Robert Lewandowski (L) of Bayern Munich controls the ball against Borussia Moenchengladbach during their Bundesliga match in Moenchengladbach, Germany, January 8, 2021. /CFP
Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick admitted that errors by the European champions cost them a 3-2 Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.
The league leaders suffered only their second loss this season, which could cost them top spot if second-placed RB Leipzig beat Borussia Dortmund at home on Saturday.
"Gladbach (Moenchengladbach) were very efficient, they brutally exploited three mistakes by us," Flick told British sports streaming platform DAZN.
"We played good football for the first 30 minutes and dominated the game, but it was little things that decided the match – mistakes by us, ball losses, some poor defending," he said.
"The individual mistakes hurt us because they were punished and after going 3-2 down, we couldn't come back as we had hoped. We have to blame ourselves for this defeat."
Florian Neuhaus (L) of Borussia Moenchengladbach celebrates with a teammate after scoring the team's third goal against Bayern Munich during their Bundesliga match in Moenchengladbach, Germany, January 8, 2021. /CFP
Bayern were cruising at 2-0 up after 26 minutes thanks to a Robert Lewandowski penalty and a superb Leon Goretzka goal at Borussia Park.
However, Gladbach roared back as midfielder Jonas Hofmann scored twice to make it 2-2 at the break, and then set up Florian Neuhaus who scored what proved to be the winner for the hosts just after the break.
Mohamed Salah (L) of Liverpool and Mungo Bridge of Aston Villa battle for the ball during their FA Cup match in Birmingham, England, January 8, 2021. /CFP
In the English Football Association (FA) Cup, Liverpool survived a scare from coronavirus-ravaged Aston Villa to reach the fourth round with a 4-1 win against their opponents on Friday.
Villa, without boss Dean Smith, missed their entire first-team squad and fielded a raw side comprised entirely of youth academy players due to the pandemic.
In all, 14 unnamed Villa employees – nine players and five staff – have tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the Premier League club to close their training base on Thursday because of the outbreak.
Liverpool played a strong side for the third round tie at Villa Park, but Villa's youngsters acquitted themselves well.
Louie Barry (R) celebrates with his teammates after scoring Aston Villa's only goal against Liverpool during their FA Cup match in Birmingham, England, January 8, 2021. /CFP
Four of Villa's starting line-up weren't even born when Liverpool midfielder James Milner made his professional debut for Leeds in 2002.
But they gave Liverpool a shock when Louie Barry canceled out Sadio Mane's opener.
Eventually, the Premier League champions' class told with a blitz of three goals in five minutes in the second half.
"Our experience of this situation in the past two days has been a frightening scenario because we went from 100 percent negative on January 1 to 14 cases," Villa's CEO Christian Purslow told sports channel BT Sport.
"Many of the players tonight are so young their mums and dads will be dropping them off at Villa Park."
Adama Traore (L) of Wolverhampton Wanderers crosses under pressure from Patrick van Aanholt of Crystal Palace during their FA Cup match in Wolverhampton, England, January 8, 2021. /CFP
In Friday's other third round clash, Wolves beat Crystal Palace 1-0 thanks to Adama Traore's 35th-minute goal, which was his first domestic goal since December 2019.