Bayern Munich took a giant step towards the ninth consecutive national title on Saturday. The Bundesliga leader, thanks to a goal by Leon Goretzka, won 0-1 against RB Leipzig, the only remaining competitor, and now has a seven-point lead over the number two. With seven games to go, the championship is within reach for Bayern, which has collected 64 points from 27 games so far.
In the top match, Bayern had to make do without the injured league top scorer Robert Lewandowski, while Jérôme Boateng and Alphonso Davies were missing due to a suspension. Justin Kluivert started on the bench at Leipzig, which had not lost eight consecutive league matches. The game started a little later than planned. Manuel Neuer decided to repair a small crack in Bayern’s net by tying a scarf in the net, but the arbitration did not accept that. It took Neuer a lot of effort to untie the knot, after which the arbitration took out tie-wraps to fasten the net.
Expectations were high, but the match was initially not very attractive. Opportunities were scarce; in the first half, Leipzig was in control, but Bayern managed to score after one of the sparse outbreaks. Joshua Kimmich found Thomas Müller with a nice ball, after which the attacker laid the ball in the penalty area for Goretzka: 0-1. After the break, Kluivert made his entrance as a substitute. He soon prepared an opportunity: a Kluivert cross was extended by Amadou Haidara, after which an acrobatic deployment by Marcel Sabitzer sailed just wide.
Shortly before that, Christopher Nkunku already missed a serious opportunity from inside the penalty area. The early opportunities proved to be a precursor to the first fifteen minutes after the break, in which the fruitless goal attempts piled up for Leipzig. For example, after an hour of play, Neuer had to parry a vicious long shot by Marcel Sabitzer. However, the pace gradually slowed down in the second half, making it easier for Bayern to hold on to the lead. The visitors did not create anything themselves, but did not run into serious problems anymore.