Today Bayern Munich took on Bochum. The game kicked off intensely right away. Four minutes in saw Bochum step ahead by a goal from Azaouagh. The game was a pretty aggressive one from the start. van Bommel was shown a yellow card fifteen minutes in. It was a deserved card, but I'm still on the fence about the second yellow/red that followed just twelve minutes later. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of van Bommel's, but I really am not sure a yellow was warranted the second time. The first time, absolutely. Of course, it could just be because I hate seeing him kicked off the pitch.
Schweinsteiger reacted by pleading on his knees with the ref, but it was a yellow/red and Mark was sent off. There were a lot of attempts by Bayern. Franck missed several shots. Podolski was pretty much non existant in this match. This is why I keep saying that he will not get off the bench playing like this. Consistency is key and he just doesn't have it. I would put Miroslav Klose on the pitch every time over Podolski. Miro may not score, but he creates chances for his team mates. He is constantly providing Toni with goal opportunities. On games like today, it makes me wonder where Podolski's head is. He will have a fantastic game and you think that he's on his way back, it will warrant him a starting place because he's earned it and then he goes out and is practically invisible on the pitch. This is not the way you earn a consistent starting spot and for him to think that he deserves to be off the bench is a little bit absurd. We spent the entire game a man down from twenty seven minutes on and that brought out our fighting spirit.
The commentators on Gol talked about the presence of Mark and how important he is to the team. See, it's not just me ;) They discussed how this season Bayern have not lost a game with him on the pitch, but have lost two without and how they've conceded fewer goals with him on the pitch then without him. Evidently they really adore him too. They responded later to one of Lucio's attacks by saying he's no van Bommel.... I had a good laugh over that. ;)
Contain your shock people... I've actually posted a picture of Lucio in my blog! I'll give you all a moment to recover. ... Ready? Okay great. Four minutes after Mark got sent off, Lucio responded by scoring our equalizing goal. I'm still not a fan, but I can admit that there are times when he has some great qualities. Unfortunately, I notice all the mistakes he makes more than the good plays.
Schweinsteiger was seen off for Ottl and Klose came on for Podolski. Miro had a couple good chances, but nothing found the back of the net for him. Ribery capitalized on a penalty shot and fortunately for Mark, he was off the pitch and not able to make any more bets with Franck or he may have been out another 100 Euros. Christian Lell capped off the score to give Bayern a 3-1 victory over Bochum.
Below is a break down of goals and yellow cards as they were awarded.
// (4') M. Azaouagh, (31') F.d.S Lucio, (74'), F. Ribery (pen.), (88') C. Lell
// (15') van Bommel, (31') D. Fuchs, (36') D. Imhof, (51') B. Auer, (62') M. Pfertzel
// (27') van Bommel