Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Bayern Munich (10 Feb, 2024) Game Analysis،
Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen dominated champions Bayern Munich for a 3-0 win on Saturday, moving them five points clear at the top of the league and putting them firmly in charge of the race On title.
Goals from Josip Stanisic, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong secured all three points for Leverkusen, who have never won a Bundesliga title, and extended their unbeaten run to 31 matches in all competitions this season.
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Bayern, seeking a 12th consecutive league crown, were nowhere to be found and managed just one shot on target over the 90 minutes.
Xabi Alonso's side, who also hit the woodwork twice, now have 55 points, with Bayern second on 50.
“Today my team put in a very disciplined performance,” Alonso said. “It wasn't easy but we waited for our chances. Maybe we didn't have too much of the ball today, but we wanted to be dominant even without the ball.”
“It was a very important victory but it’s only three points,” he said. “We have to continue. It's still February and we have to stay calm.”
The match started eight minutes late after fans threw candy onto the pitch before the start to protest the league's plan to let a financial investor take a stake in the Bundesliga's media rights company.
Once proceedings began, the hosts were more aggressive than Bayern, who initially had possession but lacked attacking ideas. The Bavarians were also fragile in defense, struggling under increasing pressure from Leverkusen.
They were surprised when Robert Andrich, from a quickly taken throw-in, sent a cutback into the area with Stanisic, on loan from Bayern, left completely untouched at the far post to tap.
Spain international Grimaldo doubled the lead five minutes after the restart with his eighth league goal of the season before also hitting the crossbar with a wickedly curled corner.
The hosts gradually slowed down but still closed in on the third thanks to a low shot from Frimpong which flew wide in the 73rd minute.
The Bavarians had no way of getting back into the match, and even the championship's top scorer, Harry Kane, failed to make an impact.
“We started well, but then mistakes started to creep in,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, whose team faces Lazio in the Champions League round of 16 next week.
“We couldn't create any chances, even later in the game when we had five or six attacking players. I don't have an explanation for why we didn't involve more Harry in the match.”
Frimpong hit the post in the 88th, but the Netherlands international finally got on the scoresheet when Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer inexplicably entered the opposition box in stoppage time for a corner.
He failed to return to his own box and Frimpong broke clear before firing a 25-yard shot into an empty net to cap off a memorable evening.
