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Franck Ribery admitted his return to action against Borussia Monchengladbach had come as a surprise as he marked his long-awaited return with a goal in Saturday's 3-1 defeat. Almost nine months after suffering an ankle injury in a Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Ribery returned to the match-day squad for the first time and was introduced as a 75th-minute replacement for Robert Lewandowski with his side trailing 3-0. The Frenchman, who had only resumed full training on Wednesday last week, scored six minutes later and although he could do nothing to avert Bayern's first Bundesliga defeat of the season, he was able to focus on the positives. "I didn't expect it to go so fast," said Ribery, whose was included in the squad in the absence of the injured Douglas Costa, Mario Gotze, Arjen Robben and Thiago Alcantara. "It feels good to be sent on if you've been sidelined for so long. I'm back. That's good." Bayern boss Pep Guardiola said he was "pleased" to see Ribery return. "It was important for him," Guardiola added. "Nine months is a long time. He played with his usual aggression straight away." The match at Gladbach marked Ribery's 300th competitive appearance for Bayern, and his 194th in the league. For the first time ever, the Bavarians suffered a Bundesliga defeat with Ribery on the scoresheet. Prior to Saturday, Bayern had recorded 58 wins and just two draws when Ribery scored, with both draws dating back to the 2008-09 season. It was the first time Guardiola had named an unchanged starting XI for the first time since January 2014 -- a run of 99 games. The match also saw Guardiola suffer his first ever Bundesliga defeat in the Hinrunde, as the first half of the Bundesliga season is known, with his previous seven league defeats all coming in the Ruckrunde.
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