Bayern Munich clinches an important Bundesliga victory against resilient Freiburg side.
Bayern Munich had to grind it out against Freiburg to get back to winning ways in the Bundesliga. Goals from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller were enough to seal the win after Nils Peterson had brought Freiburg back into the game at the hour mark. Courtesy of this win, Bayern opened up a four-point lead at the top.
Hansi Flick made three changes to the team that suffered defeat away at Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend. Jerome Boateng replaced Niklas Sule in central defense, while Leroy Sane and Douglas Costa made way for Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman in the starting XI. Freiburg were unchanged from the big win against FC Koln last weekend.
Amidst the snowfall, there were no signs of sluggishness in Bayern’s performance from the word go. They looked determined to get a victory after a tough week. Freiburg did dominate the possession in the initial exchanges, but Die Roten looked much sharper as they were more direct in the final third.
Bayern’s persistence was eventually paid off in the seventh minute. Lewandowski found the back of the net after a ridiculous first-time pass by Thomas Muller. There was neat interplay on the right flank between Gnabry and Benjamin Pavard leading to the goal. The German Champions were playing with more swagger after getting the opening goal.
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Gnabry was unfortunately substituted midway through the half due to injury. Sane almost an immediate impact as he found himself in good positions to score the second goal, but he couldn’t get his shot on target. Bayern created multiple half-chances in the first half, while Freiburg had promising moments with poor final action in the box.
The home side continued to push for the second goal at the start of the second half. Lewandowski hit the crossbar through a thumping header. It looked inevitable that the second goal was coming for Die Roten since they were largely playing in Freiburg’s half.
Against the run of play, Bayern found themselves on the back foot as Freiburg scored in the 62nd minute. Peterson came off the bench and punished Die Roten on a set-piece. The German Champions just cannot buy a clean sheet at the moment. Bayern had to do it all over again despite playing so well on the night.
After the equalizer, hosts didn’t drop off and kept putting pressure on Freiburg. The pressure paid off in the 74th minute as Muller slotted past the goalkeeper after a lovely lay-off from Sane. Die Roten deserved the lead, considering their overall performance in the game, but they still look suspect at the other end of the pitch.
Bayern had to defend resolutely to see out the game since Freiburg looked threatening on the break. The visitors came close to equalising in the death, but crossbar helped Die Roten to keep the hold on victory. Flick will be pleased with the result, but the team still looks far from their best. Consistent good results may eventually help the team to play themselves into form.
"Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1)NeuerPavard-Boateng-Alaba-DaviesKimmich-GoretzkaGnabry-Muller-ComanLewandowskiSubstitutes: Nubel, Sule, Martinez (↓Gortezka (86′)), Sane (↓Gnabry (28′)), Choupo-Moting (↓Muller (86′)), Hernandez, Roca, Tolisso (↓Kimmich (75′)), Musiala (↓Coman (75′))Freiburg (3-4-3)MullerLienhart-Schlotterbeck-GuldeKubler-Santamaria-Hofler-GunterSallai-Demirovic-GrifoSubstitutes: Uphoff, Abrashi (↓Santamaria (5′)), Holer (↓Sallai (62′)), Til, Petersen (↓Demirovic (62′)), Haberer (↓Abrashi (54′)), Heintz, Jeong, Tempelmann (↓Kubler (61′))"