Hertha Berlin humble Bayern Munich

In the most improbable result of the young Bundesliga season, Hertha Berlin welcomed Bayern Munich to their raucous home stadium on Friday evening — and beat them 2-0.

This is Bayern’s first loss of 2018/19 and — more notably — just another victory in Hertha’s barnstorming opening salvo of the campaign. Friday’s result takes them level on points with Bayern at the top of the table.

In hindsight, it’s possible to appreciate the signs that this match wasn’t going to go well for Bayern. Niko Kovac’s reigning champions stumbled to Augsburg midweek, conceding a late equalizer after failing to make the most of their dominance earlier in the match.

Hertha, though, also saw signs ahead of Friday’s meeting. Werder Bremen, who are also enjoying a fine start to the new season, soundly beat Hertha at home 3-1 on Tuesday. As promising as Hertha have looked this season, that’s not the kind of result to give you hope ahead of a match against the biggest team in Germany.

A defining characteristic of most Bundesliga teams is a heavy, well-organized counterpress. The result is that matches can be remarkably compact, with both teams attempting to hassle possession away from the other ahead of a fast break toward goal.

More from Playing for 90

Hertha aren’t much different in this regard, but head coach Pál Dárdai demands defensive diligence when possession is lost. This is especially true against their betters in the Bundesliga. Indeed, over the last two seasons Dárdai’s Hertha have found ways to frustrate Bayern on both ends of the pitch. Over three consecutive draws, Hertha managed to go blow for blow with the Bundesliga giants, scoring three times.

Those results, combined with Hertha’s early season form and Bayern’s stumble against Augsberg, made Friday’s contest more than just another meeting between the best and the rest.

The opening minutes of Friday’s match solidified that impression. Hertha were ruthless in their press, regularly getting the best of a heavily rotated Bayern side. Perhaps they weren’t quite testing Manuel Neuer in goal, but it was clear that Hertha weren’t content to just defend and earn another draw.

Bayern, it should be said, had their own chances. Jerome Boateng missed an open header that could have shifted the momentum to the visitors’ favor. Unfortunately for the German international, he followed up his missed chance by conceding a penalty after bringing Salomon Kalou down in the box in the 22nd minute. Hertha talisman Vedad Ibišević calmly converted the subsequent spot kick to give his side the lead.

The lead secured, Hertha declined to do what might be considered prudent and rigidly defend their lead. While remaining rigid and organized when Bayern reclaimed possession, they also sustained their kinetic press higher up the pitch.

Bayern earned some chances at equalizers — Franck Ribery and David Alaba looked particularly dangerous combining down the left — but Hertha held fast. In one of their surges forward late in the first half, Hertha right-back Valentino Lazaro chipped a cross for Ondrej Duda to convert into an emphatic second. It was the Slovak’s fifth goal in six games for Hertha.

Their lead doubled, Hertha finally pulled up and let their formidable defense see out the win. They recorded just one shot in the second half, but managed to nullify Bayern’s chances when they came — including a goal-line clearance from young phenom Javairo Dilrosun.

Excuses could be made for Bayern’s showing here. Kovac made seven changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Augsburg just three days before, likely with one eye on the Champions League match coming against Ajax on Tuesday. Perhaps with James Rodríguez or Thomas Müller on the pitch from the start the result might have been different.

None of which will much matter to Hertha. Their season continues to sparkle even after their midweek upset, and there’s every reason to suspect that Dárdai’s boys can sustain it a while longer.