26 January 2024 , 07:52
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Leroy Sane admits the unsavoury scenes that saw him shoved in the face by Union Berlin manager Nenad Bjelica "got a bit wild".
Bayern Munich secured a narrow win in what was a rearranged fixture to keep up the pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Late in the contest though a mass brawl was sparked by Bjelica, who got physical with Sane as he attempt to get the ball back.
Union Berlin had headed to the Allianz Arena and were trailing 1-0 after Raphael Guerreiro's goal early in the second half. With 15 minutes remaining Bjelica clashed with Sane after the the Croatian coach had appeared to initially attempt to keep the ball from the winger.
Bjelica proceeded to push Sane in the face, with the player responding with a push of his own. That led to players and staff from both teams to get involved.
The player said: "I actually just want to get the ball back quickly to start the next attack and then it got a bit wild and he grabbed me in the face."
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The Union Berlin boss conceded after the game that his response was out of line. He said: "The ball came to me and I went to give it to Sane. He pushed me and then I reacted in a way I should not have -- with my hand in his face. I felt provoked and I just reacted the way I should not have done."
Thomas Tuchel attempted to remain diplomatic when he was quizzed on the incident, but did not agree with the actions of his opposite number. "It’s not good. It's hard to defend him," he said. "But I don't want to say anything about it. I don’t need to add fuel to the fire."
Bayern's win was much needed after they went down to Werder Bremen at the weekend, suffering their second league loss of the season. That allowed Leverkusen to further extend their lead at the summit, but the gap now stands at four points.
"We played very seriously and were very alert," Tuchel said after the victory. "We had good chances to score, but we lacked precision. We failed to score that second goal. We didn't allow any breaks at all. A reaction was needed (after Bremen) and we got the result we wanted."