Bayern Munich grind out win against Lokomotiv Moscow

Bayern Munich shows resilience to clinch victory in Moscow on Tuesday.

The good run of form continued for Bayern Munich in the Champions League as they grind out a 2-1 win against Lokomotiv Moscow in the second group game. Goals from Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were enough for Die Roten to beat the home side that had equalized through Anton Miranchuk.

Hansi Flick decided to make several changes to the team that clinched a big win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Niklas Sule and Benjamin Pavard returned in defense, while Corentin Tolisso returned in the midfield. Serge Gnabry was also back in the squad after missing the last two games due to illness.

Lokomotiv also made multiple changes to the team that featured in the defeat against Rotor Volgograd. Dmitri Rybchinskiy and Francois Kamana were replaced by Vladislav Ignatjev and Anton Miranchuk in the midfield. In the attacking department, Ze Luis and Fedor Smolov came in for Eder and Vitali Lisakovich.

It was yet another slow start for Die Roten as Lokomotiv started brightly. Smolov had the golden opportunity to open the deadlock in the third minute as his free header was straight at Manuel Neuer‘s hands. The Russian team continued to show promise till the tenth minute as Bayern was slowly gaining control of the game.

The defending champions finally got the goal in the 13th minute. Tolisso found Pavard on the right flank with an exquisite aerial pass. The French defender squared the ball straightway for Goretzka to head past the goalkeeper.

Die Roten looked more dangerous in the final third after scoring the opening goal. They almost similar sequence of events as the first goal to double the lead. On this occasion, Pavard squared it for Coman. The French winger’s shot had beaten the goalkeeper and hit the post.

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Hernandez and Pavard were creating all sorts of problems in the final third. The left-back was combining well with Coman, while Pavard was delivering dangerous crosses from the right flank. Lokomotiv did look threatening on the break, but the final pass was letting them down.

The second half followed the same trend in the initial 15 minutes. Flick decided to bring Javi Martinez and Serge Gnabry on the pitch for Leon Goretzka and Thomas Muller during the half time. The visitors sustained looked to come to fruition as the referee awarded a penalty in the 64th minute after Robert Lewandowski was brought down in the box. It was strangely overturned after consulting with VAR.

The home side grew into confidence after the penalty was chalked off. They were executing good attacking moves on the break, but Die Roten was able to clear the danger at the right time. Coman had the chance to double the lead when Kimmich played him a super pass in the 69th minute, but the French winger fired it way over the target.

After that miss from Coman, Lokomotiv went at the other end and finally picked the right pass in the final third to score the equaliser. Ze Luis got the better of Die Roten’s backline with a clever run. He eventually squared the ball for Miranchuk to slot it past Neuer.

Rekordmeister were hanging by a thread as Lokomotiv grew into the game after scoring the equaliser. The defense was not leaving acres of space on the flanks to give Lokomotiv to deliver dangerous crosses in the box.

Next. Corentin Tolisso is slowly getting back to his best. dark

Against the run of play, the German champions restored the lead through the brilliance of Kimmich. Martinez found the German midfielder around the edge of the box. Kimmich took the first touch to kill the pass and then hammered it past the goalkeeper in the 80th minute.

After scoring the second goal, Bayern saw out the game by keeping the ball. It was a tricky away game for Flick’s men as they conceded numerous chances to Lokomotiv. However, Die Roten still managed to find a way to win the game. Two wins in two group games consolidate Rekordmeister’s position at the top of the group.

"Lokomotiv Moscow (4-3-2-1)GuilhermeZhivoglyadov-Corluka-Murilo-RybusIgnatyev-Kulikov-MiranchukKrychowiak-SmolovZe LuisSubstitutes: Savin, Siljanov, Eder, Lisakovich (↓Kulikov (89′)), Rajkovic (↓Corluka (46′)), Kamano, Rybchinskiy (↓Smolov (75′)), Kochenkov, Lystsov, Zhemaletdinov (↓Ignatyev (76′)), MukhinBayern Munich (4-3-3)NeuerPavard-Sule-Alaba-HernandezKimmich-GoretzkaMuller- Tolisso- ComanLewandowskiSubstitutes: Nubel, Hoffmann, Gnabry (↓Muller (46′)), Martinez (↓Goretzka (46′)), Sane, Costa (↓Coman (70′)), Choupo-Moting, Boateng, Sarr, Marc Roca, Musiala"