Off-colour Reds held by Union

FC Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw by Union Berlin on Saturday evening. Grischa Prömel handed the men from the capital an early lead, Lewandowski scoring the equaliser miday through the second half. Union had the better of the chances in the first half, with Bayern upping the pressure after half-time, but it was not enough for a win.

The Bavarians started with Manuel Neuer in goal and Benjamin Pavard, Jérôme Boateng, David Alaba and Alphonso Davies in a back four. Leon Goretzka and Jamal Musiala anchored a midfield featuring Kingsley Coman, Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry, with marksman Lewandowski up front. Leroy Sané, Corentin Tolisso and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting took over from Musiala, Goretzka and Gnabry in the second half.

Early setback

The home side sprang a surprise and hit the ground running, and Taiwo Awoniyi soon had only Neuer to beat, but the Bayern captain proved equal to his shot. Union took the lead when Prömel rose high to head in from a corner. Bayern went looking for a reply but struggled against their opponents' high pressing, Neuer denying Marcus Ingvartsen before Gnabry fired wide.

Awoniyi raced clear and fired only just wide. Lewandowski saw a shot deflected and Gnabry drew two saves from keeper Andreas Luthe, and the sides turned round with Union a goal to the good.

Lewy equals

Bayern upped the ante after the restart, Coman seeing an effort blocked and another one saved. Union's Sheraldo Becker fired wide before Luthe made a double-save against Müller and Pavard, but Coman soon raced clear and found Lewandowski, who smashed home to level the scores, netting his 175th goal in his 200th Bundesliga match for Bayern.

Neuer denied Endo and Friedrich as the home side upped the pressure again. Sub Sané drew a strong save from Luthe, and with no more goals to come, Bayern and Berlin shared the spoils.

The result takes Bayern onto 24 points from 11 matches, equal on points with Leipzig. Bayer Leverkusen can overtake the duo when they cross swords with Hoffenheim on Sunday. The German record champions will be back in action on Wednesday, when they entertain Wolfsburg.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen