Mitchell Weiser stunned his former club with the only goal as Werder Bremen beat Bayern Munich 1-0 on Sunday to keep Bayer Leverkusen seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. Bayern were last held scoreless in the competition in February 2020, when former Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann's Leipzig recorded a 0-0 draw at the Allianz Arena. Bremen's victory, their first over Bayern in any competition since 2008, marked the end of a 27-match winless run against the German champions, including 26 defeats.
Leverkusen's 3-2 win at RB Leipzig on Saturday, with Xabi Alonso's men twice coming from behind to score the winner in stoppage time, put the pressure back on Bayern, who went into Sunday's match two games ahead .
“You have to ask the players,” Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel told DAZN when asked about the performance.
“We played today as if it didn't matter, as if we were ten points ahead and had a Champions League match to play on Tuesday.
“After the result in Leverkusen we wanted to start aggressively and send a signal, but that didn't work at all.”
Bremen were unlucky to have a VAR goal penalized in the first half due to a foul on Jamal Musiala, but Weiser took matters into his own hands in the second period, sliding down the right wing and firing into the net after 59 minutes .
“We showed everything you need to show to win here. Today we had a perfect day – and with that you can beat Bayern,” said Weiser.
Bayern pinned Bremen in their own penalty area after the opener, but were unable to break through.
Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller told DAZN that his team was “slow and lifeless” and called the result “a hard slap in the face”.
Bremen traveled to Munich looking to overturn recent history as the visitors had not beaten Bayern in any competition for sixteen years.
On that day, a teenage Mesut Özil ran riot, scoring one goal and assisting two more in a 5-2 win in happier times for the four-time Bundesliga winners.
Bremen started strongly, with Weiser forcing a fingertip save from Manuel Neuer midway through the first half.
Bremen's Justin Njinmah had the ball in the net after a lightning counter-attack, but the goal was disallowed, with the VAR finding a foul on Musiala at the other end of the pitch.
Bayern left the field amid much cheering and whistles, but the break did not revive the home team and Bremen continued to impress.
Weiser, who spent three years at Bayern after arriving as an 18-year-old before leaving on a free transfer in 2015, impressively gave the visitors the lead, dancing down the right flank and firing a rocket into the top of the net. .
Bremen's victory handed the defending champions their second league defeat of the season.
Bayern can close the gap at the top when they play their match at home against Union Berlin on Wednesday.
Bremen's victory moves them nine points clear of the relegation places.
Later on Sunday, Borussia Mönchengladbach will host Augsburg.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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