Bayern Munich did not make a mistake in the Bundesliga on Saturday night. In the own Allianz Arena knew of the Rekordmeister Low-flyer Arminia Bielefeld narrowly sidelined 1-0, thanks to a goal from Leroy Sané. It marked the number 102 goal for Bayern in the 2021 calendar year, breaking the German record set by 1. FC Köln in 1977. With the win, the club takes the lead again from Borussia Dortmund.
Julian Nagelsmann was a bit more generous in his players compared to last Tuesday’s Champions League match with Dynamo Kiev (1-2 win). In Ukraine, there were only four field players on the bench; now Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Michaël Cuisance, Niklas Süle and Josip Stanisic have all returned from their corona quarantines. Joshua Kimmich and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting were still missing due to their infections.
Direct competitor Borussia Dortmund had already won at VfL Wolfsburg (1-3) earlier that day, taking over the lead from Bayern. Nagelsmann’s team had to win to regain it. From the first whistle it was a one-way street towards the goal of the visitors. Thomas Müller saw his header go off the line in minute six; attempts by Sané, Robert Lewandowski and again Müller found Stefan Ortega in their path. After half an hour of play, Arminia actually thought they could take the lead, but Masaya Okugawa’s one-on-one with Manuel Neuer was called back due to offside.
Bayern was not shocked by this and pushed the powerless visitors further and further back. However, the predominance did not pay off, so that a 0-0 half-time score on the scoreboard. Even after the break, the ball did not fall well for Bayern. Sané in particular did not have his sights set on sharp; the winger could take it personally that his team had not taken the lead twenty minutes before the end. Then the realization seemed to sink in that time was ticking away. Sané received the ball on the edge of the sixteen-meter area for the umpteenth time that day from Müller and curled the leather beautifully behind the hopeless Ortega.
The redeeming goal for Bayern was number 102 of the current calendar year in the Bundesliga; never before has a German club managed to score so many times in a year. 1. FC Köln managed to reach a number of 101 in 1977, but now has to give way to the heir apparent. Arminia’s spirit was also broken with the record goal; Frank Kramer’s team did not claim results for a minute.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 31 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 30 |
| 3 | SC Freiburg | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 22 |
| 4 | Bayer Leverkusen | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| 5 | TSG Hoffenheim | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 20 |
| 6 | 1. FC Union Berlin | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 7 | VfL Wolfsburg | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | -2 | 20 |
| 8 | RB Leipzig | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
| 9 | FSV Mainz 05 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 18 |
| 10 | 1. FC Cologne | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 | Borussia Monchengladbach | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 18 |
| 12 | VfL Bochum | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | -8 | 16 |
| 13 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | -2 | 15 |
| 14 | Hertha BSC | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | -14 | 14 |
| 15 | VfB Stuttgart | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -5 | 13 |
| 16 | FC Augsburg | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -10 | 13 |
| 17 | Arminia Bielefeld | 13 | 1 | 6 | 6 | -10 | 9 |
| 18 | SpVgg Greuther Furth | 13 | 0 | 1 | 12 | -28 | 1 |