FC Bayern Munich: Disaster in Gladbach, Derby against Nuremberg and Arjen Robben

Already 10 points behind Dortmund prior to this match day, FC Bayern Munchen went behind the Ruhr side by a further two points. Everything seemed rosy in Monchengladbach, until four disastrous minutes in the second half turned the game on its head.

Borussia Monchengladbach 3-3 Bayern

Bayern was extremely dominant in the first half. They made Gladbach seem like a team from the third-tier and constantly put them under pressure. Gladbach did open the scoring though; Patrick Hermann's cross was misjudged by everyone and landed in the back of the net. Following that goal, Gladbach had a first half they would rather forget.

Mario Gomez equalized about five minutes later when he headed in Toni Kroos' cross. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Kroos both hit the bar while Gomez missed a golden chance. Bayern took the lead in the 37th minute when Gomez headed the ball into the back of the net from a Kroos free kick. When Hamit Altintop was fouled in the box by Sebastian Schachten, Schweinsteiger stepped up to take the penalty.

His spot kick hit the post.

In the second half, Gladbach brought on Igor de Camargo. Camargo set up Marco Reus in the 56th minute. The German finished brilliantly leveling the scores. Camargo then got on the end of a Reus ball and scored wonderfully to give Gladbach the lead. That was in the 60th minute.

Bayern searched and searched for the equalizer and as luck would have it, they found one through their current captain. Philipp Lahm got on the end of an Anatoliy Tymoschuk pass in the 83rd minute and finished brilliantly. The result leaves Bayern ninth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Dortmund. It's about time Anatoliy Tymoschuk returns to the defence.

Who Is That? Oh, It's Arjen Robben!

A scene at Bayern's training ground had Thomas Mueller and the Bayern fans hopping up and down in joy: "He's running!" was Thomas' reaction. Indeed, seeing Arjen Robben run is the stuff of dreams for everyone associated with Bayern at the moment. However, don't expect to see him terrorize Nuremberg this weekend. He won't resume team training until after the winter break.

Otherwise, the injury situation has improved slightly. David Alaba, Diego Contento, Mark Van Bommel, Franck Ribery and Breno are all doing individual training. Alaba has already returned and Contento, Van Bommel as well as Ribery might be on the bench against Nuremberg.

Other News

Ivica Olic has had his knee repaired and will now require about six months to recover. While Mario Gomez has been giving his opinions on homosexuality, Christian Nerlinger has been talking about contract extensions. According to him, Schweinsteiger wants some time to think about his future before signing an extension.

Michael Ballack recently said that Bayern is a fantastic club for Bastian but he would fit in at Real Madrid and Chelsea as well. Ballack might have headed out of FCB; however, Bastian knows no other club except Bayern and this might make him extend his contract.

Christian Nerlinger stated that Bayern will sit down in contract extension talks with six players after the winter break. Mark Van Bommel, Miroslav Klose, Andreas Ottl, Hamit Altintop, Hans-Joerg Butt and Thomas Kraft all have contracts which will expire in 2011. One has to wonder what Louis Van Gaal's thoughts are.

Bayern vs. Nuremberg

These days, Nuremberg find themselves in the top 10 ahead of their much more decorated rivals FC Bayern. Currently, three stars are finding their way in Nuremberg. Julian Schieber, who is on loan from Stuttgart, has had a very good season so far. Mehmet Ekici, the man on loan from Bayern has played very well.

The biggest name is, however, Ilkay Guendogan. Guendogan has played marvelously this season and is on the radar of several big clubs. Guendogan is the kind of player who can spend his entire day terrorizing Martin Demichelis and Daniel Van Buyten.

Prediction: Bayern will either beat their regional rivals narrowly or draw against them.

Final Score:Bayern 2-2 Nuremberg.