(Football news) Bayern Munich just about managed a 1-0 victory over Augsburg as many first teamers were rested, with one eye on the midweek Champions League fixture against Villareal. Lewandowski converted the spot kick after they were awarded a penalty for a hand ball, breaking Augsburg's valiant defence which kept Bayern at bay for most of the match as with this result the Bavarians are now comfortably clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund. Bayern lacked any real tempo in their game and didn't manage to win a single corner kick in the first half. Lewandowski looked the most threatening as he thought that he had finally broken the deadlock in the Bavarian derby with a 47th-minute header but Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz somehow pushed the ball away to make an excellent save..
The keeper was again called upon and made an equally good save in the 62nd, palming a deflected Kimmich shot wide of the post as Bayern finally started to make some inroads. The hosts were finally rewarded for their constant pressure in the second half and won a penalty after VAR intervened on a Reece Oxford handball and Lewandowski stepped and cooly slotted in his 32nd league goal of the season. Kimmich hit the crossbar with a powerful shot a little later as Bayern took complete control in the final minutes and held on to a crucial victory, which ensures they are one step away from winning their 10 consecutive Bundesliga title.
"Our first half performance was not good," midfielder Leon Goretzka said. "We were lacking in intensity and we started badly. But at the end it's all about winning. We did it better with our intensity in the second half."
"We have to improve for Tuesday and we will," he said. "On Tuesday the stadium will be on fire and we will deliver a performance true to Bayern."
Dortmund brushed off their early disappointment from last week and won 2-0 against VFB Stuttgart. Dortmund, who have five games left in the season, maintained their slim chances for the title race as they are on 60 points, 9 points behind Bayern Munich. Dortmund had previously lost 4-1 at home against Leipzig and it looked like their bad luck continued when Gio Reyna was taken off injured after only two minutes and Julian Brandt came on to replace him.The visitors showed grit and determination as they quickly recovered from the early setback. In the ninth minute Brandt tapped in for the lead from an Erling Haaland pass.
The Norwegian who provided the assist is on a goal drought as he hasn’t scored in the last five league matches, which is subsequently his longest goal drought in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart were missing in-form striker Sasa Kalajdzic and were on the backfoot since the second half had started, Brandt then struck again in the 71st minute to give them a deserved 2-0 lead. He rifled a powerful shot from the edge of the box to give Dortmund a much needed victory. Stuttgart were beaten for the first time in five league games, they too had a string of late chances but Borna Sosa hit the crossbar and an unmarked Konstantinos Mavropanos sent his header wide as they couldn’t find a consolation goal.
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The other results were:
- Furth 0 – 2 Monchengladbach (Thuram, Plea)
- Koln 3 (Skhiri, Ljubicic, Killian) – 2 Mainz (Burkardt, Onisiwo)
- Wolfsburg 4 (Nmecha x2, Arnold, Kruse) – 0 Arminia
- Hertha Berlin 1 (Baumgartl(og) – 4 Union Berlin (Haraguchi, Promel, Becker, Michel)
- VFL Bochum 0 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen
- Frankfurt 1 (Kostic) – 2 Freiburg (Grifo,Petersen)
- RB Leipzig 3 (Nkunku, Halstenberg, Szoboszlai) – 0 Hoffenheim
