Published
Winners of Friborg on Saturday afternoon (4-1), the Bavarians temporarily take a 9-point lead over their first pursuer in the title race.
Joshua Kimmich (left) celebrates Serge Gnabry’s 2-1 goal in the 73rd minute.
AFP
Bayern won 4-1 on Saturday in Freiburg and put pressure on its runner-up Dortmund, temporarily pushed back to 9 points and forced to win at home against Leipzig (6:30 p.m.) to hope to stay 6 lengths after the 28th day of the Bundesliga.
Leon Goretzka (58th), Serge Gnabry (73rd), Kingsley Coman (82nd) and Marcel Sabitzer (90th+6) scored for the defending champion. Nils Petersen equalized at 1-1 for Freiburg in the 63rd minute.
Six rounds from the end of the championship, Bayern lead with 66 points, Dortmund have 57 points before their match, and the third – Gerardo Seoane’s Leverkusen – strengthened their position with 51 points, winning 2-1 at home against Hertha Berlin.
Bayern’s flattering scoreline doesn’t really reflect the difficulties the ‘Rekordmeister’ had to give up Freiburg and its robust defense, the second best in the league before this encounter. It took almost an hour for the Bavarians to manage to unlock the counter, on a set piece: Joshua Kimmich’s free kick and victorious recovery from Leon Goretzka. The star international duo, who had not played together since November (Kimmich affected by Covid-19, injury to Goretzka) celebrated their reunion in the most beautiful way.
Until then, with its 100% French defense, made up from left to right of Lucas Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, Tanguy Nianzou and Benjamin Pavard, Bayern had controlled the match but lacked the edge and the necessary backstroke when approaching the goal to put the defense out of position.
At 12 against 11 for 20 seconds
The euphoria of the Munich residents, whose opener was well deserved, did not last. A few seconds after a series of changes from the two coaches, Nils Petersen equalized for Freiburg … exactly 17 seconds after coming into play (1-1, 63rd). But joker answered joker. In the 73rd minute, 33 seconds this time after coming into play, Serge Gnabry restored the advantage to the Bavarians, served by a good cross from Lucas Hernandez (2-1).
Freiburg, 5th and still in the race for a place in the Champions League, did not give up, and Manuel Neuer had to save Bayern in the 81st minute, following a faulty raise from Kimmich. In the continuity of the action, Coman finally put his team out of danger, with a superb very dry shot from outside the surface, placed between the goalkeeper and the post (3-1, 82nd). In additional time, Marcel Sabitzer scored against the fourth goal (4-1, 90th + 6).
The match was interrupted for several minutes around the 85th by a rare incident, when the referee realized that Bayern had 12 players on the pitch for about 20 seconds.
Experts interviewed by broadcaster Sky after the match wondered whether the error could affect the result, with the general view being that the disciplinary authorities should at least take up the violation of the regulations.
In the other afternoon matches, Urs Fischer’s Union Berlin got the better of Cologne (1-0), while Cédric Brunner’s Arminia Bielefeld (replaced in the 84th minute) and Stuttgart are neutralized (1-1). Bochum won at Hoffenheim (2-1) and Djibril Sow’s Eintracht Frankfurt failed to win against bottom side Greuther Fürth (0-0).
(AFP / Sport-Center)