Match Reports

country flag Bundesliga Round 16
Bayern Munchen 1 - 0 RB Leipzig
Wed 19 December 2018 19:30

Bayern Munchen

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RB Leipzig

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RB Leipzig

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Game Report

Highlights

Bayern Munchen maintained their recent revival in form by securing another narrow victory as they beat RB Leipzig 1-0. It was a closely fought clash with very little to choose between the two sides and Franck Ribery's strike seven minutes from time proved to be the difference with both the sides ending the game having struck the woodwork once and being reduced to 10 men

Detail

Both the teams have struggled for consistency this season and there were no signs of things improving in the opening stages of the match with no real chance being created at either end. It was not for the lack of effort though with both the sides looking to press quickly while enjoying decent spaces on the flanks though they struggled to find a way past the opposition defense.

It was not until midway through the first half that the action improved with Bruma forcing a decent save out of Manuel Neuer while at the other end Bayern should have scored when Robert Lewandowski managed to beat the offside trap but could only see his effort being deflected on to the post by an excellent save from Peter Gulacsi

Leipzig responded by nearly taking the lead at the other end when a corner found its way to Dayot Upamecano who directed a powerful header towards the target only to see his effort crash against the crossbar, leaving the teams on level terms at the halftime whistle.

Both the teams continued to trade chances after the break but it was Bayern who slowly started to take control of the proceedings, putting in a couple of dangerous crosses into the box before missing another golden chance 10 minutes from time when Gulacsi somehow managed to claw Joshua Kimmich's header from a point blank range away to safety

The hosts did find the breakthrough minutes later thanks to a defensive mistake as Gulacsi pulled off another great save to deny Renato Sanches but the clearance was deflected into Ribery's path who managed to make space for himself before slotting home into an empty net.

There was some late drama when a lunging tackle by Stefan Ilsanker on Thiago not only sparked a clash with the two sets of players but also ended with the midfielder receiving a straight red card while Sanches was also shown a second yellow card for his part in the tussle, bringing an end to a feisty clash.

Summary

Bayern deserved the three points with the hosts creating majority of the better chances in the game while also putting up a solid display at the back which meant Manuel Neuer was not overly troubled in the goal. Leipzig meanwhile showed lot of fight but lacked quality to unlock an organized Bayern defense, returning home empty handed in the end

Key

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