Bayern rewarded for rousing fightback

FC Bayern came from behind to beat RB Leipzig 5-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Rômulo put Leipzig in front after 20 minutes, but Bayern produced a huge second-half fightback, with Serge Gnabry, Harry Kane, Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlović and Michael Olise finding the net. A special moment came in the closing stages when Jamal Musiala made his comeback after six months out.

Munich lined up with Manuel Neuer in goal and Tom Bischof, Dayot Upamecano, Tah and Hiroki Ito in defence. Leon Goretzka and Pavlović anchored a midfield featuring Lennart Karl, Gnabry and Luis Díaz, with Kane up front. Joshua Kimmich took over from Goretzka at half-time, with Olise, Alphonso Davies, Minjae Kim and Musiala coming on for Karl, Bischof, Ito and Gnabry in the second half.

Trailing at half-time

The first half was a lively affair with Leipzig having the better chances. Christoph Baumgartner curled wide and Neuer denied Rômulo before Yan Diomande cut back and Antonio Nusa put it wide. Díaz tested Gulácsi before Karl raced clear, but his square to Díaz went astray. The home side took the lead when David Raum’s low cross invited Rômulo to turn it home from close range.

Díaz saw an effort saved, but the flag was up in any case. Nusa fired over and Neuer denied Diomande. Gulácsi beat Kane to a Díaz pass as Bayern went into half-time trailing for the first time this season.

Huge response

Munich upped the ante after the restart and levelled the scores when Upamecano nicked the ball off Baumgartner’s toes and Gnabry buried past Gulácsi. It was one-way traffic now and Olise, Díaz and Kane all saw efforts saved. Tah blocked against Nusa and Neuer made a fine save against Rômulo, but just as it looked as if Leipzig had got a grip, Olise’s cross found Kane, who controlled the ball and hammered home.

Neuer produced with another big save against Diomande, with Gulásci saving from Olise. Bayern put the game to bed when Tah headed home from Olise’s corner. Kane’s forensic pass found Olise, who timed his square perfectly and invited Pavlović to make it four. The fifth came when Díaz squared for Musiala, who flicked it on for Olise to smash into the top right corner of the net and round off the final scoreline. Conrad Harder hit the post, but Bayern took three more points after an impressive fightback in the second half.

The result means Bayern have 50 points from 18 matches, 11 clear of Borussia Dortmund. Vincent Kompany’s team will be back in action on Wednesday when they entertain Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen