Bayern overcome Freiburg to maintain advantage

FC Bayern had a score to settle with SC Freiburg after Tuesday's DFB Cup match and beat the Black Forest side 1-0 on Saturday. Munich were dominant in the first half but had to wait for Matthijs de Ligt to put them in front after the restart. Bayern had plenty more chances but another goal refused to come.

The Bavarians lined up with Yann Sommer in goal and João Cancelo, Benjamin Pavard, de Ligt and Alphonso Davies in defence. Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala anchored a midfield featuring Leroy Sané, Thomas Müller and Sadio Mané, with Serge Gnabry up front. Leon Goretzka, Ryan Gravenberch, Josip Stanišić and Noussair Mazraoui took over from Musiala, Müller, Cancelo and Sané in the second half.

No goals despite dominance

Bayern were in the driving seat from the start, with Freiburg looking to strike on the break. A Musiala cross found Gnabry, who saw his header saved from close range before Mané was one-on-one with keeper Mark Flekken but dinked just wide.

A Sané curler went past the post as well and Pavard saw a deflected effort saved before Müller miscued a header. Flekken denied Musiala before the hosts had their first chance, Ritsu Doan hitting the post, and the contest was goalless at half-time.

De Ligt breaks the deadlock

Proceedings were similar after the restart. Gnabry had an effort blocked but Musiala soon teed up de Ligt, who unleashed a sumptuous strike into the top corner of the net from 25 yards. Flekken denied Mané before Pavard and Sané fired over the bar.

Freiburg went looking for an equaliser now but Bayern were solid at the back, although Sommer soon made a strong save to keep out a deflected Roland Sallai effort. Sané raced clear and had only Flekken to beat to settle matters but fired over. Pavard saw a header deflected behind, Matthias Ginter miscuing a header at the other end. Gnabry drew another save from Flekken before hitting the post with seconds remaining as Bayern sealed three crucial points.

The result takes Bayern onto 58 points from 27 matches, two clear of Borussia Dortmund, who beat Union Berlin. The German record champions will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to face Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen