RB Leipzig held Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to a goalless draw at the Allianz Arena on Sunday to stay just one point behind the defending champions in the title race.
Leipzig worked tirelessly to thwart the hosts, for whom victory would have opened up a four-point gap after third-placed Borussia Dortmund’s 4-3 loss at Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern are bidding to win an eighth straight league title.
They were awarded a second-half penalty which was then reversed when VAR showed Robert Lewandowski had been offside.
Second-placed Leipzig often rode their luck to repeatedly frustrate Bayern, but wasted a series of second-half chances themselves.
“The problem was that both teams could live with a 0-0 draw,” admitted Bayern forward Thomas Mueller.
“In the end, neither team wanted to take the absolute risks, which meant we didn’t play to our strengths.”
Bayern coach Hansi Flick expects this season’s title race to go to the wire.
“The Bundesliga will be tense until the end,” he said.
“There are a few teams with a chance.
“We want to keep our position, but it’s going to be a hard path to stay on.”
Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann said his side showed the bravery required to win in Munich.
“In the second-half, we had much clearer chances to win the game,” he said.
“We were brave, defended high up and had a good grip on the game.”
Leipzig striker Timo Werner, who missed a golden opportunity on 63 minutes, rued his team’s missed chances, including a skied effort by captain Marcel Sabitzer.
“In the beginning, it seemed just a matter of time before we scored,” admitted Werner.
“But in the second half we played as our coach (Julian Nagelsmann) wanted and were the better team. We could have won.”