Initial observations and analysis We’ll get right to it. Manuel Grafe extended the title race for one more week with an atrocious VAR call to steal a rightful goal from Goretzka. It was just a terrible, unexplainable decision to call Lewandowski offside. Still, Bayern could have and should have scored more than that goal. The opportunities were there all night, but they couldn’t beat Gulacsi, who had a terrific game in the Leipzig goal. Sule was tremendous in the back for Bayern throughout the second half. He played up to the violent level that Grafe allowed all game long, and he used it to his advantage. It was a big performance from the big centerback. Leipzig did a great job in frustrating Muller all night long. While he was able to find space like always, as soon as he did find it, he was swarmed by at least one defender. He was mostly quiet all day. FULLTIME: RB Leipzig 0-0 Bayern Munich 94- Robben sends a shot way over the goal. Poor effort from him. 89- INCHES WIDE! Lewandowski takes the free kick on top of the penalty area. Gulacsi gets wrong-footed, but Lewandowski missed the right post by inches. 87- Kimmich wins a free kick right on top of the penalty area. Kovac is bringing Robben on for Coman. 84- CLOSE! Muller and Coman combine wide on the right for a cross into the box, but Ribery’s backheel is saved by Gulacsi to keep it scoreless. Bayern are pressing. 80- Thiago was clobbered in the midfield and Manuel Grafe didn’t call a foul. It looks like he’s having to come off. Rafinha comes on. Thiago is getting treatment on the sidelines. 78- Kovac brings on Ribery for Gnabry. 71- Over the last five minutes, Sule has made not one. Not two. But three big time tackles to keep Leipzig from scoring. 66- Gnabry is played through the backline by Muller, but he smashes the ball off the crossbar. He had the chance to play in Lewandowski but went for goal himself. The ref then blew it dead for offside anyway. 65- Gnabry whips in a cross, but it’s just a bit too high for Muller to get his head solidly on. The ball goes way over the goal. 61- It’s been an unbelievable for minutes in Leipzig. After Bayern very clearly wronged by VAR, both sides are pushing hard for goals. Fouls are flying in from all over. 53- Boo! VAR has ruled that somebody was offside in the build-up to the goal, but it’s hard to tell from the replays. It doesn’t look like anyone was offside. We’re back to no score. Edit: Hahahaha. What a terrible call. A huge decision from VAR denies Bayern the lead! Goretzka's goal is waved off after a lengthy review concludes Lewandowski was offside. Wow! pic.twitter.com/QvNrhQSN1o — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 11, 2019 Elsewhere, Dortmund are up 2-1 over Dusseldorf. 50- TOR! TOR! TOR! FC BAYERN! LEON GORETZKA!!! RB Leipzig 0-1 Bayern Munich. Goretzka’s shot is deflected wide, and Coman puts the cross back into the box. The ball comes out to Goretzka, and he smashes it home for the 1-0 lead. 49- Alaba runs right through the middle of the park before uncorking an AlaBOOM shot toward Gulacsi, but the goalkeeper makes the save. The rebound finds it’s way to Coman, but his shot goes wide. 46- The second half is underway in Leipzig. Halftime observations and analysis The match has been... something. There have been chances on both sides. But, it hasn’t been particular interesting for long stretches of the game. It’s also devolved into a very physical match with the referee letting a lot of violent tackles from both sides go unpunished. We’ll see what the second half brings. Coman and Gnabry have been fun to watch. Both have stayed wide for the majority of the match, while cutting through the middle, causing problems for the Leipzig defense. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to full connect with Lewandowski yet for that final ball. Aside from that one spell early in the half, Bayern’s defense has done well to minimize Leipzig’s quality chances. Sure, they’ve had a few, but they haven’t really been challenging Ulreich. Dortmund are leading against Dusseldorf, so the lead is currently 2 points. Bayern need all 3 points to win the title today. 45- Halftime. RB Leipzig 0-0 Bayern Munich. 44- This game is getting overly physical for no reason. Both sides putting in some violent challenges. 43- Dortmund have scored against Fortuna Dusseldorf: 1-0. 40- Leipzig take it back down the other end, and Werner forces Ulreich into a simpler save in the Bayern goal. Elsewhere, Werder Bremen have taken the 1-0 lead over Hoffenheim, and Hannover 96 lead Freiburg 1-0. 39- SAVE GULACSI! A corner kick falls to Gnabry who rips a roundhouse kick toward goal. Gulacsi takes it off the chest to keep it scoreless. 34- Sigh. Coman is getting hammered out there. Some vicious tackles coming it at his ankles. Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen have taken the 1-0 lead over Schalke. 29- SO CLOSE! Lewandowski absolutely abuses the Leipzig defense with some individual footwork before squaring the ball back to the middle of the goal for Gnabry. He tries to redirect the pass into the back of the net, but Gulacsi makes a tremendous save to keep it out of the back of his net. 28- Alaba just played Gnabry in behind Klosterman with a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L pass. Goodness. Klosterman recovers enough to knock it out for a corner, but nothing comes of it. 21- Leipzig really have Bayern back on their heels right now. The Bavarians are having trouble getting the ball away from Leipzig and forcing a change in field position. Elsewhere, Augsburg has taken the 1-0 lead over Hertha Berlin. 17- Leipzig with ANOTHER chance, but Hummels blocks Poulsen’s shot out for a corner. Wait. Nope. The ref has ruled the ball out on Leipzig in the build up. Goal kick for Ulreich. 