BERLIN — Bayern Munich’s crisis deepened Sunday as it was held to a 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin in its first Bundesliga game since firing Carlo Ancelotti as coach.
Bayern, which was mauled 3-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday, let slip a two-goal lead for the second successive German league game and now finds itself five points behind leader Borussia Dortmund after just seven rounds.
"It’s a bit annoying for us," interim coach Willy Sagnol said. "We have to play with more concentration and discipline. We paid dearly for not doing so. Without concentration, we’re not the strongest team in Germany."
Sagnol restored Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels to Bayern’s starting lineup following the side’s humiliation in Paris, and it was Hummels who opened the scoring in the 10th minute after a nervy start from the hosts.
Watch match highlights: SC Freiburg 3, Hoffenheim 2 || Hertha Berlin 2, Bayern Munich 2 ||
Hummels was left totally free to head Boateng’s cross inside the left post.
Hertha played with more courage afterward with Vladimir Darida and Salomon Kalou both finding chances but Robert Lewandowski went closest at the other end before the break. The Poland striker scored just after it, holding off Niklas Stark’s challenge to claim his eighth goal of the season.
But Ondrej Duda replied straight away, stabbing the ball home from close range after Japan’s Genki Haraguchi eluded challenges from Boateng, Joshua Kimmich and Hummels to set him up.
Bayern’s defensive frailties were exposed again five minutes later when Kalou equalized to send the home fans wild.
"We played like it was a day that you could beat Bayern," Hertha coach Pal Dardai said. "We showed too much respect in the first half."
It got worse for the visitors when Ribery had to be carried off after stepping on the ball. The French winger looked in pain as medics attended to his left knee.
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MISSING MODESTE
Anthony Modeste watched as his former side Cologne slipped to its sixth defeat in seven games in a 2-1 loss at home to Leipzig.
Modeste scored 25 goals for Cologne last season before joining Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian, and last-place Cologne has struggled since with just two goals in the league so far.
The home side had more chances in a game that swung from end to end, but Lukas Klostermann’s first-half strike and another goal late from Yussuf Poulsen were enough for Leipzig.
Yuya Osako scored Cologne’s first goal in five games in response to Poulsen’s goal, but it was too late for the home side.
"We’re not giving up," Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn said.
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FIRSTS IN FREIBURG
Hoffenheim slumped to its first defeat at Freiberg, where Christian Streich’s side claimed a 3-2 win for its first victory of the season.
"We put the setback behind us brilliantly," said Streich, whose side recovered from an early goal down with two in the next three minutes.
