Bayern Munich dig deep to get three points against Freiburg

Bayern Munich survive a scare against Freiburg to clinch a 3-1 victory in matchday 16 of the Bundesliga.

The defending champions were not at their best against Freiburg but still manage to get the win on Wednesday by scoring two goals in the final minutes of the game. Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick made three changes to the team that featured in 6-1 win over Werder Bremen.

Leon Goretzka sat out of this game due to injury. Thomas Muller replaced the German midfielder in the line-up. Jerome Boateng was demoted to the bench as Joshua Kimmich moved back into the right-back position. Ivan Perisic‘s impressive performance against Bremen was rewarded with a place in starting XI against Freiburg.

The visitors started the game on a positive note as they dominated the possession in Freiburg’s half. Die Roten’s early pressure almost lead to a goal when David Alaba played a defense splitting pass to Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian’s chip was cleared off the line by Manuel Gulde.

Bayern created the second chance of the game from a corner in the seventh minute. Kimmich delivered a brilliant out swinging cross that was met emphatically by Benjamin Pavard. The French defender’s attempt was parried away by Flekken.

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The Bundesliga champions were rewarded for their persistence when Robert Lewandowski slotted past Flekken. This goal was all about Alphonso Davies as he dribbled past players for more than half of the pitch to eventually put it on the plate for Lewandowski. The Polish striker had the chance to double the lead five minutes later after some tidy footwork from Muller around the box. Lewandowski surprisingly couldn’t get his shot past Flekken.

Die Roten dominated the possession as the game went on, but the home side started carving open their defense on the counter. Manuel Neuer made two brilliant saves to keep Bayern’s lead intact. After a lively start to the game, Bayern had a subdued end to the half as Freiburg started looking dangerous on the break.

Bayern had a golden opportunity to double their lead at the start of the second half when Muller slipped a pass to Gnabry only for the winger to blaze his shot over the post. After this chance, it was all Freiburg throughout the second half. The hosts pressed hard and induced panic in Bayern’s defense.

Freiburg were eventually rewarded at the hour mark when Janik Haberer found Vincenzo Grifo on the far post with a delightful pass. Grifo did the rest by smashing the ball past Neuer. After the equalizer, Freiburg kept on creating chances to get the lead as Die Roten looked clueless in the final third.

The game looked certain to end as a draw before Flick decided to bring on Joshua Zirkzee for the final four minutes of the game. The teenager made an instant impact by poking the ball into the net after Gnabry delivered a ball in the box. Gnabry then went on to seal the three points by scoring the third goal with the final kick of the game.

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Bayern looked lethargic in the second half and were lucky to not be trailing in the game. They move to third in the table, four points behind RB Leipzig. It is a great result for Bayern, but the performance was way below par. Flick will be hoping that his players respond with a dominating performance against Wolfsburg on Saturday.