Bayern begin life after Ancelotti by squandering two-goal lead in draw at Hertha
Posted Monday, October 02, 2017 by PA
Bayern Munich's misery deepened as they let a two-goal Bundesliga lead slip for the second consecutive week to draw 2-2 at Hertha Berlin.
Interim coach Willy Sagnol took charge of the Bundesliga champions after Carlo Ancelotti's departure following the midweek Champions League humbling at Paris St Germain.
But after Mats Hummels and Robert Lewandowski scored either side of the interval, Bayern were again on the wrong end of a comeback as Ondrej Duda and Salomon Kalou gave Hertha a deserved point.
The Bavarians' misery was compounded by the loss of Franck Ribery, who appeared to suffer a nasty injury when stretching for a ball in the second half.
Bayern had thrown away a 2-0 lead against Wolfsburg in their previous Bundesliga fixture.
But they seem determined to move on quickly from Ancelotti's exit and could have scored twice before Hummels' 10th-minute opener.
Hummels planted a free header wide before Lewandowski broke beyond the Hertha defence and squared to Thomas Muller, who missed his kick.
But Bayern were ahead when the unattended Hummels magnificently met Jerome Boateng's cross and beat Rune Jarstein with a powerful header from near the penalty spot.
The game was thrown into controversy - and confusion - after 17 minutes when Javi Martinez and Hertha midfielder Vladimir Darida came together just inside the Bayern penalty area.
Harm Osmers pointed to the spot but, after a lengthy delay in which the referee again looked at the incident on video pitchside, he reversed his decision.
Darida forced a fine low save from Sven Ulreich in the Bayern goal, but Hertha continued to struggle aerially and Lewandowski almost doubled the visitors' lead.
The Pole rounded Jarstein but Niklas Stark showed great awareness to get back and head off the goal-line.
Bayern were denied again when David Alaba's cross deflected off Mitchell Weiser and Jarstein produced a fine stop at his near post.
Weiser was soon involved at the other end when Kalou fired over, but Lewandowski had the final chance of the first half after spinning well in the penalty area.
Lewandowski was just wide on that occasion, but he claimed his eighth league goal of the season four minutes into the second period.
Corentin Tolisso's pass did not look too threatening but Lewandoswki outmuscled Stark and reacted quickly to the loose ball to finish inside Jarstein's near post.
Bayern appeared in cruise control, though just 87 seconds later the ball was in their net and Hertha had a route back into the game.
Genki Haraguchi's mazy run took out three defenders and the Japanese winger crossed for Duda to tap into an empty net.
It got even better for Hertha five minutes later when Tolisso failed to cut out Marvin Plattenhardt's free-kick and Kalou slid the ball past Ulreich.
The loss of Ribery disrupted Bayern until the visitors pressed furiously in the final 10 minutes.
But Hertha - who had won only once in their previous five league games - held firm to collect a precious point.
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