping performances tonight.

60' Sommer. Again.

The Swiss goalkeeper is at it tonight. This time, Sommer saved a Robert Lewandowski shot from inside the box after a beautiful Alphonso Davies pass. It's going to take something spectacular to happen for him not to become the man of the match.

54' Gladbach on the offensive

Adi Hütter's players have been pressing Bayern, taking risks and going forward, which resulted in two goalscoring opportunities for the home side. Patrick Herrman's free kick found Stefan Lainer inside the box, but the Austrian only managed to head the ball wide. A minute later, Manuel Neuer saved a Florian Neuhaus volley. This game is so much fun to watch for the neutrals.

45' The second half gets underway

45' HALF TIME!

42' Bayern equalize! Guess who?

You guessed it, it's Robert Lewandowsk first of the Bundesliga season. Joshua Kimmich's corner found the Pole inside the box, and the Bayern striker's volley went straight into the net. Bayern Munich's first half has been anything but impressive so far, and Julian Nagelsmann has spent large parts of his first 45 minutes as Bayern coach shouting instructions on the sidelines. Not an easy debut for the 34-year-old coach.

26' Yann Sommer doing Yann Sommer things

The Gladbach keeper captured the continent's hearts with his performances at the Euros, and his good form continued into the Bundesliga season. Robert Lewandowski may have wanted to score his first goal for the 2021/22 campaign, but the Swiss international was there to prevent him from doing just that. Lewandowski's second chance came after a brilliant Alphonso Davies cross into the box, which left the Bundesliga's top goalscorer from last season alone with Sommer. If there's one Bundesliga keeper to be trusted to save the day against Lewandowski...

Gladbach are still 1-0 up and looking good value for their lead.

10' GLADBACH SCORE!

And it's Alassane Plea who scored the Bundesliga's first goal of the 2021/22 campaign! The French striker caps an excellent Gladbach move with a neat finish into Manuel Neuer's near corner. The Germany international had no chance. The atmosphere at the Borussia Park is through the roof! 

6' Aggressive start for Gladbach, Bayern has first chance.

The home side are giving Bayern Munich a run for their money so far with two big chances. Patrick Herrmann's shot from inside the box went just wide of Manuel Neuer's goal, while young Bayern defender Joshua Kimmich's slide prevented the ball from getting to Lars Stindl, and Manuel Neuer managed to clear the ball. Two minutes later, and Serge Gnabry was left alone in the Gladbach box, but his shot went wide. What a start at the Borussia Park!

1' KICKOFF

What the coaches say

Gladbach coach Adi Hütter: "We have to act as a unit, run a lot and bring a lot of passion into the game. We have to defend as a team and improve our defensive record from last season."

Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann: "We’re aiming to press high up the pitch and have a lot of the ball. We’ll try to apply as much pressure as possible and reach the areas where it’s more difficult for the opponent to defend. As Bayern Munich, our goal has to be playing attractive and successful football."

Upamecano, Stanisic start for Bayern

New signing Dayot Upamecano makes his debut for Bayern Munich against Gladbach, while 21-year-old defender Josip Stanisic also starts, his second Bundesliga appearance. American defender Joe Scally makes his first-ever Bundesliga start since joining Gladbach from MLS side NYC FC in January. 

Intrigue elsewhere

This game may be the headline act but there are plenty of other games worth keeping and eye on over the weekend. Borussia Dortmund also start with a tough one, hosting Eintracht Frankfurt in the late game on Saturday. Marco Rose will want to get off to a strong start even if he is doing it without Jadon Sancho. Earlier on Saturday, newcomers Bochum and Greuther Fürth face tough tasks away at Champions League Wolfsburg and Stuttgart respectively.

Head-to-head

They may have lost 6-0 at the Allianz Arena in May but Borussia Mönchengladbach have been awkward opponents for Bayern in the recent past. The Foals won the return fixture at Borussia Park last term and have actually won three of the last four against the champions at home. Overall though, Bayern have won 51 of the 106 Bundesliga matches, Gladbach just 26.

Another word of warning for the Foals comes from the opening day of last season. Bayern crushed Schalke 8-0 back then and have an exceptional opening day record. Robert Lewandowski also enjoys starting strongly, having scored on the previous six opening days.

Team news

Nagelsmann has a big decision to make at right back, with Benjamin Pavard out for "several weeks," according to the Bayern website. On the other side of the defense, Lucas Hernandez will also miss out. Alphonso Davies is a "candidate to start", said Nagelsmann while Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman only returned to training this week.

Gladbach will be without Swiss striker Breel Embolo, who impressed at the Euros, Ramy Bensebaini, Manu Kone, but Denis Zakaria is back in contention after contracting COVID-19. Marcus Thuram and Jonas Hofmann are also back in contention.

Quotes from the coaches

Julian Nagelsmann: "When you look back at recent years, we should be beaming with confidence. It was a bit of a rugged pre-season, but that wasn’t just the case for us, but also other clubs. It’d be good if everything clicked into gear at 20:30 tomorrow. It won’t be possible for both teams to deliver fireworks for 90 minutes on Friday."

Adi Hütter: "The stadium will be half full, which we're looking forward to. The atmosphere will be important and will hopefully help boost the team. We're hoping to ignite a spark, together with the fans."

New faces

As well as the new men in the dugout, both sides have new options among the playing staff. Dayot Upamecano is probably the most significant addition at Bayern, after treading the same path as Nagelsmann from RB Leipzig. The French center back cost about €42.5 million ($50 million) and may well soon be joined by another Leipzig man in Marcel Sabitzer, but that deal is not yet over the line.

Gladbach have also been fairly quiet in the market so far, with highly rated left back Luca Netz, 18, arriving from Hertha Berlin for €4 million and Hannes Wolf joining permanently after a loan spell last season. But, crucially, Gladbach have managed to hang on to all their key men despite the lack of European football. In Yann Sommer, Matthias Ginter, Denis Zakaria, Florian Nehaus, Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram, Hütter has a strong spine to work with.

The big kickoff

Here we go again then. Just 33 days after the final of Euro 2020, the Bundesliga is back. It will look a little different of course, but we will see the return of fans, to varying degrees. All the ins and outs of the coronavirus regulations in the league are here. 

On the pitch, this is a huge game to start with. Bayern come in as champions, of course, and Julian Nagelsmann becomes the fifth permanent coach to take the helm since the departure of Pep Guardiola in 2016. As well as dealing with the political power games that saw the end of Hansi Flick, Nagelsmann will have to quickly learn to cope with a much harsher spotlight than at Hoffenheim or RB Leipzig.

The champions always start the season on a Friday night in Germany but this time round, they start with a big one. Gladbach had a strange season last year. A strong first half of the season (Hinrunde) was undone when Marco Rose agreed to join Borussia Dortmund for this season. Despite making the knockout stages of the Champions League, the Foals never truly recovered from that and finished outside the European places, which could yet prove an advantage. Former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Adi Hütter takes charge of them for the first time in the league and the squad he has demands he improve on last season.