Bayern Strikes
Fansided

Takeaways as Bayern Munich emerge victorious against Union Berlin

By Joshua Bishop

Bayern Munich's German midfielder Serge Gnabry (R) attempts to score past Union Berlin's Polish goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Union Berlin v FC Bayern Munich on May 17, 2020 in Berlin, Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Bayern Munich's German midfielder Serge Gnabry (R) attempts to score past Union Berlin's Polish goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Union Berlin v FC Bayern Munich on May 17, 2020 in Berlin, Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Serge Gnabry (R) attempts to score past Union Berlin’s Polish goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Union Berlin v FC Bayern Munich on May 17, 2020 in Berlin, Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Serge Gnabry (R) attempts to score past Union Berlin’s Polish goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Union Berlin v FC Bayern Munich on May 17, 2020 in Berlin, Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Bayern Munich clinched a comfortable victory against Union Berlin to go four points clear in the Bundesliga as football returns in Germany.

It was welcome news when the Bundesliga announced that it would return to action from last weekend. Fans could finally watch Bayern Munich live for the first time in two months. It is a testament to the collective efforts of the DFL and German government that Bundesliga was the first major European league to return to action during these unprecedented times and could do so in a safe manner.

A common criticism of the games themselves is the fact that there are no fans in the stadiums, but watching Bayern play without a stadium atmosphere is better than not watching Bayern at all. The return to play after such a long lay-off proved to be challenging for both sides as there were a lot of rough individual performances.

Both teams struggled to create much of anything in the final third. It took 39 minutes to see a goal in the game as Robert Lewandowski calmly slotted the penalty. A similar pattern followed in the second half as Die Roten sealed the victory by doubling the lead in the 79th minute, courtesy of a caressing header from Benjamin Pavard from a set-piece. Die Roten saw out the rest of the game to finish as 2-0 victors in Berlin.

Getting to watch a live Bayern Munich match was a real treat. The action will continue next weekend as Bayern is home to struggling Eintracht Frankfurt. The team needs to clean up their sloppy play, improve the rhythm of their play ahead of the big clash against Borussia Dortmund. Here are some takeaways from their win on Sunday.