MY ACCOUNT
Bayern Munich restored their six-point lead at the Bundesliga summit with an extremely comfortable 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
The reigning champions saw their advantage halved when Borussia Dortmund beat Hoffenheim on Saturday, but it did not look like remaining at three points once Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring at the Olympiastadion.
Thomas Muller doubled Bayern’s lead before the break and, after a string of impressive saves, Alexander Schwolow gifted Leroy Sane a tap-in with a wayward pass across the face of his own goal.
Serge Gnabry added a fourth as the visitors’ relentless pressure finally told in the closing 15 minutes, though Jurgen Ekkelenkamp lobbed home a consolation 35 seconds after being subbed on.
Tolisso had a goal ruled out for offside by the VAR in the second minute, with Schwolow making saves from Sane, Kingsley Coman and Robert Lewandowski to keep the game level midway through the first half.
After Ishak Belfodil threatened for the hosts, Tolisso stooped to head Coman’s left-wing delivery into the bottom-right corner and give Bayern a deserved lead.
Tolisso missed an open goal and Schwolow kept out Lewandowski, but Bayern got their second on the stroke of half-time when an unmarked Muller guided Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick home.
Suat Serdar was unable to hit the target from six yards out, and Bayern were out of sight when Schwolow’s pass to Linus Gechter was intercepted by Sane, who was left with a simple finish into a vacant net.
Gechter did well to clear a looping effort from Gnabry off the line, but the winger was not to be denied again, drilling home a fine finish for Bayern’s second goal in four minutes.
Dayot Upamecano had not even been on the pitch for a minute when he sold Manuel Neuer short with a back pass and, after the keeper thwarted Stevan Jovetic, Ekkelenkamp lofted in the follow-up to complete the scoring.
What does it mean? Hertha can’t hurt Bayern
Bayern have now lost only one of their past 22 Bundesliga games against Hertha – at the Olympiastadion in September 2018 – with this being their fifth straight victory over the club from the capital.
The result never looked in doubt, with Bayern enjoying 69.9 per cent of possession and registering an impressive 19 shots on target, the most recorded in any Bundesliga game by Opta since such data collection began in 2004-05.
Schwolow limited the damage somewhat with 14 saves across the 90 minutes, but his error for Sane’s goal ended any hope of a late revival. His total of saves is the highest registered in a game by a goalkeeper from Europe’s top five leagues this season (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, LaLiga).
Sane shines in the centre
Sane was a real livewire for Bayern and was only denied a late second after a VAR review deemed he handled the ball before curling it into the top-left corner. In addition, he created three chances for team-mates and chased back to help out when required.
Dardai caught dawdling
You need to be on top of your game defensively to get a result against Bayern, but Marton Dardai was a weak link at the back for Hertha. His marking of Tolisso on the opener was woeful and he only completed 20 of his 35 passes (57.1 per cent). It was therefore no surprise he was replaced just before the hour mark.
What’s next?
Bayern will entertain RB Leipzig in their first game after the international break on February 5, with Hertha in action at home to Bochum 24 hours beforehand.
