[ad_1]
Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen surpassed champions Bayern Munich for a 3-0 win on Saturday that put them five points clear at the top of the league and put them firmly in charge of the title race.
Goals from Josip Stanisic, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong They secured three points like Leverkusen, who have never won a Bundesliga title, and extended their unbeaten run to 31 games in all competitions this season.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
Bayern, chasing their 12th consecutive league crown, were nowhere to be found and managed just one shot on target during the 90 minutes.
Xabi Alonso’s team, which also hit the post twice, now has 55 points, while Bayern is second with 50.
“Today my team had a very disciplined performance,” said Alonso. “It wasn’t easy, but we waited for our opportunities. Maybe today we didn’t have the ball too much, but we wanted to dominate even without it.”
“It was a very important victory, but it’s only three points,” he said. “We have to move forward. We are still in February and we have to stay calm.”
The match started with an eight-minute delay after fans threw candy onto the pitch before kick-off to protest the league’s plan to allow a financial investor to take a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights company.
Once the game started, the hosts were more aggressive than Bayern, who initially had possession but lacked attacking ideas. The Bavarians also faltered at the back, struggling with increasing pressure from Leverkusen.
They were caught taking a nap when Robert AndrichAfter a quick throw-in, he sent a cutback into the area and Stanisic, on loan from Bayern, was completely unmarked at the far post to take advantage.
Spain International Grimaldo doubled the lead five minutes after the restart with his eighth league goal of the season before also hitting the crossbar with a wickedly curved corner kick.
The hosts gradually gave way, but still came close to the third with a low shot from Frimpong that went wide in the 73rd.
The Bavarians had no way back in the match, and even the league’s top scorer Harry Kane it failed to have any impact.
“We started well, but then mistakes started to appear,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, whose team travels to face Lazio in the Champions League round of 16 next week.
“We couldn’t create any chances, even later in the game when we had five or six attacking players. I don’t have an explanation why we didn’t involve Harry more in the game.”
Frimpong crashed the ball in the 88th minute, but the Dutch international finally scored when the Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer inexplicably he went into the rival area in added time to take a corner.
He failed to return to his area and Frimpong broke clear before firing a shot from 25 yards into the empty goal to cap a memorable evening.
[ad_2]
Source link