St Pauli lose narrowly to Bayern but stadium masterstroke wins admirers | Andy Brassell
Socialist club were defeated again but there were reasons to be hopeful on and off the pitch at the Millerntor
It was, in many ways, one of those games we see far too many of today. A significant gap between two sides in the same division all too apparent, with the lesser just keeping their powder dry and holding on, aiming to give themselves a puncher’s chance in the final stages. Bayern Munich emerged victorious thanks to an out-of-this-world rocket from range by Jamal Musiala, a moment of quality seemingly designed to underline the gulf.
St Pauli were the home side yet feeding off scraps. They had three shots during the match, none of them on target. They are still scoreless at home after five matches, now an unenviable Bundesliga record. Have a group of people ever wanted to hear Song 2 by Blur, which greeted goal after goal in last season’s dizzy title-winning campaign, so badly? Alexander Blessin’s team could not have given any more – they collectively ran almost six kilometres more than Bayern – but it wasn’t enough. In one sense St Pauli had suffered a 1-0 thrashing. In another it was a day of frustration.