16-Leipzig break out again, but Kimmich blocks Werner’s shot. Nothing comes of it. 12- Close from Leipzig! They break out, but Poulsen gets put off by Hummels, sending his shot way wide of the target. 9- Lewandowski gets through the Leipzig defense! But, he’s called offside. His shot went wide anyway. 5- Bayern are spreading Leipzig wide and forcing them to run all over to keep up with excellent passing. Coman and Gnabry have switched flanks, and both players have had their feet on the chalk. 3- Both teams are just feeling each other out right now with passes through the midfield. Leipzig are trying to press Bayern hard early, hoping for a mistake that leads to a goal. Kickoff — We are underway in Leipzig. Let’s secure the title boys! One hour until kickoff: Lineups are out! Lewandowski was doubtful but he starts! Here we are! Game #1 of two against Leipzig to close out the season. Bayern Munich need just one more win to take the Bundesliga title, but Ralf Rangnick’s side will likely be determined to not let that happen. Niko Kovac has very few options for this game, given that Javi Martinez, Manuel Neuer, and James Rodriguez are all out with injury, and Robert Lewandowski is a huge doubt. Assuming that Lewandowski doesn’t play, Kovac has a real dilemma on his hands. Thomas Muller simply CANNOT play as a striker, so the only candidate left for that position is Serge Gnabry. We might possibly see a front four of Serge Gnabry up top, flanked by Kingsley Coman and Arjen Robben on the wings, and Thomas Muller behind the striker. It’s a very risky formation against a team as dangerous as Leipzig, but Kovac doesn’t have much choice. He can’t push Goretzka up into the attacking midfield position because, with Javi injured, Goretzka is needed to man the dual pivot alongside Thiago. Who knows, maybe the coach will surprise us. Maybe Corentin Tolisso will finally return to the lineup. Maybe (gasp) Renato Sanches could get a start. We just don’t know. Because of the injuries, this game could be the biggest test that Bayern Munich have faced this season.<doc-sep>With a chance to clinch the Bundesliga title, Bayern Munich could not muster enough offense to score against a very game RB Leipzig side. Here are some quick hitters on the match: Let’s get this out of the way first; the VAR decision to overturn Leon Goretzka ’s goal was a complete farce. The whole point of VAR is to avoid having embarrassing incidents like this. ’s goal was a complete farce. The whole point of VAR is to avoid having embarrassing incidents like this. Speaking of Goretzka, this was one of his finest performances of the season. The decision-making and crossing ability of Bayern’s wings is still a bit of an issue. For all of the ability and talent that Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman possess, they are still far from “complete.” It wasn’t an awful day for the duo, but it wasn’t great either. and Kingsley Coman possess, they are still far from “complete.” It wasn’t an awful day for the duo, but it wasn’t great either. Thiago Alcantara proved once again that he’s an extremely solid deep-sitting midfielder when he wants to be. I feel 100% confident with him in that role if he will accept it for next season. proved once again that he’s an extremely solid deep-sitting midfielder when he wants to be. I feel 100% confident with him in that role if he will accept it for next season. The lack of the precision yesterday from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller hurt the end product at times. There were some uncharacteristic gaffes by the duo in-and-around the box. It was not an awful day for each player by any means. In a lot of ways they both put in solid efforts, but this was a game when Bayern needed that extra nudge out of one of them and neither could provide it. and hurt the end product at times. There were some uncharacteristic gaffes by the duo in-and-around the box. It was not an awful day for each player by any means. In a lot of ways they both put in solid efforts, but this was a game when Bayern needed that extra nudge out of one of them and neither could provide it. Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels , Joshua Kimmich , and David Alaba were very solid on the day. Hummels and Sule controlled RB Leipzig through smart and aggressive play, while Kimmich and Alaba did a nice job of limiting the attacks from out wide. , , and were very solid on the day. Hummels and Sule controlled RB Leipzig through smart and aggressive play, while Kimmich and Alaba did a nice job of limiting the attacks from out wide. I feel like Hummels still has a role to play for Bayern next season. He’s proven he’s still a very capable defender and a solid contributor against high-level competition. It would be unwise to let him walk next season. The draw marked RB Leipzig’s 18th consecutive game without sustaining a loss. Say what you will about Die Roten Bullen, but that is impressive. Niko Kovac vs. Eintracht Frankfurt on the final Match Day to determine the Bundesliga champion...let the conspiracy theories begin! If anything, the @RBLeipzig_EN account at least gave us this gem yesterday: If you missed our Match Awards or Observations, give them a look: If I could insert the emoji of a man with a hand over his face, I would do that here. Paulo Dybala is one of the players who could leave Juventus this summer in midst of a potential exodus and a revolution at the Allianz Stadium. According to reports from Germany, in the last few days, there has been an acceleration on the part of the Bavarians for the Argentinian, who is the club’s primary target for the offensive department. For Bayern coach and current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has reportedly assured the City front office