Bayern Munich: Leon Goretzka leads the rout of Freiburg
By Isaac Rivers
On Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga season, league leaders Bayern Munich were hosted by the fifth-placed SC Freiburg. In a competitive game, Die Roten eventually managed to clinch a 4-1 victory. The excitement for this match started in the build-up with news that Leon Goretzka would get his first start back from injury since early December.
The match started off rather slow with just a singular mediocre chance from each side. Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo got an early fast break and attempted a cross but was cut out in front of the goal by Die Roten’s defense. Just minutes later, the Bavarians had their chance with a cross from Kingsley Coman that found an open Thomas Muller, who unfortunately was unable to find the net or a teammate as his attempt slashed across the face of the goal.
The following 20 minutes saw a very shaky backline for Bayern. On numerous occasions during the first half, there was a miscommunication between center-backs Dayot Upamecano and Tanguy Nianzou. On one specific occasion in the 34th minute, Nianzou attempted a back pass to his defensive partner but was nowhere close. Luckily, keeper Manuel Neuer was quick enough to chase the ball down before Freiburg players could get to it.
The highlighting moment of a slow first half was a tackle delivered by the man back in action, Leon Goretzka. Right before the halftime whistle, Freiburg forward Roland Sallai was on a fast break after a Bayern turn-over in their own half. Bringing it to an end was Goretzka sprinting from the other half of the field, sliding in with an inch-perfect tackle.
In the second half, the tempo of the game saw a complete turn-around in pace. With counter-attack after counter-attack, Goretzka was able to bag the game’s first goal. A free-kick delivered from Joshua Kimmich found the head of Goretzka to slot the ball into the back of the net in the 58th minute.
However, celebrations were cut short after Freiburg’s Nils Peterson scored the tying goal just five minutes later. After only being on the pitch for 60 seconds, a cross from left-back Christian Gunter found Peterson wide-open in the box to bring things level.
Luckily for Bayern, the goals kept coming. Just mere seconds after being subbed on, Serge Gnabry restored the lead for his team, scoring a beautiful goal in the 73rd minute, which came from an inch-perfect cross from Lucas Hernandez.
In the 82nd minute, Kingsley Coman doubled the lead after a period of woeful defending from Freiburg. Coman was on the receiving end of a long ball played from Upamecano, and following a skillful display of dribbling and a class finish, Bayern had sealed the three points.
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Before the game drew to an end, there was an apparent 12 men on the field for Bayern, causing a stir-up between the referees. When everything was sorted out, an astonishing eight minutes of stoppage time were added. In that eight minutes, substitute Marcel Sabitzer was able to give Bayern Munich their fourth and final goal.
After a slow start, Bayern Munich managed to turn on the screw against Freiburg, extending their to nine points at the top of the points table. The German giants will be hoping for that same level of dominance in their Champions League quarter-final game against Villareal on April 6.