Bayern Munich continued their winning streak on Saturday as they made it 15 wins in a row since the start of the new season by beating Bayer Leverkusen at Allianz Arena. Courtesy of a 3-0 win against Leverkusen, Bayern strengthened their grip at the top of the Bundesliga points table.
With one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain, Vincent Kompany decided to make several changes to the starting XI against Leverkusen. Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Luis Diaz started on the bench. Serge Gnabry, Lennart Karl, and Raphael Guerreiro in the attack behind Nicolas Jackson.
Bayern dominated the proceedings from the word go, but couldn’t translate their dominance into clear-cut chances until the 16th minute. Lennart Karl unleashed a powerful shot from 20 yards after a neat bit of linkup play between Konrad Laimer and Raphael Guerreiro. The Portuguese full-back found Karl with a square pass, but the youngster’s powerful low shot missed the target by a few inches.
Leon Goretzka came close to opening the scoring a minute later. Karl delivered an inviting cross at the back-post from the left flank. Goretzka couldn’t get sufficient contact to head the ball into the net.
The early dominance eventually resulted in a goal as Serge Gnabry put the host ahead in the 25th minute. After collecting the ball, Manuel Neuer found Tom Bischof in the left-back position with a long throw. Bischof carried the ball ahead before unleashing a through-ball to find the fun of Serge Gnabry on the left flank. The German winger timed his run to perfection and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper. Gnabry marked his 250th Bundesliga appearance with a crucial goal.
Bayern stepped into another gear after getting the first goal. Nicolas Jackson doubled the home side’s advantage in the 31st minute. Konrad Laimer delivered a peach of a cross to find Jackson between the two defenders in the box. The Senegalese forward calmly nodded the ball past the goalkeeper. It was Jackson’s first Bundesliga goal for Bayern.
The former Villarreal forward had the ball in the net nine minutes later, but it was ruled out for offside. Jackson looked threatening throughout the first half as he made some clever runs to stretch Leverkusen’s defensive line.
Bayern tripled the lead before halftime through an own goal from Loic Bade. Raphael Guerreiro had squared the ball from the right flank to find his teammates in the box. In an attempt to clear the ball, Bade ended up guiding Guerreiro’s pass into the net.
Bayern brought on star forwards in second half to seal the win
After getting a comfortable 3-0 lead in the first half, Vincent Kompany decided to give minutes to Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Aleksandar Pavlovic, and Michael Olise in the second half. The Bavarian club didn’t create a plethora of chances in the second half, but they were in complete control.
Bayer Leverkusen hardly had any sniff during the game. Apart from forcing Manuel Neuer to make a good save in the 80th minute, Bayer Leverkusen were kept at bay by Die Roten.
Vincent Kompany will be pleased with the way his squad players performed against Bayer Leverkusen. It bodes well for Die Roten moving forward, as they will have to make changes in the starting XI post November international break, as games will come thick and fast. The Belgian coach will now turn attention towards their biggest game of the season so far as they travel to France for a clash against defending UCL champions on Tuesday.