Thanks to World Cup winner Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich go top of the Bundesliga, at least until Sunday afternoon. The record league winners beat Leverkusen comfortably 3-0 in an intense game, and can now celebrate their third win in three games. This loss for Bayer 04, who have only won once in their last 26 outings in Munich, comes just three days after successfully qualifying for the Champions League.
Müller put Bayern 1-0 up in the 26th minute after getting on the end of a pass from the home side’s brilliant new signing Douglas Costa. Müller added further to his tally as he got the second goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 60th minute. In his 200th game in the Bundesliga, he scored his 75th and 76th Bundesliga goals.
Two penalties killed the game
Robert Hilbert gave the penalty away against Arturo Vidal. Aside from winning the penalty, the Chilean – coming up against his former club for whom he played from 2007-2011 – didn’t leave any other marks on the game. Arjen Robben converted the penalty following a handball – of which Hilbert was again the culprit – to make it 3-0 after 71 minutes. For the 14th time in Bundesliga history, Bayern have started the season with three consecutive victories.
In the absence of Jerome Boateng (suspended), Medhi Benatia (injured), Javi Martinez and Holger Badstuber (both still recovering), Guardiola had to improvise and named Xabi Alonso and David Alaba as his centre backs. The makeshift pairing did not let their boss down and performed well.
Müller opens the door
There were few gaps for Bayern to exploit against their aggressive and attacking opponents. The game was also regularly broken up by nasty challenges on both sides. In front of 75,000 fans, who witnessed an incredibly intensive match, Bayern struck first just before the half-hour mark. Shortly after taking the lead, Costa was unlucky not to score as his shot struck the bar. At the other end, a free kick from Calhanoglu also hit the woodwork.
The first chance after the break fell to Bayern, but Leverkusen had their own opportunities too. Kieβling was first thwarted by Manuel Neuer, and later on Alaba came to his side's rescue, clearing off the line. As Leverkusen pushed forwards, Bayern were left with more space to counter attack, but they lacked a clinical finish, as was the case when Lewandowski fired at Bernd Leno on 54 minutes. In the end, the two penalties confirmed their victory.
