The Daily Bee (November 9, 2020): Der Klassiker Reactions, Bayer Leverkusen Defeat Mönchengladbach

Happy Monday, Fear the Wall.

I’m sending out a request to you, the FTW readership. After the last few matches on ESPN+, ESPN’s coverage has continued after the match and we’ve gotten a few glimpses of post-match interviews, but for the life of me I cannot find them clipped anywhere online. So yeah, if you know where to find those, that would be great.

The reason I ask is because I caught a post-match interview with Gio Reyna and Erling Haaland on ESPN, and I thought it was really revealing of the competitiveness of these two youngsters. It was only moments after the match ended, and you could tell that both of them were completely gutted. Erling Haaland, when asked about his thoughts on the match, basically took the blame himself for the defeat, saying that even though he got his goal, there were still numerous chances that he felt he should have scored on. Reyna felt similarly, saying that both he and Haaland were wasteful in the final third.

Watching that interview really brought me back to when I was 17, and how immature I was, and how much it speaks to the character of these two men that they were able to get in front of a TV camera and take responsibility for a defeat against the best team in world football.

In further post-match interviews, most Borussia Dortmund players and staff seemed overall fairly happy with the performance. According to RN, Lucien Favre had the following reaction:

“Overall, that was a good game. Very good for the audience in front of the TV. We had a lot of chances to score. All in all, we have to see things positively. We had so many chances to score, it’s incredible. But we didn’t do a few things well and then lost - and conceded three goals. We deserved at least one point. “

Favre does have a point. BVB created plenty of chances, and according to Caley Graphics, BVB basically doubled up Bayern Munich on expected goals:

Of course, when the Meisterschale is awarded at the end of the season, expected goals won’t count for shit. BVB will now have the international break to rest and recuperate before having a go at it again. Bayern are only three points, and Borussia Dortmund have proven that they’re more than capable of keeping pace with them.

Leverkusen Beat the Foals

It was one heck of a weekend in the Bundesliga. Not only did Dortmund face Bayern, but Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach also faced off in a heavyweight clash. It turned out to be an equally wild game, with Die Werkself edging Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-3. Here are the highlights:

If you see one thing from the match, it has to be Valentino Lazaro’s last-minute goal to bring the game within one for Gladbach. It was an unbelievable flying scorpion kick that volleyed the ball first-time off a cross, perfectly over Hradecky and into the net. It’s a clear candidate for goal of the the season.

The Daily Buzz

How did you cope with Saturday’s defeat? I watched the movie Fargo and ate halloween candy.

A lot of halloween candy.