Bayern establishes 9-point lead in Bundesliga-Xinhua

Bayern establishes 9-point lead in Bundesliga

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-04-03 09:17:41

BERLIN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Four second-half goals helped Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich move past stubborn Freiburg 4-1 in the 28th round on Saturday.

The win moved Bayern nine points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who lost 4-1 to Leipzig.

The German record champions dominated possession from the kick-off while Freiburg focused on its defense.

Bayern was able to combine its way through the midfield but once the visitors reached the final third, they couldn't threaten Freiburg's goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

Flekken remained in the thick of things though as the goalie underestimated a Joshua Kimmich free kick into the box, allowing injury returnee Leon Goretzka to break the deadlock in the 58th minute.

Bayern's lead didn't last long as Freiburg's striker Nils Petersen restored parity with a left footed hammer in the 63rd minute, 17 seconds after his substitution. It was Petersen's 100th goal in Freiburg.

Julian Nagelsmann's men remained unimpressed and took the lead 10 minutes later as substitute Serge Gnabry tapped home Lucas Hernandez's cross, one minute after his fielding.

Freiburg's resistance was broken as Bayern made it 3-1 in the 82nd minute when Dayot Upamecano's long ball found Kingsley Coman, who drilled the ball past Flekken from 18 meters.

Bayern didn't complete its scoring and made it four after substitute Marcel Sabitzer capitalized on Gnabry's cutback pass in the injury time.

"I am satisfied even if the result is not good. We played well in the first half. In the second half everything was fine until Bayern showed its individual quality," said Freiburg coach Christian Streich.

"We played better in the second half as we took the lead with a set piece. We absorbed the equalizer very well and scored some nice goals," said Nagelsmann.

Elsewhere, third-placed Bayer Leverkusen downed relegation threatened Hertha Berlin 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Lucas Alario and Karim Bellarabi.

Newly promoted Bochum shocked Hoffenheim 2-1 after Takuma Asano provided one goal in each half.

Eintracht Frankfurt played out a stalemate with last placed Greuther Furth, while wasteful Stuttgart was held to a 1-1 draw by Arminia Bielefeld.