However, Bayern Munich crushed Darmstadt 8-0 with Harry Kane’s hat-trick and five other goals, all in the second half, to take the top spot in the Bundesliga, with the return of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from injury. The injury was overshadowed by the three red cards shown. Kane opened the scoring in the 52nd minute before scoring a hat-trick, Leroy Sane scored 2 goals, Jamal Musiala scored 2 goals and Thomas Mueller scored the other goal.
In a chaotic first half, Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich was sent off in the fourth minute and two Darmstadt players were also sent off, the first time this happened in the first 45 minutes of a Bundesliga match. .
Kimmich received the first red card.
All eyes were on Neuer, 37, who broke his leg in a skiing accident last December after Germany’s early exit from the World Cup. He received a warm welcome from fans when he returned to play. However, the welcome turned sour in the fourth minute when Neuer passed the ball to Kimmich, who lost control of the ball and fouled Marvin Mehlem on the edge of the penalty area and was sent off.
It was the first straight red card of Joshua Kimmich’s professional career, after 496 matches, meaning he will be ruled out of Der Klassiker next week. Despite playing in many defensive positions and having a very aggressive playing style, Kimmich has never received a red card in his career with Bayern Munich until the recent match. The only time the German midfielder was sent back to the dressing room was when he played for the VfB Stuttgart U19 team.
Kimmich explained after the match: “Mehlem made a very good guess about the interaction with me. At first, I pulled him a little, but he kept running. When he fell down, there was no more contact.” What’s more, I’m not responsible for him falling. But it was definitely my fault because I lost the ball in the first place. It was a stupid and bitter red card, I feel uncomfortable because he will miss the match against Dortmund.”
Bayern still played better and won.
The newly promoted away team tried to establish an attacking position, and Kimmich was unable to endure the heat under Mehlem’s pressure. A spectacular save from Neuer and two subsequent red cards gave the Gray Tigers a devastating victory, but for Kimmich, all of that was overshadowed by his first mistake. The Bayern star will now be forced to sit out Der Klassiker’s match against Borussia Dortmund next weekend.
Bayern’s sporting director Christoph Freund said: “Of course it’s bitter. But everyone makes mistakes, mistakes are part of football. He played many good matches, today the team also won win for him.”
Thanh Vu | 16:33 October 29, 2023
