Defending champions Bayern Munich blew a two-goal lead against Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga tie at the Allianz Arena, allowing Die Wolfe to hold them to a 2-2 draw.
Tied with arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table with 13 points from five games, Bayern had the perfect opportunity to go three points clear on Friday night.
And, despite first-half goals from Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben giving them a healthy lead, Die Bayern were unable to finish off their opponents.
Lewandowski won and converted a penalty in the 33rd minute, sending Woflsburg keeper Koen Casteels the wrong way before Robben’s shot took a wicked deflection to double the hosts’ lead three minutes before the interval.
Wolfsburg introduced former Dortmund winger Jakub Blaszczykowski after the break and the visitors began the second-half the stronger of the sides.
Perhaps, it was their massive UEFA Champions League fixture with Paris Saint-Germain in mid-week that distracted them or the fact that they felt a two-goal lead was unassailable, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men didn’t look like they were in the mood to win.
And Wolsburg were handed a lifeline when Sven Ulreich bungled a routine save from Maximilian Arnold in the 56th minute. Manuel Neuer had fractured his foot last week to be ruled out till January and his normally-capable deputy made calamitous error to give the visitors’ comeback impetus.
Martin Schmidt sent on Daniel Didavi in the 73rd minute as Die Wolfe sought the equaliser and the substitute made an impact within 10 minutes. Right-back Paul Verhaegh sent in a dangerous cross and Didavi managed to get a telling touch via his head on it. The ball went into the net off the crossbar and Wolfsburg had their equaliser.
Ancelotti responded by sending on James Rodriguez and Kingsley Coman on, but the duo were unable to affect the scoreline and Bayern dropped points for the second time this season.
Bayern will have to perform better in Europe than they did domestically for big-spenders PSG await on Wednesday night and should they be unable to script a win, the pressure on coach Ancelotti will continue to mount.