Leipzig Chief Brands 6-1 Bayern Mauling 'a Complete Failure in Every Department'

RB Leipzig were left facing uncomfortable questions after their 6-1 humiliation at Bayern Munich, with the club's sporting director Marcel Schäfer branding the performance “a complete failure in every department”, as reported on 18 October.

Bayern had already raced into a three-goal lead inside 34 minutes at the Allianz Arena. Luis Díaz opened the scoring in the 12th minute, with Aleksandar Pavlović and Michael Olise then extending the advantage as Leipzig offered virtually no attacking resistance and were overwhelmed by the hosts' intensity.

Coach Martin Demichelis attempted to reorganise at the interval, but the changes did little to stem the tide. Díaz struck again just two minutes after the restart, Harry Kane added Bayern's fifth in the 53rd minute, and the Colombian then completed his hat-trick before substitute Andrija Maksimović grabbed Leipzig's consolation goal in stoppage time.

For Demichelis, the former Bayern player, it was the starkest of reality checks. The media reaction in Germany was similarly unforgiving — a sense of disappointment that a side supposed to be a competitor to Bayern could offer so little in terms of resistance.

Only goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt emerged with much credit for the visitors. Had it not been for his saves, Leipzig's club record defeat — a 7-0 loss to Manchester City three and a half years ago — would have been comfortably surpassed, with Kicker dismissing the contest as a “Trainingsspiel in der Allianz Arena”.

There was recognition, too, that this was Bayern at their brilliant best: piqued, prickly and poked into action by a potential challenge they felt compelled to prove was not much of one, following a two-game winless run.