Bayern Munich resumed their Bundesliga after the November international break in the most entertaining way. The defending champions had to come from 2-0 down to clinch a 6-2 win against Freiburg at Allianz Arena. Courtesy of the win on Saturday, Bayern ensured they had a lead of eight points at the top of the table.
Vincent Kompany made interesting selections on Saturday with one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Arsenal. Lennart Karl and Tom Bischof got starts, while Joshua Kimmich was on the bench, as the Belgian coach opted for a midfield pairing of Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlovic.
Freiburg looked the sharper side from the word go. The visitors had two big chances early in the game, but Die Roten got reprieves on both occasions. With Die Roten struggling to gain control of the game, Freiburg dominated both boxes in the first 10 minutes.
The visitors were eventually rewarded for their bright start as they took the lead in the 12th minute. Jan-Niklas Beste delivered a brilliant corner to find Matthias Ginter in the box. Ginter flicked the ball in the path of Yuito Suzuki, who hammered the ball into the net from close range.
Five minutes later, the visitors silenced the Allianz Arena by doubling their lead. Beste delivered another peach of a cross from the right corner to find Johan Manzambi in the box. Manzambi rose above everyone to head the ball past Neuer.
The second goal from Freiburg had properly woken up Bayern. The hosts started to string passes in the final third. They managed to halve the deficit in the 22nd minute through a brilliant goal from Lennart Karl. Michael Olise was the architect of the goal as he drove with the ball in the final third and played an inch-perfect pass to find Karl in the box. The youngster moved away from his defender with a clever touch and then deposited the ball in the left corner of the goal.
Die Roten managed to build momentum after scoring their first goal. Freiburg were struggling to regain possession as they did in the first 15 minutes. The Bavarian club created chances at a good rate and were knocking on the door to score the equaliser. They eventually broke the door down in the added time of the first half. Olise and Karl combined brilliantly in the final third before the French forward unleashed a vicious shot to beat the goalkeeper.
Vincent Kompany's half time talk does the trick for Bayern
The equaliser before the half-time break was the tonic Bayern needed to get in the groove. The hosts took the lead in the 55th minute after Olise delivered a pinpoint cross from the corner for Dayot Upamecano to head the ball in the net.
Harry Kane doubled Bayern’s lead after pouncing on a flick from Aleksandar Pavlovic in the box. The English forward ensured Die Roten are in a comfortable position by putting the ball past Noah Atubolu.
The hosts sealed the three points after Nicolas Jackson came off the bench to score in the 78th minute. The Senegalese calmly rolled the ball past the keeper in the right corner, but the move was all about the clever pass from Olise to set up Jackson. The French winger rounded off an incredible individual performance by curling the ball past Atubolu from the edge of the box in the 84th minute. Hiroki Ito came off the bench to set up the goal for Olise.
It was far from a complete performance from Bayern against Freiburg, but they responded well to early setbacks. Kompany will hope that his team will be more switched on against Arsenal on Wednesday.