In what was a truly end-to-end game sprinked with pivotal VAR twists, Leverkusen secured a 2-1 win. The result means Borussia Dortmund remain a point clear of Bayern at the top of the table with ‘Der Klassiker’ on the horizon.
However, it would be Bayern who took the lead through Joshua Kimmich. Bayern’s skipper fired through a crowd to hit the net with the aid of a Kossounou deflection. Leon Goretzka with the all-important pass to set up his midfield partner. Although behind on the scoreboard, ‘Die Werkself’ did not shy away from their opposition. Chance creation was aplenty as Demirbay and Diaby tried their best from range.
Musiala and Gnabry were introduced after the interval. There would be drama in store inside 8 minutes of second-half action. Amine Adli was issued a yellow card for supposed simulation. Arbiter, Tobias Stieler, quickly rescinded the booking after some brief VAR consultation and awarded a penalty. Palacios sent Sommer the wrong way to level matters at 1-1.
They say lightning never strikes twice but Amine Adli may have something to say about that after today’s game. Once again, referee Stieler booked the French attacker for what he deemed was a dive in the box. VAR would have other ideas as they believed Upamecano felled his compatriot resulting in another spot kick. While Sommer would guess correctly this time, he could not prevent ‘Die Werkself’ from taking a 2-1 lead. As the game neared its end, Hradecky was pivotal in keeping Bayern at bay.