Doubled by one point by Dortmund, who had fun against Cologne (6-1) on Saturday, Bayern Munich aimed to regain its spot as leader of the Bundesliga. For this he had to win for the 16th time this season in the Championship on the lawn of Leverkusen on Sunday afternoon. It backfired, as the Bavarians failed by losing to Xabi Alonso’s men (2-1).
Things started well for Bayern, however, who, despite a slow start to the game, managed to open the scoring thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s fourth goal of the season, on the lookout after a reduction from Leon Goretzka (1-0, 22nd).
Amine Adli decisive
Up front at half-time, Julian Nagelsmann’s protégés, who made three substitutions at the break (Mané for Gnabry, Musiala for Cancelo and Coman for Müller), were surprised when they returned from the dressing room at the instigation of an Amine Adli stir from the side of Leverkusen.
All percussion was mowed down in the Bavarian area of the former Toulouse by Matthijs de Ligt. Initially believing in a simulation, the referee of the encounter, Tobias Stieler, penalized the French attacker with a yellow card before finally awarding a penalty, transformed by Exequiel Palacios (1-1, 55th).
Bis repeated a few minutes later: Adli was mowed down by Upamecano, a yellow card was awarded to him and then canceled and the penalty was always converted by Palacios, the Argentine midfielder chose the other side this time to deceive Yann Sommer (2 -1 , 73rd). Too rough in the offensive phase to hope for better, the citizens of Munich encountered a compact block that held out until the end of the game.
Future opponents of Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Bayern Munich will also have to worry about their title race across the Rhine which promises to be breathtaking between the Bavarians and Borussia Dortmund. That’s good: the two rivals have an appointment in the Allianz Arena on Saturday, April 1, for a long-awaited Klassiker.
For his part, Leverkusen has a fifth consecutive win in all competitions and maintains its hopes for Europe by holding just three points behind Eintracht Frankfurt and its sixth-place finish synonymous with qualification in the Europa League conference.