Bayern dropped points in the Bundesliga for the first time this season on Sunday, as visiting Bayer Leverkusen ended a 23-year barren run in the Bavarian capital with a fortunate 2-1 victory over Jupp Heynckes’ men, who dominated the play but hit the woodwork twice and ran out of luck in front of goal.
The 71,000 who braved the snow and freezing chill to fill the Allianz Arena to capacity saw the men in red dominate the first period and create a string of presentable openings, but the visitors took a flattering lead through Stefan Kießling three minutes before the break.
Xherdan Shaqiri appeared for the second half and was soon in the thick of the action as Munich laid siege to the Leverkusen goal, with Arjen Robben and Claudio Pizarro also entering the fray. Pizza made an immediate impact with the cross for Mario Mandzukic to level on 77 minutes, but Bayer sub Sidney Sam stole a second goal for his side three minutes from time with a header which took a wicked deflection off Jerome Boateng.
The result means Bayern remain top of the Bundesliga on 24 points from their nine games, four ahead of new second-placed team Schalke and five clear of Eintracht Frankfurt. The Bavarians are next in action on Wednesday at home to second-tier Kaiserslautern in the second round of the DFB Cup.
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