that he will be in England for another two years amid links to Juventus. Man City bosses were fearing that Guardiola was tempted by a move to Juventus this summer but he has told them that this is not the case. Juve had Pep Guardiola, 48, at the top of their wanted list to replace Massimiliano Allegri and could now turn to Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino. Guardiola has this week told close friends that he will be staying at the Etihad Stadium at least until the summer of 2021 as he is desperate to win the Champions League. Earlier in the week, Bavarian Fashion Works guru Tom Adams detailed how Franck Ribery leaked the new Bayern kit on Instagram, but now we know the context. Ribery is signing 250 of the jerseys for Bayern to give away at his last home match. ⚪ Shown off by Ribery. Bayern Munich 19-20 Home Kit Leaked: https://t.co/gfHz9VptyU pic.twitter.com/x35IubeEOC — Footy Headlines (@Footy_Headlines) May 12, 2019 To any of you mothers out there who peruse the Daily Schmankerl, “Happy Mother’s Day!”<doc-sep>The Bundesliga title race will be going down to the final day after an enthralling day of action in Germany. Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 win at home to Fortuna Dusseldorf was all Lucien Favre's side could do, with Bayern Munich making the trip to high-flying RB Leipzig. And the hosts managed to contain Niko Kovac's side, holding Bayern to a 0-0 draw. It was game of few clearcut chances, with a draw probably a fair reflection of the game. But there was one moment early in the second-half which has raised yet more questions about the use of VAR. Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka thought he had given Bayern the lead with a well-taken volley after Ibrahima Konate failed to clear the ball for Leipzig. However, the goal was eventually ruled out for offside after a short pause from the referee, but no one really knew what was going on. And after watching the replay of the incident, it's still hard to understand what has gone on. The picture on the screen showed Robert Lewandowski tangling with a Leipzig defender, with perhaps his toe in a offside position. Even after looking at the picture several times, it's hard to know whether the call was actually correct. IMAGES VIDEO The offside rule was introduced to prevent goal-hanging, not for this. Bayern will now have to try and seal the title on the final day against Champions League hopefuls Eintracht Frankfurt, with Dortmund travelling to Borussia Monchengladbach on the final day. Kovac's side will be crowned champions if they beat Frankfurt or if Dortmund fail to get three points in their game. Will there be anymore twists? You can be sure there will be in this crazy Bundesliga season. News Now - Sport News<doc-sep>
It was a one-sided affair Don’t be fooled by the scoreline, RB Leipzig were lucky to get away with a result (at home no less) against Bayern Munich. The Bavarians limited the Lawnballers to almost no real chances on goal, and Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen were reduced to sending ineffectual shots straight at Sven Ulreich. Just take a look at this xG map (courtesy of Understat): That doesn’t even count Leon Goretzka’s goal, which was ruled offside for some reason. Honestly, the refereeing was a a travesty. Leipzig got away with kicking every single Bayern player, and Joshua Kimmich was hit in the face twice with no repercussions. Meanwhile, Goretzka and Coman were booked for doing almost nothing. Bayern played well and deserved to win, that’s all there is to it. Bayern’s midfield stepped up their game Thiago Alcantara and Leon Goretzka absolutely stomped on Leipzig’s midfield, despite thier aggressive press — it was probably the best midfield performance we’ve seen from these two in a long time. With Javi out injured, Thiago really stepped up defensively, which is recorded in the stats: he managed 9 tackles with a 100% success rate. Goretzka was no slouch either, with 2 tackles and 4 interceptions. Because of these two, Leipzig’s midfield struggled to advance the ball at all through the middle, so they were forced out wide and their forwards ended up having to drop deep to even get the ball. Given that Bayern have a cup final against Leipzig in two weeks, hopefully these two can keep their form going. As for Thiago, he was subbed off with an injury, but is confirmed to be okay. ️ Karl-Heinz #Rummenigge: "@Thiago6 is doing well. I was just in the changing room, it's just a bruised knee. He will be available next Saturday." #RBLFCB pic.twitter.com/4XwLE2cECi — FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) May 11, 2019 Crossing remains an issue for the wide players Bayern put up a good performance overall — but the crossing from the flanks was just abysmal. Aside from Kimmich, none of the team’s wide players could send a decent ball into the box, where Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski were waiting. David Alaba, Serge Gnabry, and Kingsley Coman all got opportunities where they beat their man and had the chance to send in a cross. They almost never did. Kovac even switched Gnabry and Coman around for this game so that they could cross with their preferred foot — but it didn’t help. Given that Bayern have so many players who are good in the air, it’s a complete waste to be this bad at crossing. Under Pep Guardiola, Bayern’s ability to regularly send high-quality deliveries into the box was one of the main things that allowed us to break down parked buses — most notably Juventus in the Champions League. Crossing is such an easy thing to do, there’s just no excuse to be this bad at it. Hopefully, Kovac drills all his wingers on this right through the week, because Bayern cannot afford another abject display like this again.