Bayern survives early scare to win at Leipzig 5-1
Just when it seemed Leipzig might be the team to inflict Bayern Munich’s first Bundesliga loss this season, Bayern found an extra gear. Bayern scored five goals in 38 second-half minutes to rout Leipzig 5-1 after going into halftime behind for the first time in the league this season.
Harry Kane scored his 21st Bundesliga goal of what could yet be a record-breaking season, but it was a team effort with five different scorers. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, too, stepped up with crucial saves as speculation ramps up over whether Bayern will extend the 39-year-old’s contract. Jürgen Klopp, watching on in his capacity as Red Bull’s head of global soccer, was pleased when Romulo turned in David Raum’s cross to take the lead in a dominant though wasteful first half performance.
Leipzig blunders got Bayern back into the game. In the 50th minute, Dayot Upamecano caught Leipzig’s Christoph Baumgartner in possession and played in Serge Gnabry to score, and in the 67th Ridle Baku slipped as he went to intercept a cross leaving Kane with an easy finish. After that it was one-way traffic as Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Michael Olise scored in the 83rd, 85th and 88th minutes to complete Bayern’s victory. To cap it off, attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala came off the bench late on for his first game since July when he broke his left leg at the Club World Cup, and celebrated with the Bayern fans after the final whistle.
Can the man for Dortmund: The win restored Bayern’s 11-point advantage over Borussia Dortmund, which scraped past St. Pauli 3-2 after letting a two-goal lead slip earlier. The Dortmund crowd cheered the referee’s announcement that video review showed St. Pauli’s Ricky-Jade Jones had indeed fouled Maximilian Beier inside the penalty area, and was jubilant when Emre Can converted the spot kick. Jones and American midfielder James Sands earlier scored to give last-placed St. Pauli hope of a valuable point in its fight against relegation, canceling out goals by Dortmund’s Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi either side of halftime.
Hoffenheim on a roll: An audacious free kick from Wouter Burger gave Hoffenheim a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen which boosts its unexpected charge for Champions League qualification. With Leverkusen seemingly expecting a cross, Burger curled a free kick into the top corner from a wide angle to score the only goal early. Back-to-back losses leave Leverkusen sixth and with doubts over winger Nathan Tella, who was helped off the field by medical staff, and goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who limped off after an hour when he seemed to jar his knee while making a save. Hoffenheim has lost once in the Bundesliga since October.
Fischer’s run ends: Urs Fischer’s unbeaten start as Mainz coach ended in his seventh game after Cologne’s Ragnar Ache scored twice in a comeback 2-1 win which leaves Mainz 17th. Moritz Jenz’s late header rescued a 1-1 draw for Wolfsburg against Heidenheim, which had been seeking a win to leave the relegation zone. Hamburger SV missed a string of chances as it drew with Borussia Moenchengladbach 0-0. The game followed a week of hurried repairs at Hamburg’s stadium to fix damage caused by melting snow which forced its last home game to be postponed.
