Battling Bayern were rewarded for a much-improved second-half display away to Freiburg on Saturday when Franck Ribery netted a potentially priceless 88th-minute winner, settling a match in which the sides each spent 45 minutes in the driving seat.
The 24,000 sell-out crowd at the Badenova Stadion saw an explosive start to the contest, Mario Gomez handing the visitors an early lead with his 19th league goal of the campaign, and Thomas Kraft saving Papiss Demba Cissé’s penalty in the first quarter of an hour. But Sengal hitman Cissé scored his 18th of term to level straight afterwards, and the home side remained on top through to half-time.
The men from Munich significantly upped the tempo after the restart and penned Freiburg back in their own half for long periods, but just as it seemed the ball would not cross the line, Ribery produced a moment of magic to seal a crucial victory.
The late winner, even more important in the light of third-placed Hannover’s 2-0 win at home to Hoffenheim, means the champions remain fourth on 48 points from 27 matches, two points off Hannover and four behind second-placed Leverkusen, who play on Sunday. The Bundesliga now takes a two-week break for international matches, with the Bavarians next in action at home to bottom club Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday 2 April.
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