Compared with the 4-3 win against VfL Wolfsburg head coach Xabi Alonso made five changes to his starting XI: Piero Hincapie started in defence in place of Jeanuel Belocian, Jeremie Frimpong came in for Nordi Mukiele. Martin Terrier and Victor Boniface replaced Amine Adli and Patrik Schick up front.
In this eagerly awaited encounter, broadcast worldwide to over 200 countries, both teams started focused and with great energy. The hosts had the first effort on goal on two minutes: Raphael Guerreiro put the ball through to Harry Kane close to the Bayer 04 goal but keeper Lukas Hradecky was alert and collected the ball without a problem. The next opportunity for FC Bayern fell to Michael Olise with a free kick on the edge of the penalty area but his effort missed the target (22'). The hosts had significantly more of the ball in the first 30 minutes but the Black and Red defence defended with determination and often pressed the opposition high up the pitch. The Werkself tried to attack with long balls. But the FC Bayern defence was equally on its toes so that the first clear opportunity for the Black and Reds only came on 31 minutes with a corner taken by Alejandro Grimaldo. The Spaniard hit the ball from the left to the far side of the goal where Granit Xhaka laid the ball off to his fellow midfielder Andrich just outside the box. His shot was steered into the bottom left corner to give the Werkself the lead.
Bayern Munich were quick to respond: Eight minutes later, Aleksandar Pavlovic fired in a shot from 25 metres out and the ball flew into the top corner to level the scores at 1-1 and that was the scoreline at half-time.
In the second half, FC Bayern looked dangerous from the start and maintained the upper hand: Serge Gnabry was found with a long ball but his volley from a tight angle hit the post. The ball rebound it to him and he tried again but the second shot also hit the woodwork (48'). Olise had the chance to put his team ahead but Hradecky produced an impressive reflex save. Bayer 04 were almost exclusively focused on defending in the second half so there were few chances for Wirtz and Co. – also because the visitors lacked accuracy in passing on the day. Although Bayern Munich were the dominant team, the Black and Reds remained resolute and never gave up. With 89 minutes on the clock, Wirtz set up Nathan Tella but his shot failed to beat the keeper.
In added time, substitute Konrad Laimer tried to win the game with a long-range effort but his shot flew past the post. The final whistle soon followed. The top match ended all square.
The Werkself have their first home game in the UEFA Champions League in three days time: Bayer 04 entertain AC Milan at the BayArena on Tuesday, 1 October (kick-off: 21.00 CEST).
Match stats:
Bayern Munich: Neuer- Guerreiro (Laimer 78'), Upamecano, Kim, Davies - Kimmich, Pavlovic, Olise (Sané 78'), Musiala, Gnabry (Coman 65') - Kane (Müller 86')
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie - Frimpong, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo (Belocian 90')- Terrier (Adli 58'), Wirtz (Palacios 90') - Boniface (Tella 78')
Goals: 0-1 Andrich (31’), 1-1 Pavlovic (39’)
Yellow cards: Upamecano - Alonso (coach), Andrich, Wirtz, Grimaldo
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)
Attendance: 75,000 (sold out) at the Allianz Arena
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