Bayern Munich and manager Thomas Tuchel were under pressure following losses to Bayer Leverkusen and Lazio in the previous eight days.
Confidence, on the other hand, was growing as they headed to the Ruhrstadion on Sunday to face one of their favorite opponents, VfL Bochum.
The defending Bundesliga champions have won three 7-0 games against Die Blauen in the previous five meetings. It had been a running joke in Germany that Bayern were always at their best against Bochum.
This time, though, was completely different. Bayern’s clash with the tradition-rich Ruhr club ended in a nightmare, with a 3-2 defeat.
While the visitors struggled to establish their rhythm early on, it soon became clear that Bochum was much more than just a sparring partner for Tuchel’s struggling team.
In reality, the hosts appeared to be capable of competing with Bayern in midfield duels at all times. Erhan Mašović demonstrated exceptional defensive skills, moving from one wing to the other to counter Jamal Musiala and Thomas Müller’s attacks.
Even though Bayern scored the game-winning goal in the 14th minute, they were unable to capitalize as Bochum remained in the game and looked particularly dangerous when Takuma Asano received the ball in the right half-space and engaged in one-on-ones with defender Kim Min-Jae.
Bochum held their own for most of the second half before capitalizing on a mistake by Dayot Upamecano, who hit Schlotterbeck with his elbow in an aerial duel inside the penalty area.
Upamecano received his second yellow card of the day and was sent off again, following a straight red versus Lazio on Wednesday. Stöger converted the penalty past Neuer for an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Bayern Munich has lost two straight Bundesliga away games for the first time since May 2015.
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