Bayern maintains 4-point lead in Bundesliga with win over Eintracht

Bayern, chasing a record-extending eighth straight league crown, next faces Dortmund in a big game on Tuesday and victory there would send it seven points clear. The ‘Bavarians’ thought it had the match wrapped up after efforts from Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski gave it a 3-0 lead at an empty Allianz Arena.

But, Eintracht defender Martin Hinteregger caught the Bayern defence napping, striking twice in three minutes and injecting new life into the encounter. However, the visitor quickly gave away two goals, with Alphonso Davies pouncing on a defensive error on the hour and Hinteregger scoring an own goal in the 74th minute.

Bayern, which had club great Franz Beckenbauer watching from the stands in a rare public appearance, is on 61 points with Dortmund on 57 following its 2-0 win over Wolfsburg. “I was happy with the first half. We wanted to dominate and we did that,” said Bayern coach Hansi Flick. “At 3-0, maybe we were mentally done with the game. Against Dortmund, we want to keep a clean sheet.”

The Bundesliga resumed a couple of weeks back, with no fans in attendance, after being suspended for more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the first match to be played without fans at Bayern’s home ground but the defending champion looked unaffected.

Muller set up its first goal with his 17th assist of the season and grabbed the second himself. Poland striker Lewandowski, chasing Gerd Muller’s 40-goal record haul from the 1971/72 season, headed in his 27th of the campaign a minute after the restart. Hinteregger did scare Bayern with two goals but the home side kept its cool for its 12th win in its last 13 games.

Timo Werner netted a hat-trick as RB Leipzig posted an easy 5-0 away victory at Mainz.

While Werner put the ball in the back of the net thrice, Yussuf Poulsen and Marcel Sabitzer also got on the scoresheet for the winning side.

With the success, Leipzig (54 points) is third on the table, seven behind leader Bayern and three behind second-placed Dortmund.