Flick relieved after 'madness' of Bayern's six-goal thriller with Bielefeld

Hansi Flick admits he was satisfield to settle for a share of the points after the 'madness' of Bayern Munich’s 3-3 draw against Arminia Bielefeld in a snow-covered Allianz Arena.

Four days after the German champions lifted the Club World Cup in Qatar, Bayern found themselves in the midst of a snowstorm and 2-0 down at half-time against the Bundesliga strugglers after goals from Michel Vlap and Amos Pieper.

Robert Lewandowski hit back three minutes after the restart with his 25th league goal of the season but, within a minute, Christian Gebauer restored the away side’s two-goal advantage in a chaotic start to the second half.

Bayern coach Flick was left breathing a sigh of relief after strikes from Corentin Tolisso and Alphonso Davies saved the leaders’ blushes and kept the Bavarians five points clear of title rivals RB Leipzig.

"A lot came together in the first half and we didn't defend well," Flick told broadcaster DAZN.

"In the second half the team again showed a mentality, that was madness.

"Today you just have to say that we have to be satisfied with the 3-3."

He added: "We always had the feeling that we could still turn the game around.

"We could have reacted differently after [going 2-0 down], but our team is not like that."

3- @arminia_int became just the third promoted team to score 3+ goals in an away game against FC Bayern in their Allianz Arena – only VfB Stuttgart (4-1 in May 2018) und Fortuna Düsseldorf in November 2018 (3-3) did so before. Surprise. #FCBDSC pic.twitter.com/XECf9qTXpt
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 15, 2021

The quick turnaround from their Club World Cup campaign hit Bayern hard. The Bavarians were missing Thomas Muller, who tested positive for COVID-19, and Douglas Costa, after the Brazilian suffered a hairline fracture in his foot during a midweek training session.

With Leon Goretzka, Javi Martinez and Serge Gnabry already among those sidelined, and Jerome Boating absent after being granted personal leave, Flick was left lamenting his limited options.

"When you have so many absences, every squad reaches its limits," Flick added.

"I hope that Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez can get back into training on Thursday.

"But that's the way it is in a long season, players keep dropping out."

Bayern are back on the road this weekend, facing a trip to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Lazio next Tuesday.