Bayern Munich defeated Bavarian rivals Augsburg on Saturday afternoon to come away with a 3-2 victory that keeps them close to the top of the Bundesliga.
Aleksandar Pavlovic opened the scoring from a first-half corner with low quality and intensity, Alphonso Davies doubled Bayern’s lead before the break.
Ermedin Demirovic grabbed a brace in the second half, but Harry Kane’s key goal was sandwiched between his strikes to prove the winner for Bayern in the end.
The result moves Bayern to within a point of table leaders Bayer Leverkusen ahead of Xabi Alonso in Saturday’s late kick-off at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Despite the injury crisis, Bayern were still able to field a strong starting line-up for their trip to the WWK Arena, but Thomas Tuchel didn’t have many options to turn to from the bench. The visitors were given an early scare, with Matthijs de Ligt thinking they had handled it in the area, but a VAR review showed the foul had occurred just in front of goal.
Shortly after, Bayern got another scare, Elvis Rexhbecaj’s half-volley was ruled out by an incredibly marginal offside. At the other end, Leon Goretzka almost put the Bundesliga champions in front but fired his effort into the side netting.
After a low-key start to the match in Bavaria, Bayern sneaked ahead of Augsburg in the 23rd minute. A teasing corner fell to Pavlović’s feet in the penalty area, the 19-year-old keeping his cool to fire home from close range after a goal scramble.
Rexhbecaj did his best to equalise, but his shot from a tight angle was too tame to trouble Manuel Neuer, while Kane struggled to face a goal just before the break as he looked to add to his considerable Bundesliga tally.
Just as the half looked to be dying out, Davies produced the first real moment of magic to give Bayern a two-goal cushion. The left-back fired a wonderful right-footed effort past Finn Dahmen in the Augsburg goal, beating the 25-year-old at his near post.
Despite struggling in the first half, Augsburg managed to reduce the deficit just seven minutes after the break. Kevin Mbabu was given too much time to hit a pinpoint cross from the right wing, Demirovic produced a neat header to give the visitors hope.
Leroy Sane came close to restoring Bayern’s advantage with a fierce strike that was denied by Dahmen, but Kane put the visitors two up minutes later when he tapped in after Jamal Musiala was tackled in the penalty area. While the England captain was initially ruled out by the linesman, VAR was upheld on the spot after an Augsburg defender deflected the ball into his path.
Mathys Tel spurned a chance to put Bayern completely out of sight eight minutes into the game, hitting the post after Sane’s pass.
Augsburg were offered the chance to make things interesting just before the break, Neuer converting a penalty for a collision with Felix Uduokhai. However, the German made a great stop to deny Sven Michel.
However, Bayern somehow managed to concede another point kick after Thomas Muller was tripped in the fourth minute of extra time, the fallen Demirovič made no mistake from the spot. Despite a late flurry from Augsburg, the champions held on nervously for victory.
Bayern Munich player ratings
GK: Manuel Neuer – 6/10 – Gave away a penalty late in the game but produced a fine stop from the spot to redeem himself.
RB: Raphael Guerreiro – 6/10 – Forced to play on the right-hand side and performed with mediocrity in an unorthodox position. Not as attack-minded as Davies on the other side but did support Bayern’s front line.
CB: Matthijs de Ligt – 7/10 – A strong defensive performance from De Ligt, who made some important interventions in his own box.
CB: Eric Dier – 6/10 – His first start in a Bayern shirt and he didn’t too much wrong despite conceding twice.
LB: Alphonso Davies – 8/10 – Scored a wonderful goal with his weaker right foot and was a bundle of energy down the left flank.
CM: Aleksandar Pavlovic – 7/10 – Despite being a relatively straightforward goal, the youngster stayed calm in the penalty area to open the scoring. Regularly made himself available for the ball, seldom giving it away easily.
CM: Leon Goretzka – 6/10 – Set up Davies with an incisive if relatively simple pass but an unremarkable display.
RM: Leroy Sane – 7/10 – Not at his inspired best in the first half but showed glimpses of his quality. Better in the second half and was always a danger in the opposition box.
AM: Jamal Musiala – 7/10 – His quick feet caused Augsburg plenty of problems, the hosts never able to get too close to him without committing a foul.
LM: Kingsley Coman – 6/10 – Suffered a nasty injury in Pavlovic’s goal and was subsequently substituted.
ST: Harry Kane – 7/10 – Scored the simplest of goals at a crucial moment for Bayern but wasn’t involved too much for the visitors.
SUB: Mathys Tel (26′ for Coman) – 6/10 – Wasted a couple of opportunities but did have his moments.
SUB: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (89′ for Sane) – N/A
SUB: Thomas Muller (89′ for Musiala) – N/A
SUB: Lovro Zvonarek (90′ for Pavlovic) – N/A
Leave a comment