FC Bayern München bounced back from Holger Badstuber’s injury shock with a 3-1 derby victory at FC Augsburg thanks to a goal by Germany international Thomas Müller and a brace from Robert Lewandowski. The record champions remain on course for a fourth straight title, holding an eight point cushion over second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Lewandowski’s 20th and 21st goal of the season put Bayern on course for victory and saw the Polish striker overtake Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the goalscorer rankings. A world-class turn inside Hamburg’s penalty box with the ball at his feet gave him just enough room to fire a low and precise shot into the corner. For his second goal he clinically converted from a one-on-one situation with the keeper following a fine assist by Thiago. Müller bagged Bayern’s third, before Raul Bobadilla managed a consolation goal.
Badstuber wasn’t there, but he took centre stage at the start of the match, as Bayern’s players and staff wore t-shirts with Badstuber’s kit number 28 and an inscription reading: “We are with you. You can do it again.”
Banner for Badstuber
The travelling Bayern fans also wished Badstuber a speedy recovery with chants and a banner that was displayed in the visitors block. The 26-year-old had suffered an ankle fracture on Saturday in training, requiring him to undergo surgery and likely miss the rest of the season. Bayern’s injury worries grew when Chilean international Arturo Vidal was forced to be subbed off in the second half with an apparent head injury.
Augsburg looked to play bravely from the start, just as coach Markus Weinzierl had announced. But apart from Bobadilla’s chance after 13 minutes they failed to find a breakthrough in Bayern’s injury stricken defence. The visitors were fully in charge once Lewandowski had provided the opener, with Augsburg’s attacking efforts declining as the game went on.
HSV end winless run with victory over Gladbach
Hamburger SV breathed a huge sigh of relief on matchday 21, recording a 3-2 victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach, ending a run of six winless games and securing three vital points in the battle against relegation. Gladbach, on the other hand, are now without a win from their last four Bundesliga games on the road and for the first time since matchday 10 they’ve dropped out of the European qualifying places.
The hosts didn’t allow Gladbach’s early opener, which came through Fabian Johnson after 14 minutes to deter them from keeping the three points in the north. First, they profited from Martin Hinteregger’s own goal in the 38th minute, before Artjoms Rudnevs fired the hosts into the lead three minutes later during his comeback to the starting XI.
Substitute Ivo Ilicevic put Hamburg two goals clear with ten minutes left to play. Raffael pulled one back in the 88th minute but HSV were able to hang on and climb up the table into 11th place, while the Foals dropped down to eighth.