Bayern will spend the mid-season break on top of the Bundesliga following a perfect round of midweek fixtures from an FCB point of view, with Jupp Heynckes’ side easing past ten-man SC Freiburg on Wednesday after their rivals all dropped points the night before. It is the 18th time the Reds have claimed the so-called ‘autumn championship’ in the league’s 50-year history.
The 24,000 capacity crowd at the compact Mage-Solar-Stadion saw the opening exchanges go all the league leaders’ way, as Thomas Müller handed FCB a 12th-minute lead from the spot, before the home side were reduced to ten men just six minutes later when Fallou Diagne fouled Xherdan Shaqiri as the Swiss starlet shaped to slot home.
Neat and tidy Freiburg resisted bravely and Munich were a shade careless with their chances up to half-time, although Dante was unlucky to see a header hit the bar, with the visitors still finding the going tough for a long spell after the restart. Sub Anatoliy Tymoshchuk finally made it safe with a 79th-minute second as the men in red sealed an unspectacular but deserved win.
A 12th victory in the 14 league games so far means FCB are up to 37 points and can no longer be dislodged from the top of the standings before the winter break, as new second-placed side Leverkusen are ten points in arrears with only three games until the midpoint of the campaign. The focus now turns to the mouth-watering prospect of champions BVB visiting Munich on Saturday evening, with BATE Borisov due in the Bavarian capital in the final Champions League group fixture the following Wednesday.
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