BFW Fight Club: Did Lucas Hernandez make a U-turn away from Erling Haaland?

Like any heated match, Der Klassiker between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund was a spirited affair that saw emotions run high and physical play get ramped up.

In the second half, however, one particular altercation let the internet abuzz as contact between Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland and Bayern Munich record-transfer Lucas Hernandez left some fans thinking Hernandez was “ready to go” until he saw his potential opponent:

Here is the account from the Daily Star:

Haaland, who has grown a reputation for stirring the pot with opponents, was well up for the battle and bundled Hernandez to the floor in the second half. The Bayern left-back did not look happy with the challenge, and turned around as he got back on his feet to confront the offender.

But as he came face-to-face with the prolific Dortmund striker, Hernandez immediately outstretched his arm for a handshake. It appeared he didn’t want anything to do with the 6’4” monster, as they then came together in a strange embrace before running off.

This is the account from Sport Bible:

A furious Lucas Hernandez made a hilarious U-turn on a potentially heated altercation after realising it was Erling Haaland who brought him down in a challenge.

After years of footballing fight coverage, we at BFW consider ourselves the experts in the genre. Here is our take:

Aside of Hernandez playing center-back and not left-back as stated in the Daily Star description, it could also be argued that Frenchman’s “U-turn” is a bit exaggerated as well. Surely, Hernandez did not like the contact, nor Haaland standing over him, but it did not appear as if he did a quick turnaround and then back away. Their handshake was definitely awkward — which I imagine is not all that uncommon when a Frenchman and a Norwegian collide in a German football match.

Verdict: I don’t think Hernandez backed away, but surely he was not about to throw hands for the following reasons:

1 — It was in the middle of a game

2 — Haaland looks like a Viking ready to invade a country.

In the end, it’s no big deal.

By the way, we happen to have a podcast on all things Bayern Munich, where we discussed the outcome of this game in great detail. Why not check out our postgame show below or at this link?