Bayern Munich took care of business once again, but once again made life more exciting than it probably needed to be.
The Bavarian Derby finished in a frenzy after home side FC Augsburg earned not one but two penalties in the closing minutes — Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer easily saving the first and good thing he did, as the scoreline finished 2-3 to the visitors.
Bayern dominated possession handily but Augsburg came to play. Elvis Rexhbecaj fired a gorgeous hit past Neuer early that was ruled offside, and teammate Ermedin Demirović eventually scored two goals to keep the title holders on their toes throughout.
Thomas Tuchel might be spared the brunt of the judgment as he had to make do with a makeshift lineup — youth player Aleksander Pavlović making a rare start in the midfield pivot (and grabbing himself a fine goal to boot!), and left-back Raphaël Guerreiro shunted to the right as Bayern’s depth grinds itself to wafer-thin levels.
And of course, late scare aside, Bayern did notch the win.
The situation gets no easier for Tuchel & co. going forward, though. Time for Bayern’s players to quickly get to firing on all cylinders. Arguably they came close, a number of let-offs and near misses keeping Augsburg in the game at all — super-sub Mathys Tel had some nice opportunities near the end himself, including one from a gorgeous pass from Leroy Sané.
With Gladbach and Leverkusen — and the Champions League knockouts — on the docket, the margins will only get finer.
How did everyone do in this one? Is Bayern ready to face the gauntlet? Here’s how Bild rated the performances — have your own say below the jump!
