After the last-minute euphoria of the Champions’ League win over Manchester City in midweek, it was largely expected to be a return to business at usual at the Imtech Arena against HSV. Struggling near the foot of the the table, the northerners came into the game with a new coach at the helm, with Under-23 coach Josef Zinnbauer replacing the sacked Mirko Slomka.

The struggling team with a new coach are always a potential danger, and so it would prove as Hamburg put in a solid defensive performance to deny a Bayern side that for the most part lacked ideas. Coach Pep Guardiola continued with his squad rotation strategy with a number of changes and had to change his tactics just before kickoff with the late withdrawal of Arjen Robben, and the result was ninety minutes of football that was at best forgettable.

The home side made their way through the first forty-five minutes with little incident, and there was little on show from the fringe members of the Bayern squad who might have been expected to make more of an impression. Xerdan Shaqiri was particularly disappointing, while Juan Bernat – so impressive down the left flank in midweek, was well-marshalled by a determined opposition defence.

The second half saw the introduction of Xabi Alonso, Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski, but while the Spanish defensive midfielder once again impressed with a number of cultured passes, Götze would not for the first time slip into anonymity and Lewandowski once again appeared to forgot his shooting boots. Bayern bossed the possession, but once again were unable to convert their territorial dominance into goals. In all, it made for a frustrating afternoon both for coach Guardiola and the fans.

Hamburg goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobný was mildly tested as Die Roten attempted to force the pace in the second half and Thomas Müller had a shot narrowly deflected wide by Swiss defender Johan Djourou with two minutes remaining, but the real drama came deep into injury time when Manuel Neuer received an arguably lucky yellow card for handling the ball in the middle of the pitch after charging off his line.

After Bayern’s recent goal gluts against HSV, this scoreline would be a bit of a surprise…

Bayern end the weekend as one of four teams with eight points, with the next game coming in midweek against Bundesliga new boys and surprise leaders SC Paderborn 07 at the Allianz Arena.

Bundesliga Week 4
Imtech Arena, Hamburg, 20.09.2014

Hamburger SV 0:0 (0:0) FC Bayern
– / –

HSV: Drobný – Diekmeier, Djourou, Westermann (c), Ostrzolek – Behrami, Arslan (67. Jiráček ) – N. Müller (87. Steinmann), Holtby, Stieber – Lasogga (76. Green)

FC Bayern: Neuer – Rafinha (61. Götze), Boateng, Dante, Bernat – Lahm (c) – Højbjerg (53. Alonso), Alaba – T. Müller, Shaqiri (66. Lewandowski) – Pizarro

Yellow Cards: Drobný, Behrami, Arslan, Müller / Neuer, Højbjerg