Guardiola questions Bayern spirit

Under-fire Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola questioned his side’s fighting spirit after Freiburg inflicted a third consecutive Bundesliga defeat on the champions.

A late goal from former Bayern striker Nils Petersen clinched a dramatic 2-1 victory for Freiburg, who badly needed all three points to help steer them away from relegation trouble.

Guardiola compared the late goal to Neymar’s 94th-minute strike that condemned Bayern to a 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barcelona – one of five defeats from his side’s last six outings.

“Congrats to Christian Streich and his squad. Freiburg showed the will to win this match, more than my squad,” said Guardiola.

“They are fighting relegation and this win was very important for them. For us, it was not easy. We conceded a late goal again, like in Barcelona.

“The matches after the win of the championship are not easy. One match against Mainz is left and then we will take a holiday.”

He added: “Congratulations to Freiburg because of this win. I hope they will stay in the league this year.”

Freiburg coach Streich conceded that his side had set out to defend, but he felt their performance was worthy of a first win over Bayern for 19 years.

He said: “We have great character in the team. We decided to play defensively because we saw no alternative. Luck was on our side today, no question about that, but we’ve been very unlucky so often this season. We’ve earned the win today.”