Bayern Munich hold off late Bremen fightback to move clear at league summit
Despite facing an opponent that hadn’t bested them since September 2008, Bayern had a quiet first 20 minutes in front of goal by their own standards.
The chances inevitably came soon though, and Jiri Pavlenka had to be in top form to make sure Bayern wouldn’t take advantage of their first big opportunity, pulling off a reflex save to keep out Benjamin Pavard’s close-range header.
Bayern were holding an astonishing record of 14 consecutive competitive victories at the Weserstadion prior to kick-off, but that run was briefly put under threat when Christian Gross went on a tricky solo expedition through the defence.
He agonisingly lifted his shot over the bar, however, denying him what looked to be his first goal since December at a vital time.
A 0-0 scoreline at the break was fair on the balance of play, and many fans over in Dortmund would have hoped for that clean sheet to stay intact as the teams emerged for the second half – but as is almost always the case when facing the Rekordmeister, Bremen couldn’t hold onto parity for long.
Bayern had had to wait until the last half hour to break the deadlock against Hertha Berlin last weekend, and Gnabry was on hand again, as he took advantage of a fortuitous bounce of Jamal Musiala in the box to squeeze it under Pavlenka.
The visitors’ lead forced Bremen to push forward, allowing Bayern to be at their most dangerous.
However, that only made Bayern’s killer second goal feel all the more predictable, and it duly arrived via a deft ball through the defence for Noussair Mazraoui, which allowed substitute Sane to double the lead with a calm finish under the goalkeeper.
A dramatic consolation via a thunderbolt into the top corner from Niklas Schmidt had fans dreaming of a comeback akin to their shock 3-2 triumph at Dortmund in August, but Bayern were full value for their victory, having won a clear majority of key battles at both ends.
The Reds’ victory piles new levels of pressure on Dortmund, who will have to beat Wolfsburg at Signal Iduna Park tomorrow to prevent their title odds from drifting drastically.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich)
