Bayern Munich entered a crucial match against RB Leipzig and just managed to squeeze out the finishing blow through veteran Franck Ribery.
Contested, but uneventful first half for Bayern
The early parts of the Bayern Munich vs. RB Leipzig were largely contested in terms of possession. The visitors, however, were the ones showing most promise on goal in the early parts of the match. Their offense was able to to squeeze out, at the very least, some half chances.
Bayern Munich, in the meantime, struggled to hold the ball for extended periods of time in the opposition’s end of the pitch. This was mostly due to RB Leipzig’s tight press. As with the typical rule book for playing against Bayern, Leipzig stayed compact defensively and aggressive in their pressing.
The first real opportunity for the Bavarians arrived a little over 20 minutes into the first half of the match. Robert Lewandowski was set loose one-on-one with Peter Gulacsi after an exceptional pass by Serge Gnabry. The Polish striker struck the ball only for Gulacsi to make an excellent save, tipping the ball off the post.
Unfortunately for Bayern, that was largely the story of the whole first half. Die Roten failed to capitalize on their one true chance of the first half and failed to create any others in the first 45.
The first 45 was mostly a game of defenses — it was, specifically, a test of whose defense would crack first. Neither budged in the first half, and RB Leipzig played the perfect defensive game.
Leipzig and their defense stayed very compact throughout the first 45. Their tight defensive structure managed to calmly shut out Bayern’s biggest offensive threats, like Robert Lewandowksi. Kingsley Coman was also kept very quiet by the Red Bull’s full-backs on both flanks.
Likewise, Franck Ribery was nullified upon his substitution into the match thanks to Leipzig’s stubborn defensive line. At the same time, their quick and aggressive pressing made the Bayern Munich midfield uncomfortable and cluttered the passing lanes on their own end of the pitch.
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A crucial second half
For the most part, the second half of the match played out like the first 45. The game remained largely contested, and a few near misses appeared for both sides. Just as well, there was a large amount of fouls committed by both teams.
The second half took a while to hit the ground running, with neither team stringing together anything too threatening in the early parts of the half. This came to change, though as the match ticked on.
Bayern’s possession saw a gradual increase from the second half. However, that’s about where the positives end for that particular statistic, as they failed to create anything meaningful from their possession-based game, while Leipzig’s defensive structure remained strong.
As the clock continued to run, it became more and more evident that this game would have one of two results. Either one goal from either side would effectively kill this game off, or both sides would have to share the spoils in a 0-0 draw. Bayern Munich started to have more of the momentum and wind at their back, though, as the latter stages of the game approached.
One of the biggest chances of the half came in the 79th minute of the match. Lewandowski met a well-placed cross and headed it back across to the oncoming Joshua Kimmich, who knocked it toward goal. Gulacsi once again pulled out a top-drawer save and threw out Kimmich’s headed ball. The Bavarians were really making their offensive presence felt.
Just four minutes later, the RB Leipzig defense finally cracked. Substitute Renato Sanches did well to use his strength to hold onto a pass, but only managed a weak shot on goal that Gulacsi parried away. The ball was then promptly cleared, but only as far as Franck Ribery.
The veteran Frenchman pulled off a world-class feint, eliminating two players from his path to goal. He then promptly picked out his spot and fired a pinpoint shot past Gulacsi and into the back of the net.
Bayern were then able to see out the rest of the match and seal the important three points. But the match didn’t end without any more notable events. A bust up emerged after a nasty tackle from Stefan Ilsanker on Thiago Alcantara earned him a red card. Renato Sanches’ heated reaction, shoving Ilsanker to the ground, earned him his second yellow. Thus, the match ended with a 1-0 victory for Bayern, each side finishing with 10 men.